Tuesday, December 09, 2008
I so want to watch this....
Stumbled upon a trailer today for "Citizen King" an independent film by one of my favourite actors at the moment, Johnson Lee and TVB's friendly Caucasian Brian Burrell. It was aired as part of the Hong Kong Independent Film Festival this year.
Looks like a lot of fun, hope it comes out on DVD....
Stumbled upon a trailer today for "Citizen King" an independent film by one of my favourite actors at the moment, Johnson Lee and TVB's friendly Caucasian Brian Burrell. It was aired as part of the Hong Kong Independent Film Festival this year.
Looks like a lot of fun, hope it comes out on DVD....
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Holiday at home & Halloween
With the onset of the economic slowdown and other reasons, we decided not to go away on holiday this year and came up with an idea of a 'holiday at home'. Whilst trawling around on the net, I came across an offer for a 'two-for-one' offer on a one-day spa day at Rookery Hall in Nantwich. A full-hour massage and full use of the spa and gym facilities at the luxury hotel's leisure centre for what worked out as just £40 each - not bad eh? The place was quite tucked away and Tony had some fun whizzing down the country lanes and flying over the bumps getting there. It was well worth the trip though and after a couple of hours by the pool and relaxing in one of the best spa pools I have seen, featuring 3 different types of jets (a 'tap' jet for the shoulders, a back jet and a pebble jet where you lie down), then we were nicely tenderised by the therapists.
After we got back, we toyed with the idea of going to Jersey for a spa weekend, but when we checked that the offer at Rookery was still on, we decided to save some money and go back there for another day! And it was just as good as the first time....... aah! Thinking about it makes me want to go back again!!
Other things we got up to... we each spent a few days with our families, especially our sisters and we had a day trip to the Designer Outlet at York to start our Christmas shopping. Actually, we did a lot of shopping and eating out and I got a couple more bargain hoodies and a new Kipling bag for my collection for half price!
It looks a bit like this, but without the side pockets. Kipling bags don't go into the sales very often, so I was quite pleased with this find for £19!
Have also been whizzing through plenty of TVB series lately, although "Moonlight Resonance" was a bit poo. After sticking it out with "Your Class Or Mine", I finally have my hands on something decent. Currently enjoying the eye candy of a buffed-up Kevin Cheng and scheming Roger Kwok in "Last One Standing" that I've been looking forward to for ages. My neighbour dropped by this evening with some packages that our postie had dropped off and among them was my "The Four" DVD's. Yay! Finally some good series to while away the winter nights with. I'm also re-watching "Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion" because it's one of those series where I love every single character.
The build up to Halloween was quite fun this year, thanks to the many hours whiled away playing the trick or treat game on Facebook's (fluff)friends and some pumpkin decoration at work. However, we decided to be spoilsports and went out on Friday, after picking up some cheap Katie Melua tickets on ebay for just £6 each. It was a good concert and she has a beautiful voice, so I really enjoyed myself. The only thing that spoiled it a bit was that we were left waiting for her to get onto the stage. We had arrived at the MEN Arena at 6:45 pm, but with the support band and everything else, Katie didn't get onto the stage until 8:45 pm!! Maybe she was too busy carving her pumpkin...
With the onset of the economic slowdown and other reasons, we decided not to go away on holiday this year and came up with an idea of a 'holiday at home'. Whilst trawling around on the net, I came across an offer for a 'two-for-one' offer on a one-day spa day at Rookery Hall in Nantwich. A full-hour massage and full use of the spa and gym facilities at the luxury hotel's leisure centre for what worked out as just £40 each - not bad eh? The place was quite tucked away and Tony had some fun whizzing down the country lanes and flying over the bumps getting there. It was well worth the trip though and after a couple of hours by the pool and relaxing in one of the best spa pools I have seen, featuring 3 different types of jets (a 'tap' jet for the shoulders, a back jet and a pebble jet where you lie down), then we were nicely tenderised by the therapists.
After we got back, we toyed with the idea of going to Jersey for a spa weekend, but when we checked that the offer at Rookery was still on, we decided to save some money and go back there for another day! And it was just as good as the first time....... aah! Thinking about it makes me want to go back again!!
Other things we got up to... we each spent a few days with our families, especially our sisters and we had a day trip to the Designer Outlet at York to start our Christmas shopping. Actually, we did a lot of shopping and eating out and I got a couple more bargain hoodies and a new Kipling bag for my collection for half price!
It looks a bit like this, but without the side pockets. Kipling bags don't go into the sales very often, so I was quite pleased with this find for £19!
Have also been whizzing through plenty of TVB series lately, although "Moonlight Resonance" was a bit poo. After sticking it out with "Your Class Or Mine", I finally have my hands on something decent. Currently enjoying the eye candy of a buffed-up Kevin Cheng and scheming Roger Kwok in "Last One Standing" that I've been looking forward to for ages. My neighbour dropped by this evening with some packages that our postie had dropped off and among them was my "The Four" DVD's. Yay! Finally some good series to while away the winter nights with. I'm also re-watching "Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion" because it's one of those series where I love every single character.
The build up to Halloween was quite fun this year, thanks to the many hours whiled away playing the trick or treat game on Facebook's (fluff)friends and some pumpkin decoration at work. However, we decided to be spoilsports and went out on Friday, after picking up some cheap Katie Melua tickets on ebay for just £6 each. It was a good concert and she has a beautiful voice, so I really enjoyed myself. The only thing that spoiled it a bit was that we were left waiting for her to get onto the stage. We had arrived at the MEN Arena at 6:45 pm, but with the support band and everything else, Katie didn't get onto the stage until 8:45 pm!! Maybe she was too busy carving her pumpkin...
Labels: holidays, shopping, TVB
Saturday, September 20, 2008
My New TVBuddy!!
I introduced Hangyodon, Geung-geung and Monchichi to a new friend tonight. My sis brought her back from HK for me. This TVB fan is very very happy now....
THANKS SIS - YOU'RE THE BEST!!
(& happy birthday for Tuesday!)
I introduced Hangyodon, Geung-geung and Monchichi to a new friend tonight. My sis brought her back from HK for me. This TVB fan is very very happy now....
THANKS SIS - YOU'RE THE BEST!!
(& happy birthday for Tuesday!)
Labels: TVB
Monday, January 07, 2008
Renewed Competition
Happy new year!
Hope 2008 is as great as it is made out to be (otherwise I will be asking for a refund!).
I'm wondering if people have given up on my blog after being absent for a while, but I have a good excuse, that is my Christmas present that Santa (aka hubby) bought me this year (see pic). The reason it has eaten away into my time is that it's a game that I am actually not bad at and I stand half a chance of maintaining my high score without being thrashed and destroyed by my husband. Unfortunately, with him being uber-competitive, it means that every time I get a high score, he has to try and beat it. So, being the proud sod that I am, I have to try and raise the bar a little higher each time. Hence, even the excitement of watching TVB's "The Ultimate Crime Fighter" has to stand aside for this little bit of renewed competitiveness between us. It's all good though - it also means we're making the most of the Wii instead of letting it gather dust along with the Gamecube and Dreamcast.
Christmas and the new year just kinda came and went this year. Caught up with family and a few friends, but as I only took Christmas Eve off work, I found myself back in the office before very long. It was okay though, nice and quiet, so I was able to get some work done.
Roll on January 31st, when I can really let my hair down for a week!
Happy new year!
Hope 2008 is as great as it is made out to be (otherwise I will be asking for a refund!).
I'm wondering if people have given up on my blog after being absent for a while, but I have a good excuse, that is my Christmas present that Santa (aka hubby) bought me this year (see pic). The reason it has eaten away into my time is that it's a game that I am actually not bad at and I stand half a chance of maintaining my high score without being thrashed and destroyed by my husband. Unfortunately, with him being uber-competitive, it means that every time I get a high score, he has to try and beat it. So, being the proud sod that I am, I have to try and raise the bar a little higher each time. Hence, even the excitement of watching TVB's "The Ultimate Crime Fighter" has to stand aside for this little bit of renewed competitiveness between us. It's all good though - it also means we're making the most of the Wii instead of letting it gather dust along with the Gamecube and Dreamcast.
Christmas and the new year just kinda came and went this year. Caught up with family and a few friends, but as I only took Christmas Eve off work, I found myself back in the office before very long. It was okay though, nice and quiet, so I was able to get some work done.
Roll on January 31st, when I can really let my hair down for a week!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Packing it all in...
In the words of Russell Grant on my horoscope today:
"A breeze of change is starting to waft through your life and it will help to keep abreast of developments."
I don't know where this guy got his crystal ball from but it's definitely top of the range. Since the beginning of June, my life has been through so many changes; new job, new working hours, renewed interest in reading, daily reflection in my morning bus journeys and my latest venture - closing down TVBspace and launching my evening commitment into the pages of the new site. (Not sure if I can mention the name of it yet, so I won't just yet.) The last few days have been getting my head round the writing style of said publication and having to digest and assimilate the electronic version of the blue pencil all over my work. It's quite different from the informal banter of TVBspace, but I guess it's good training for me, so when the day comes for me to hang up my numbers head and make a living out of tapping away on a keyboard to create words instead of data tables, I will be well-[repared. Incidentally, the guy who vacated my current job for me to come in left the job to become a full time writer - is that an omen?
The salivary gland problem I had at Easter came back this week, so I was suffering from swollen gums all week. It's settled down a lot now, but that coupled with hay fever has zapped my energy, so in the past few days at work, especially just after lunch, I have been doing Homer impressions at my desk (okay, not with my feet up, but snoozing all the same) and then suffering severe paranoia about my colleagues seeing me dropping off.
Talking of new stuff - here is a shopping update that is a bit late. I bought myself a new bag as a reward for getting a new job. I'm not really one to spend a lot of money on handbags - my last few bags were all around the £10 mark - but I do like the design and practicality of Kipling bags, so after a lot of umming and aahing, I decided to go and take a look. I came across this one in the shop and it was perfect for carrying my stuff to work and back and after about half an hour in the shop trying to convince myself it is worth the £49 price tag, I finally treated myself to the most expensive handbag I have bought for myself. My justification was that if I am using it every day, then I'll get good value from it. That, and I have the monkey to keep me company on the bus.
In need of some stimulation during my bus journey, apart from reading my books (currently reading spy novel "Good News Bad News" by David Wolstenholme), I have made a few observations:
1. The 135 is a social animal. It moves in shoals of at least three or in the case of this afternoon, there were five of them within 10 minutes of each other... shame they were in the opposite direction.
2. The 135 also doubles as a sardine can as the drivers have a sadistic game that they play called 'pack-as-many-passengers-into-the-bus-as-you-can-then-drive-slowly-so-that-the-empty-bus-behind-can-drive-past-and-taunt-all-the-sweaty-people'.
3. The 135 cleaners don't use detergent or air fresheners. Instead, they spray a special odour on the bus that enhances body odour and attracts every insect possible through the small gap in the window to agitate further the already heavily agitated passengers.
4. The very loud bell does not tell the driver to stop because he seems oblivious to it until you ring it a few times and he curses you by shouting: "Stop p*ssing about with the bell!" It is merely very loud to annoy people and wake you up when you want to take a nap.
5. Copies of the Metro are provided for passengers to use as a sign to other passengers that they are not interested in chatting randomly. If you don't use it, you run the risk of being targeted by the random-chat brigade who insist on moaning to you about the weather/the bus/the time/global warming/life in general*
*delete as appropriate.
My study continues... I will post further findings here later.
TVB-wise, I have been watching "The Family Link". Well-written, light-hearted and some superbly convincing acting as ever from Sheren Tang and Kiki Sheung. I haven't really watched any of Cecilia Yip's other series - now I know why. Still, Derek and Kenneth made up for things and seeing Michael dressed in that negligee was interesting!
In the words of Russell Grant on my horoscope today:
"A breeze of change is starting to waft through your life and it will help to keep abreast of developments."
I don't know where this guy got his crystal ball from but it's definitely top of the range. Since the beginning of June, my life has been through so many changes; new job, new working hours, renewed interest in reading, daily reflection in my morning bus journeys and my latest venture - closing down TVBspace and launching my evening commitment into the pages of the new site. (Not sure if I can mention the name of it yet, so I won't just yet.) The last few days have been getting my head round the writing style of said publication and having to digest and assimilate the electronic version of the blue pencil all over my work. It's quite different from the informal banter of TVBspace, but I guess it's good training for me, so when the day comes for me to hang up my numbers head and make a living out of tapping away on a keyboard to create words instead of data tables, I will be well-[repared. Incidentally, the guy who vacated my current job for me to come in left the job to become a full time writer - is that an omen?
The salivary gland problem I had at Easter came back this week, so I was suffering from swollen gums all week. It's settled down a lot now, but that coupled with hay fever has zapped my energy, so in the past few days at work, especially just after lunch, I have been doing Homer impressions at my desk (okay, not with my feet up, but snoozing all the same) and then suffering severe paranoia about my colleagues seeing me dropping off.
Talking of new stuff - here is a shopping update that is a bit late. I bought myself a new bag as a reward for getting a new job. I'm not really one to spend a lot of money on handbags - my last few bags were all around the £10 mark - but I do like the design and practicality of Kipling bags, so after a lot of umming and aahing, I decided to go and take a look. I came across this one in the shop and it was perfect for carrying my stuff to work and back and after about half an hour in the shop trying to convince myself it is worth the £49 price tag, I finally treated myself to the most expensive handbag I have bought for myself. My justification was that if I am using it every day, then I'll get good value from it. That, and I have the monkey to keep me company on the bus.
In need of some stimulation during my bus journey, apart from reading my books (currently reading spy novel "Good News Bad News" by David Wolstenholme), I have made a few observations:
1. The 135 is a social animal. It moves in shoals of at least three or in the case of this afternoon, there were five of them within 10 minutes of each other... shame they were in the opposite direction.
2. The 135 also doubles as a sardine can as the drivers have a sadistic game that they play called 'pack-as-many-passengers-into-the-bus-as-you-can-then-drive-slowly-so-that-the-empty-bus-behind-can-drive-past-and-taunt-all-the-sweaty-people'.
3. The 135 cleaners don't use detergent or air fresheners. Instead, they spray a special odour on the bus that enhances body odour and attracts every insect possible through the small gap in the window to agitate further the already heavily agitated passengers.
4. The very loud bell does not tell the driver to stop because he seems oblivious to it until you ring it a few times and he curses you by shouting: "Stop p*ssing about with the bell!" It is merely very loud to annoy people and wake you up when you want to take a nap.
5. Copies of the Metro are provided for passengers to use as a sign to other passengers that they are not interested in chatting randomly. If you don't use it, you run the risk of being targeted by the random-chat brigade who insist on moaning to you about the weather/the bus/the time/global warming/life in general*
*delete as appropriate.
My study continues... I will post further findings here later.
TVB-wise, I have been watching "The Family Link". Well-written, light-hearted and some superbly convincing acting as ever from Sheren Tang and Kiki Sheung. I haven't really watched any of Cecilia Yip's other series - now I know why. Still, Derek and Kenneth made up for things and seeing Michael dressed in that negligee was interesting!
Labels: buses, life, shopping, TVB
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Everybody Looks So Young...
I've had the VCD set of "Coincidentally" sitting around for a good few months but because the DVD player in my room doesn't like VCD's and insists on playing both soundtracks simultaneously, then I have kinda put off watching it. I finally got down to some viewing over the weekend because I managed to bag a spot in front of the main TV whilst my hubby was out and started reminding myself of what a good series this actually is.
There is a bit of a story about me and this series. I watched part of it whilst I was in Hong Kong about 10 years ago, when it first aired. I remember my sis and I really getting into it after watching from the middle but having to leave to come home before we got to see the end. Unfortunately, we didn't have an ATV rental place around here then, so we just had to go without, so when I found it available on VCD on a Malaysian website, I was really chuffed but I refused to pay something stupid like US$50 to have it shipped to the UK. So I waited a little while longer and when they finally scrapped the shipping charges, I placed my order. A week later, Yesasia started stocking it for half the price. D'oh!!
Anyway, finally getting round to watching the show from start to finish and it is as good as I remembered it to be. Lots of familiar faces there, obvious ones such as Frankie Lam, Annie Man, Kristy Yang and the not-so-obvious ones like Krystal Tin and Chapman To.... and everyone looks so young!! I'm about half way through and I am hooked, sometimes it's good to appreciate an excellent script, attention to detail on costumes and sets and some great performances from the then young cast. It's a shame that neither ATV nor TVB do anything of this quality any more.
I've had the VCD set of "Coincidentally" sitting around for a good few months but because the DVD player in my room doesn't like VCD's and insists on playing both soundtracks simultaneously, then I have kinda put off watching it. I finally got down to some viewing over the weekend because I managed to bag a spot in front of the main TV whilst my hubby was out and started reminding myself of what a good series this actually is.
There is a bit of a story about me and this series. I watched part of it whilst I was in Hong Kong about 10 years ago, when it first aired. I remember my sis and I really getting into it after watching from the middle but having to leave to come home before we got to see the end. Unfortunately, we didn't have an ATV rental place around here then, so we just had to go without, so when I found it available on VCD on a Malaysian website, I was really chuffed but I refused to pay something stupid like US$50 to have it shipped to the UK. So I waited a little while longer and when they finally scrapped the shipping charges, I placed my order. A week later, Yesasia started stocking it for half the price. D'oh!!
Anyway, finally getting round to watching the show from start to finish and it is as good as I remembered it to be. Lots of familiar faces there, obvious ones such as Frankie Lam, Annie Man, Kristy Yang and the not-so-obvious ones like Krystal Tin and Chapman To.... and everyone looks so young!! I'm about half way through and I am hooked, sometimes it's good to appreciate an excellent script, attention to detail on costumes and sets and some great performances from the then young cast. It's a shame that neither ATV nor TVB do anything of this quality any more.
Labels: hk celebs, hong kong, TVB
Friday, May 11, 2007
Movin' on...
Tony Blair quit his job this week, well he handed in his resignation. I beat him by a week! Yup, finally had enough of all this shit from my boss and thanks to a timely job offer by a company in a big shiny building in the centre of Manchester, I have found myself in the exciting/nerve-wracking position where I can visit i-resign.com and select one of their nicely scripted resignation letters to address to my boss. Actually, I had to address it to his boss, because he was on holiday.
So now I am in limbo.
Working out my notice period and waiting for notification as to when I can start my new job. I'm a little apprehensive, very excited and more than anything totally relieved to be finally out of this rut I have found myself in. The worrier in me is hoping that everything works out okay because this uncertainty is killing me a bit. The thing is my current work is still as hectic as ever and they are certainly getting their money's worth out of me in these last four weeks and I know I am not gonna get any thanks for it at the end. Sometimes I ask myself why I bother and why I don't just kick back and chill out for the rest of the month, but I am not that kind of person and I will still strive to give at least 100% even though I know I am going.
I'll just keep comforting myself that a couple of weeks worth of unpaid leave is still something to look forward to if things don't happen as quickly as I want them to!
In the meantime, I have been reviving my Sims and sending a few more of my teens through university. I also spent some of my Game voucher a couple of weeks ago on some 'retro' games (that aren't really THAT retro...) such as Sim City and Hotel Giant that I can actually play on my laptop without the system giving up and scaring me stupid when I think it has packed up. Sim City is like Theme Hospital in that there is a turning point when you stop losing money and start making money, then it all goes good.... life is a bit like that too, but the balance point comes at different points for different people I guess.
I've started watching "Best Selling Secrets" recently and it's quite enjoyable. Okay, some of the scripts are a bit strained, but I can live with that in a sitcom. It's good to see a nice mixture of familiar and new faces, Esther is her usual easy-to-watch self and Vin Choi's acting has improved by leaps and bounds since "Brink of Law". Watching Bo Wai Kit (aka Brian Burrell) is a breath of fresh air after so many years of Ho Kwok Wing (Gregory Rivers), who has a tendency to overact, as the resident TVB Caucasian. Another great character is the maid/IT technician/RPG Wizard/Best Friend character Lau Wah, played by Cholam Wong - he is fascinating, funny and just fab! I think he will become another phenomenon like Sai Gwai (Wong Yat San) was in the 90's. The story so far, although exaggerated - but this is a sitcom after all, is quite absorbing, all this conspiracy between Esther, Elaine and 'Vincent' is a refreshing twist and it keeps the suspense value up on what's going to happen to Vin when he finally finds out what's happening! Just proves that Catherine Tsang didn't get where she is for no reason.
Tony Blair quit his job this week, well he handed in his resignation. I beat him by a week! Yup, finally had enough of all this shit from my boss and thanks to a timely job offer by a company in a big shiny building in the centre of Manchester, I have found myself in the exciting/nerve-wracking position where I can visit i-resign.com and select one of their nicely scripted resignation letters to address to my boss. Actually, I had to address it to his boss, because he was on holiday.
So now I am in limbo.
Working out my notice period and waiting for notification as to when I can start my new job. I'm a little apprehensive, very excited and more than anything totally relieved to be finally out of this rut I have found myself in. The worrier in me is hoping that everything works out okay because this uncertainty is killing me a bit. The thing is my current work is still as hectic as ever and they are certainly getting their money's worth out of me in these last four weeks and I know I am not gonna get any thanks for it at the end. Sometimes I ask myself why I bother and why I don't just kick back and chill out for the rest of the month, but I am not that kind of person and I will still strive to give at least 100% even though I know I am going.
I'll just keep comforting myself that a couple of weeks worth of unpaid leave is still something to look forward to if things don't happen as quickly as I want them to!
In the meantime, I have been reviving my Sims and sending a few more of my teens through university. I also spent some of my Game voucher a couple of weeks ago on some 'retro' games (that aren't really THAT retro...) such as Sim City and Hotel Giant that I can actually play on my laptop without the system giving up and scaring me stupid when I think it has packed up. Sim City is like Theme Hospital in that there is a turning point when you stop losing money and start making money, then it all goes good.... life is a bit like that too, but the balance point comes at different points for different people I guess.
I've started watching "Best Selling Secrets" recently and it's quite enjoyable. Okay, some of the scripts are a bit strained, but I can live with that in a sitcom. It's good to see a nice mixture of familiar and new faces, Esther is her usual easy-to-watch self and Vin Choi's acting has improved by leaps and bounds since "Brink of Law". Watching Bo Wai Kit (aka Brian Burrell) is a breath of fresh air after so many years of Ho Kwok Wing (Gregory Rivers), who has a tendency to overact, as the resident TVB Caucasian. Another great character is the maid/IT technician/RPG Wizard/Best Friend character Lau Wah, played by Cholam Wong - he is fascinating, funny and just fab! I think he will become another phenomenon like Sai Gwai (Wong Yat San) was in the 90's. The story so far, although exaggerated - but this is a sitcom after all, is quite absorbing, all this conspiracy between Esther, Elaine and 'Vincent' is a refreshing twist and it keeps the suspense value up on what's going to happen to Vin when he finally finds out what's happening! Just proves that Catherine Tsang didn't get where she is for no reason.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Slicing Demons
After finishing 'Best Bet', which was a bit of fun and not bad as a series, I had a choice of 'Life Art' or 'Slicing of the Demon' to watch next. To avoid Michael Tse overdose, I decided to watch 'Life' first, but I got to episode 6 and was bored out of my brains and ended up half watching whilst I played Cake Mania, so in the end I just gave up. I don't know if it gets better later on, but it bored me to the point where I don't really care. Shame really, it showed promise - I hope 'Super Cops' will be better and Kevin does a better job as a gay murderer!
So I'm currently watching 'Slicing' and it's quite amazing the difference in Michael's character from the 'laan do yee' in 'Best Bet'. It shows a versatility in his acting that was totally wasted during his stint on 'Virtues of Harmony'. We got a glimpse in 'Legal Entanglement' and 'La Femme Desperado' and I am glad that his time in the number 1 spot has finally arrived. 'Slicing' is quite enjoyable. It's a pretty predictable plot, but the scripting has been done well and Elliott Yue and Michael both do a great job of the 'outwardly good inwardly evil' roles. I love their little facial expressions when they are showing their cunning sides. Sunny Chan is back to his old 'dumb plank' role and he isn't really that convincing as the detective in this, but I guess they need a sub-plot to pad out the suspense a little. Once again, Bernice's role is nothing of note and Benz Hui is good as usual as his official role with his 'brief glimpses of genius'. Angela's role is unusual and another surprise is how Charmaine Li's acting has improved leaps and bounds.
Have also caught a few eps of 'Heart of Greed' and really enjoying it so far. Gonna wait until the whole lot is out before I start on it properly.
Talking of slicing demons, I need to slice a few of my own demons soon, otherwise I am gonna turn into a recluse. Motivation is at a low at the moment though and it seems that if I go out, I will just spend lots of money frivolously. Fortunately, I had some vouchers to use up over the weekend, so I didn't actually spend any real 'money', but they won't last forever. I think I need an outlet for my emotions, maybe I should take up kick-boxing or something like that - has to be cheaper than retail therapy.
After finishing 'Best Bet', which was a bit of fun and not bad as a series, I had a choice of 'Life Art' or 'Slicing of the Demon' to watch next. To avoid Michael Tse overdose, I decided to watch 'Life' first, but I got to episode 6 and was bored out of my brains and ended up half watching whilst I played Cake Mania, so in the end I just gave up. I don't know if it gets better later on, but it bored me to the point where I don't really care. Shame really, it showed promise - I hope 'Super Cops' will be better and Kevin does a better job as a gay murderer!
So I'm currently watching 'Slicing' and it's quite amazing the difference in Michael's character from the 'laan do yee' in 'Best Bet'. It shows a versatility in his acting that was totally wasted during his stint on 'Virtues of Harmony'. We got a glimpse in 'Legal Entanglement' and 'La Femme Desperado' and I am glad that his time in the number 1 spot has finally arrived. 'Slicing' is quite enjoyable. It's a pretty predictable plot, but the scripting has been done well and Elliott Yue and Michael both do a great job of the 'outwardly good inwardly evil' roles. I love their little facial expressions when they are showing their cunning sides. Sunny Chan is back to his old 'dumb plank' role and he isn't really that convincing as the detective in this, but I guess they need a sub-plot to pad out the suspense a little. Once again, Bernice's role is nothing of note and Benz Hui is good as usual as his official role with his 'brief glimpses of genius'. Angela's role is unusual and another surprise is how Charmaine Li's acting has improved leaps and bounds.
Have also caught a few eps of 'Heart of Greed' and really enjoying it so far. Gonna wait until the whole lot is out before I start on it properly.
Talking of slicing demons, I need to slice a few of my own demons soon, otherwise I am gonna turn into a recluse. Motivation is at a low at the moment though and it seems that if I go out, I will just spend lots of money frivolously. Fortunately, I had some vouchers to use up over the weekend, so I didn't actually spend any real 'money', but they won't last forever. I think I need an outlet for my emotions, maybe I should take up kick-boxing or something like that - has to be cheaper than retail therapy.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Doing my bit...
Been spring cleaning recently and clearing out some of the junk from my cupboards, mainly because I have had some time off from work to do this (part of my de-stressing plan) and also because there is a prospect of some more of my old junk coming over from my parents that has been displaced from my brother's renovation plans. Another motivation is that I have finally found an excuse to curb my tendency to hoard. I think it's genetic in my family to collect 'stuff' because we feel it is such a great waste to throw things away that is still useable. Hence when I discovered the Freecycle network, where you can give away things that you no longer need to prolong their working life and reduce the amount of unnecessary waste going to landfill, this plugged the hole in my conscience about throwing away perfectly good stuff. Well at least it becomes someone else's problem. And so, the last few days I have been busy freecycling - so far I have given away some futon mattresses to a lady who collects them (I think she works for a homeless hostel or something like that), some paint to a couple who have recently moved house and are trying to save on decorating costs and I have someone coming soon for some cardboard boxes and an old monitor. All good stuff, saves my petrol driving down to the dump and it's doing my bit for the environment as well!
If you have things to dispose of that don't deserve to go to the tip, then definitely get involved. It's an international movement, made up of local groups, so click on the pic above to find out about your local group!
I've finished watching "Devil's Disciple" now, so I'll jump on the bandwagon of DD reviewers and add my tuppence to the debate. I was quite looking forward to this series because I like Bosco and Sharon and of course there is my fixation of kung fu dramas, but I made the mistake of catching the last episode before watching the bulk of it and that put me off a little. If you are considering watching this series, resist the temptation to watch the last episode before the rest of it because you will be very disappointed.
The storyline is quite simple as far as kung fu dramas go, parental vengeance, the clash of good and evil and friendships and brotherhood. The look of the show was unconventional, but the girls looked pretty good and I could live with the weird hairstyles of the men. The 'academy-like' set up of the kung fu school was a bit strained, especially with the silly uniforms and the whole setup around the 'Saintly Sword Sect' was so cliched, from the silly blue neon signs, the sword graveyard and the insanely jealous 'dai see hing' (elder martial brother) and I found it quite annoying. Some great veteran talents were wasted - Ko Hung, Lily Lee, Lee Kwok Lun etc, and I could see why Patricia Liu got fed up after this series and defected to ATV. Their roles were just so immaterial and pointless, yes even the big bad guy wasn't much to talk about.
Given the circumstances, the young leads bore their focus pretty well and of course there was plenty of eye candy in the form of Bosco and Kevin. Shirley and Sharon did very well too and there is consolation in that Sharon is finally getting some meatier roles to get her teeth into. I'm indifferent about Bernice, she is a great promo model and has healthy looks and image, but on the acting front, she still needs an awful lot of work, especially with the more classical lines of an ancient drama. Wayne Lai was another redeeming factor for me, his character was so likeable and he displayed a great chemistry with Bosco. The scenes between them were the highlight of the show for me and the touching scene when Wayne's character died was for me the best bit of the whole series.
Knowing a bit about the background of producer Lau Ka Ho, I could see elements of this series being a homage to the greatness that was "The Final Combat" with Stephen Chow. Whether intentionally or not, there were elements of Chow's Duen Fei character in Johnson Lee's role in this series, from the silliness, extremeness and abrubtness of his actions to his very modern language and gestures. However, having seen it done by the master that is Chow, then as much as I like Johnson, it really didn't appeal and it was such a waste to have him in Chow's shadow rather than creating something new for Johnson to be remembered for. I have the feeling that TVB's producers are relishing far too much on their past successes and becoming lazy in creating some present-day classics for us to enjoy.
Overall, I wasn't too taken by this show and although it didn't turn out to be as much of a disappointment as 'CIB Files' last year, thanks to Bosco and Wayne, I felt that it really was a waste of what had the potential to be an attractive CG-heavy martial arts series along the lines of 'Golden Snake Sword' and 'Gods and Demons from Zu Mountains' from the past. If I was to re-watch it, I'd probably just fast forward to the bits with Bosco, Wayne and Sharon in and forget the rest of it.
Currently watching "Best Bet", which I feel is quite refreshing and underrated. Not a sparkling cast line-up, but with the right frame of mind it is proving to be very enjoyable. Michael Tse and Wayne Lai just prove that with great acting skills and perfect comedic timing, then eye candy is not so important after all.
Been spring cleaning recently and clearing out some of the junk from my cupboards, mainly because I have had some time off from work to do this (part of my de-stressing plan) and also because there is a prospect of some more of my old junk coming over from my parents that has been displaced from my brother's renovation plans. Another motivation is that I have finally found an excuse to curb my tendency to hoard. I think it's genetic in my family to collect 'stuff' because we feel it is such a great waste to throw things away that is still useable. Hence when I discovered the Freecycle network, where you can give away things that you no longer need to prolong their working life and reduce the amount of unnecessary waste going to landfill, this plugged the hole in my conscience about throwing away perfectly good stuff. Well at least it becomes someone else's problem. And so, the last few days I have been busy freecycling - so far I have given away some futon mattresses to a lady who collects them (I think she works for a homeless hostel or something like that), some paint to a couple who have recently moved house and are trying to save on decorating costs and I have someone coming soon for some cardboard boxes and an old monitor. All good stuff, saves my petrol driving down to the dump and it's doing my bit for the environment as well!
If you have things to dispose of that don't deserve to go to the tip, then definitely get involved. It's an international movement, made up of local groups, so click on the pic above to find out about your local group!
I've finished watching "Devil's Disciple" now, so I'll jump on the bandwagon of DD reviewers and add my tuppence to the debate. I was quite looking forward to this series because I like Bosco and Sharon and of course there is my fixation of kung fu dramas, but I made the mistake of catching the last episode before watching the bulk of it and that put me off a little. If you are considering watching this series, resist the temptation to watch the last episode before the rest of it because you will be very disappointed.
The storyline is quite simple as far as kung fu dramas go, parental vengeance, the clash of good and evil and friendships and brotherhood. The look of the show was unconventional, but the girls looked pretty good and I could live with the weird hairstyles of the men. The 'academy-like' set up of the kung fu school was a bit strained, especially with the silly uniforms and the whole setup around the 'Saintly Sword Sect' was so cliched, from the silly blue neon signs, the sword graveyard and the insanely jealous 'dai see hing' (elder martial brother) and I found it quite annoying. Some great veteran talents were wasted - Ko Hung, Lily Lee, Lee Kwok Lun etc, and I could see why Patricia Liu got fed up after this series and defected to ATV. Their roles were just so immaterial and pointless, yes even the big bad guy wasn't much to talk about.
Given the circumstances, the young leads bore their focus pretty well and of course there was plenty of eye candy in the form of Bosco and Kevin. Shirley and Sharon did very well too and there is consolation in that Sharon is finally getting some meatier roles to get her teeth into. I'm indifferent about Bernice, she is a great promo model and has healthy looks and image, but on the acting front, she still needs an awful lot of work, especially with the more classical lines of an ancient drama. Wayne Lai was another redeeming factor for me, his character was so likeable and he displayed a great chemistry with Bosco. The scenes between them were the highlight of the show for me and the touching scene when Wayne's character died was for me the best bit of the whole series.
Knowing a bit about the background of producer Lau Ka Ho, I could see elements of this series being a homage to the greatness that was "The Final Combat" with Stephen Chow. Whether intentionally or not, there were elements of Chow's Duen Fei character in Johnson Lee's role in this series, from the silliness, extremeness and abrubtness of his actions to his very modern language and gestures. However, having seen it done by the master that is Chow, then as much as I like Johnson, it really didn't appeal and it was such a waste to have him in Chow's shadow rather than creating something new for Johnson to be remembered for. I have the feeling that TVB's producers are relishing far too much on their past successes and becoming lazy in creating some present-day classics for us to enjoy.
Overall, I wasn't too taken by this show and although it didn't turn out to be as much of a disappointment as 'CIB Files' last year, thanks to Bosco and Wayne, I felt that it really was a waste of what had the potential to be an attractive CG-heavy martial arts series along the lines of 'Golden Snake Sword' and 'Gods and Demons from Zu Mountains' from the past. If I was to re-watch it, I'd probably just fast forward to the bits with Bosco, Wayne and Sharon in and forget the rest of it.
Currently watching "Best Bet", which I feel is quite refreshing and underrated. Not a sparkling cast line-up, but with the right frame of mind it is proving to be very enjoyable. Michael Tse and Wayne Lai just prove that with great acting skills and perfect comedic timing, then eye candy is not so important after all.
Monday, January 15, 2007
You know you're the boss when...
everyone else turns up in suits and boots and you turn up in jeans!
This photo made me laugh today!
Stephen Chan rules!!
everyone else turns up in suits and boots and you turn up in jeans!
This photo made me laugh today!
Stephen Chan rules!!
Labels: TVB
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Addicted to 'Dicey Business'...
I've been pretty hooked on 'Dicey Business' over the last few weeks because it is a rare occurrence in recent TVB history to find a series that shows a little depth and so many great talents gathered together. The storyline was refreshing and contrary to the original first impressions, it wasn't just a rehash of some earlier gambling related series. It was far more 21st Century, dealing with a lot of human emotions and reflections of modern day society and not just fancy card tricks and big guns. The plot and suspense was spread throughout the whole series and did not just fizzle out half way as is the case with many of TVB's recent productions. The twists and turns in the storyline, the changes of personality as the characters matured and the sensitive elements portrayed all contributed to a high quality presentation from producer Cheung Kin Man, whose earlier productions included 'Au Revoir Shanghai' and 'Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion'.
With 'sam gor' Michael Miu and Bobby Au Yeung at the helm of this series, the potential was there from day one. Throw in the versatility of Jessica Hsuan and two of the most promising young TVB actors Bosco Wong and Tavia Yeung and this is looking cast-wise like a recipe for success. Michael pulled off his troubled 'hero-turned-villain' character of Kiu Ching Chor extremely well and his gamble to sacrifice his usual image of the 'good guy' seems to have paid off. His scenes of internal conflict, especially during the scenes with his mother (Leung Shun Yin) and the scenes where Benz Hui's character is dying were so moving that you were crying for him inside. Bobby showed that he can do more than just comedy and professional characters by playing his reformed down-and-out gambler role of Chai Foon Cheung. Memorable scenes for him included his crying scenes at his parent's shrine and in the sewer when he found out about the history of Bosco's character Ah Fu. I have never seen Bobby so sentimental before and the scene was extremely powerful.
I have always enjoyed Jessica's acting, but I couldn't help but find her recent roles in 'Just Love', 'A Handful of Love' and even 'Life Made Simple' rather samey and monotonous, so her compulsive gambler role of Lee Ching Wan in 'Dicey Business' was a welcome breath of fresh air. She really let herself go, especially in her moments of madness at the casinos and she convinced you totally of how she managed to attract the attentions of casino CEO Michael. In another fresh trial, Bosco played a withdrawn young man who had been through plenty of ordeals in his life and he did extremely well in showing his character's strife in the early part of the show by using just body language in many scenes. He showed some excellent chemistry with Tavia throughout their sub-story and they really did seem like they shared some very innocent love between them. Bosco maintained the innocence throughout the series and having Bobby beat him with a feather duster towards the end to wake him up to his responsibilities was a nice touch that I found particularly memorable. Also deserving of a mention were Benz Hui's superbly camp but ever so lovable 'best friend' character of Chow Fook Wing, Florence Kwok's dependable person in the background Lam Siu Yan and the extremely funny antics of Tavia's mum and dad, played by Lee Kwok Lun and Yvonne Lam.
The show was a balanced mix of comedy, drama, love, passion and friendship. Topics tackled included gambling addiction, commercial greed, business battles, criminal activity, conflicts between allegiances, relationships and even psychological warfare. Plenty to keep most audiences occupied. Of course, there were the scenes of poker and showhand that contributed to atmosphere, this is after all a show about gambling. Overall, it was a very enjoyable production and there was not one character that I disliked in the show. I have not anticipated the next episode for a series in recent times as much as I have for this one, especially as each episode ends on a cliff-hanger.
Totally recommend this series.... you won't be disappointed!
Whilst on the topic of TVB, we have more or less given up with "To Grow with Love". Progress has been slow as I am watching this with my hubby who isn't so much of a TVB fan and since the arrival of the Wii, then Fat Tin has been shelved as the joys of Wii Tennis and Zelda took over the after dinner entertainment slot in my house. Maybe we will continue sometime later, but having got up to episode 12, I am not really missing the rest of this series.
I have been watching my latest idol Stephen Chan's show "Be My Guest" though. It is such an interesting chat show and quite intriguing to find out a little more about the stars and celebs. I particularly enjoyed the ones with Lydia Sum and Softhard and Mr Chan is such a charismatic host. No wonder his radio show was so popular when he did it. Talking of Softhard, the DVD for their stage show arrived yesterday, so I went straight for the best bits in disc 3, where they showed all the guest portions, including Leon Lai, Eason Chan, Leo Ku and Miriam Yeung. They are so funny, especially when they change the lyrics to something reflective of their guests' backgrounds, such as Jacky Cheung's associations with Disney and Eason's collaboration with McDonalds. Yet to watch the rest of the show, but just this bit was worth the £18 investment on its own.
What next? I watched an ep of 'The Price of Greed' and it looks promising, but I think I might suffer from Bosco Overdose if I watch it straight away after 'Dicey'. The trailers for 'The Brink of Law' look really good with all the guys wearing dishy specs and some interesting storylines, so I might grab that one next. Also the return of another of my favourite veterans Elliot Yue should be something of note.
I've been pretty hooked on 'Dicey Business' over the last few weeks because it is a rare occurrence in recent TVB history to find a series that shows a little depth and so many great talents gathered together. The storyline was refreshing and contrary to the original first impressions, it wasn't just a rehash of some earlier gambling related series. It was far more 21st Century, dealing with a lot of human emotions and reflections of modern day society and not just fancy card tricks and big guns. The plot and suspense was spread throughout the whole series and did not just fizzle out half way as is the case with many of TVB's recent productions. The twists and turns in the storyline, the changes of personality as the characters matured and the sensitive elements portrayed all contributed to a high quality presentation from producer Cheung Kin Man, whose earlier productions included 'Au Revoir Shanghai' and 'Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion'.
With 'sam gor' Michael Miu and Bobby Au Yeung at the helm of this series, the potential was there from day one. Throw in the versatility of Jessica Hsuan and two of the most promising young TVB actors Bosco Wong and Tavia Yeung and this is looking cast-wise like a recipe for success. Michael pulled off his troubled 'hero-turned-villain' character of Kiu Ching Chor extremely well and his gamble to sacrifice his usual image of the 'good guy' seems to have paid off. His scenes of internal conflict, especially during the scenes with his mother (Leung Shun Yin) and the scenes where Benz Hui's character is dying were so moving that you were crying for him inside. Bobby showed that he can do more than just comedy and professional characters by playing his reformed down-and-out gambler role of Chai Foon Cheung. Memorable scenes for him included his crying scenes at his parent's shrine and in the sewer when he found out about the history of Bosco's character Ah Fu. I have never seen Bobby so sentimental before and the scene was extremely powerful.
I have always enjoyed Jessica's acting, but I couldn't help but find her recent roles in 'Just Love', 'A Handful of Love' and even 'Life Made Simple' rather samey and monotonous, so her compulsive gambler role of Lee Ching Wan in 'Dicey Business' was a welcome breath of fresh air. She really let herself go, especially in her moments of madness at the casinos and she convinced you totally of how she managed to attract the attentions of casino CEO Michael. In another fresh trial, Bosco played a withdrawn young man who had been through plenty of ordeals in his life and he did extremely well in showing his character's strife in the early part of the show by using just body language in many scenes. He showed some excellent chemistry with Tavia throughout their sub-story and they really did seem like they shared some very innocent love between them. Bosco maintained the innocence throughout the series and having Bobby beat him with a feather duster towards the end to wake him up to his responsibilities was a nice touch that I found particularly memorable. Also deserving of a mention were Benz Hui's superbly camp but ever so lovable 'best friend' character of Chow Fook Wing, Florence Kwok's dependable person in the background Lam Siu Yan and the extremely funny antics of Tavia's mum and dad, played by Lee Kwok Lun and Yvonne Lam.
The show was a balanced mix of comedy, drama, love, passion and friendship. Topics tackled included gambling addiction, commercial greed, business battles, criminal activity, conflicts between allegiances, relationships and even psychological warfare. Plenty to keep most audiences occupied. Of course, there were the scenes of poker and showhand that contributed to atmosphere, this is after all a show about gambling. Overall, it was a very enjoyable production and there was not one character that I disliked in the show. I have not anticipated the next episode for a series in recent times as much as I have for this one, especially as each episode ends on a cliff-hanger.
Totally recommend this series.... you won't be disappointed!
Whilst on the topic of TVB, we have more or less given up with "To Grow with Love". Progress has been slow as I am watching this with my hubby who isn't so much of a TVB fan and since the arrival of the Wii, then Fat Tin has been shelved as the joys of Wii Tennis and Zelda took over the after dinner entertainment slot in my house. Maybe we will continue sometime later, but having got up to episode 12, I am not really missing the rest of this series.
I have been watching my latest idol Stephen Chan's show "Be My Guest" though. It is such an interesting chat show and quite intriguing to find out a little more about the stars and celebs. I particularly enjoyed the ones with Lydia Sum and Softhard and Mr Chan is such a charismatic host. No wonder his radio show was so popular when he did it. Talking of Softhard, the DVD for their stage show arrived yesterday, so I went straight for the best bits in disc 3, where they showed all the guest portions, including Leon Lai, Eason Chan, Leo Ku and Miriam Yeung. They are so funny, especially when they change the lyrics to something reflective of their guests' backgrounds, such as Jacky Cheung's associations with Disney and Eason's collaboration with McDonalds. Yet to watch the rest of the show, but just this bit was worth the £18 investment on its own.
What next? I watched an ep of 'The Price of Greed' and it looks promising, but I think I might suffer from Bosco Overdose if I watch it straight away after 'Dicey'. The trailers for 'The Brink of Law' look really good with all the guys wearing dishy specs and some interesting storylines, so I might grab that one next. Also the return of another of my favourite veterans Elliot Yue should be something of note.
Labels: TVB
Monday, December 04, 2006
Thinking of Gran, Christmas Shopping and Old Friends
Visited my gran in hospital on Friday, she's had a pretty bad setback and is coming to terms with not being able to live as active a lifestyle as she has been over the years. She was telling me about how she won't be able to sing Cantonese opera any more or go shopping in the market for the best cuts of beef and pork and I felt a lump in my throat, but didn't want to show her how sad I felt. She seems so weak at the moment - a far cry from the strong independent woman who looked after me as a child. I am glad that I managed to take her on holiday earlier on in the year, but I am sad that we won't be able to do it again. I hope that she will regain some strength soon and my grandad will look down from heaven and protect her.
Then yesterday I got dragged out by hubby to go Christmas shopping. I really wanted to just stay in and sleep, but I guess it's better to get the inevitable out of the way. Picked up some toys for the kids and wandered around Ikea after stopping for lunch there - we like the meatballs and the ice cream there. I wasn't really in the right frame of mind for shopping though because I wasn't in a spending mood, so I left all the spending to my hubby and kinda just wandered around in a bit of a daze. I perked up a bit in the evening when we visited another shopping centre and my credit card finally came out to get a couple of presents for people. In the evening I wrote out a load of Christmas cards for my mother-in-law to people who I don't really know, so I just kinda guessed what to write in them and hoped for the best.
I started writing my own cards today and I realised how rubbish I am at keeping in touch with old friends who don't email or go on MSN. Sending them a card once a year with a few lines scribbled inside is about all the contact we have nowadays, but I guess that is better than not having any contact at all, which is the case with 99% of my primary and secondary schoolfriends. Sad, but true. I also finally got round to physically writing a reply to one of my old penpals who still sends me the odd letter once in a blue moon because she says it's nice to receive an old fashioned snail mail letter once in a while. Have to admit though that it took an awful lot of effort to pick up a pen and rack my brains on how to express myself with pen and paper and in Chinese too. Evolution in action - soon I will forget completely how to write and depend totally on this keyboard to express myself.
The Hong Kong press have been keeping me busy recently with the whole 'Gay Affairs' piece and surprisingly the other hot topic at the moment is who the traitor is who sold out on Sammul Chan and caused him so much bitterness that he has had to let it out as soon as he leaves TVB. All fun and games, but personally, I think he is being quite petty and childish about it all. He may feel justified in airing his views and he probably feels bad that TVB haven't even considered him for any awards this year, but to stamp his feet and throw his dummy out of the pram is not really the best way to build up your own image. The spearhead is pointed at Kenneth Ma, but I think that even though Kenneth isn't quite the innocent that he portrays, at least he is playing the game right, keeping to the rules and this in itself is deserving of an award. Face it Sammul, everything in this society is all about politics. You can't beat 'em, so if you don't join 'em, then you're out of the game. Same with any workplace really... including mine.
TVB-wise been watching 'To Grow with Love' and 'Dicey Business and am three-quarters into rewatching 'A Step into the Past'. Gotta take my hat off to Raymond Lam, even five years ago, his portrayal of the young First Emperor was exemplary. Raymond Lam, Louis Koo, Derek Kwok, Jimmy Au all in one series... what more could I ask for? Hahaha!!
Wii arrives in 5 days - to sell or not to sell, that is the question!
Visited my gran in hospital on Friday, she's had a pretty bad setback and is coming to terms with not being able to live as active a lifestyle as she has been over the years. She was telling me about how she won't be able to sing Cantonese opera any more or go shopping in the market for the best cuts of beef and pork and I felt a lump in my throat, but didn't want to show her how sad I felt. She seems so weak at the moment - a far cry from the strong independent woman who looked after me as a child. I am glad that I managed to take her on holiday earlier on in the year, but I am sad that we won't be able to do it again. I hope that she will regain some strength soon and my grandad will look down from heaven and protect her.
Then yesterday I got dragged out by hubby to go Christmas shopping. I really wanted to just stay in and sleep, but I guess it's better to get the inevitable out of the way. Picked up some toys for the kids and wandered around Ikea after stopping for lunch there - we like the meatballs and the ice cream there. I wasn't really in the right frame of mind for shopping though because I wasn't in a spending mood, so I left all the spending to my hubby and kinda just wandered around in a bit of a daze. I perked up a bit in the evening when we visited another shopping centre and my credit card finally came out to get a couple of presents for people. In the evening I wrote out a load of Christmas cards for my mother-in-law to people who I don't really know, so I just kinda guessed what to write in them and hoped for the best.
I started writing my own cards today and I realised how rubbish I am at keeping in touch with old friends who don't email or go on MSN. Sending them a card once a year with a few lines scribbled inside is about all the contact we have nowadays, but I guess that is better than not having any contact at all, which is the case with 99% of my primary and secondary schoolfriends. Sad, but true. I also finally got round to physically writing a reply to one of my old penpals who still sends me the odd letter once in a blue moon because she says it's nice to receive an old fashioned snail mail letter once in a while. Have to admit though that it took an awful lot of effort to pick up a pen and rack my brains on how to express myself with pen and paper and in Chinese too. Evolution in action - soon I will forget completely how to write and depend totally on this keyboard to express myself.
The Hong Kong press have been keeping me busy recently with the whole 'Gay Affairs' piece and surprisingly the other hot topic at the moment is who the traitor is who sold out on Sammul Chan and caused him so much bitterness that he has had to let it out as soon as he leaves TVB. All fun and games, but personally, I think he is being quite petty and childish about it all. He may feel justified in airing his views and he probably feels bad that TVB haven't even considered him for any awards this year, but to stamp his feet and throw his dummy out of the pram is not really the best way to build up your own image. The spearhead is pointed at Kenneth Ma, but I think that even though Kenneth isn't quite the innocent that he portrays, at least he is playing the game right, keeping to the rules and this in itself is deserving of an award. Face it Sammul, everything in this society is all about politics. You can't beat 'em, so if you don't join 'em, then you're out of the game. Same with any workplace really... including mine.
TVB-wise been watching 'To Grow with Love' and 'Dicey Business and am three-quarters into rewatching 'A Step into the Past'. Gotta take my hat off to Raymond Lam, even five years ago, his portrayal of the young First Emperor was exemplary. Raymond Lam, Louis Koo, Derek Kwok, Jimmy Au all in one series... what more could I ask for? Hahaha!!
Wii arrives in 5 days - to sell or not to sell, that is the question!
Labels: family, hk celebs, life, shopping, TVB
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Free Wii!!
Dear Customer,
Due to a European shortage of the Nintendo Wii Consoles, we regret to inform you that we will be unable to supply your pre-ordered Nintendo Wii at launch. As an Official distributor of Nintendo products we are guaranteed more stock before Christmas, but Nintendo have informed us, along with all other official Nintendo retailers, that the console will not be freely available until next year.
All pre-orders will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis and we will fulfil your order as soon as we can.
Hmm... does this mean that there will be a massive market for inflated prices for Wii's on Ebay? I placed my order at lunchtime on Day 1 of launch, so I should be quite high up on the list and hey, if I can double my money and in effect get my Wii for free, then I don't mind waiting an extra few months for my machine. Hahaha... My colleague is laughing all the way to the bank because he pre-ordered SEVEN of them from various places to make sure he got one. He was going to cancel the ones he didn't need, but now he's looking at a tidy profit if he gets them all fulfilled!!
Back to work again, the week in Liverpool kinda flew by. It was nice to be back with the sibs again, even though everyone ends up doing their own thing in the evenings. Managed another trip to the cinema whilst I was there and we caught the Borat film. We've been fans of him from the TV show, so we really enjoyed it, even though it was pretty obvious which scenes were staged and which were 'real'. Still wanna catch 'Open Season' and waiting for the new Aardman/Dreamworks collaboration 'Flushed Away' - looks really good in the trailers.
Been mad busy back at normal work - loads of people off sick at the moment with various ailments, so the rest of us have to work extra hard to make sure all the work gets done. As a result, the bosses have been extra careful not to upset everyone and it's been fairly smooth running despite the pressure. I don't mind it being busy, the days fly by and when you get stuck into what you're doing, you look up and it's lunchtime, then you look up again and it's time to go home.
Winter's really setting in now, can't believe it's November again. One good thing about being back to GMT is that the HK papers update an hour earlier, so I can get my news translations done an hour earlier and have a bit more time to myself before bedtime to chill out, write my blog and watch my series and stuff. Still watching "Land of Wealth" and am re-watching 80's series "It Runs in the Family" (Stephen Chow and Sean Lau) that I bought on VCD. Funny stuff!
Dear Customer,
Due to a European shortage of the Nintendo Wii Consoles, we regret to inform you that we will be unable to supply your pre-ordered Nintendo Wii at launch. As an Official distributor of Nintendo products we are guaranteed more stock before Christmas, but Nintendo have informed us, along with all other official Nintendo retailers, that the console will not be freely available until next year.
All pre-orders will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis and we will fulfil your order as soon as we can.
Hmm... does this mean that there will be a massive market for inflated prices for Wii's on Ebay? I placed my order at lunchtime on Day 1 of launch, so I should be quite high up on the list and hey, if I can double my money and in effect get my Wii for free, then I don't mind waiting an extra few months for my machine. Hahaha... My colleague is laughing all the way to the bank because he pre-ordered SEVEN of them from various places to make sure he got one. He was going to cancel the ones he didn't need, but now he's looking at a tidy profit if he gets them all fulfilled!!
Back to work again, the week in Liverpool kinda flew by. It was nice to be back with the sibs again, even though everyone ends up doing their own thing in the evenings. Managed another trip to the cinema whilst I was there and we caught the Borat film. We've been fans of him from the TV show, so we really enjoyed it, even though it was pretty obvious which scenes were staged and which were 'real'. Still wanna catch 'Open Season' and waiting for the new Aardman/Dreamworks collaboration 'Flushed Away' - looks really good in the trailers.
Been mad busy back at normal work - loads of people off sick at the moment with various ailments, so the rest of us have to work extra hard to make sure all the work gets done. As a result, the bosses have been extra careful not to upset everyone and it's been fairly smooth running despite the pressure. I don't mind it being busy, the days fly by and when you get stuck into what you're doing, you look up and it's lunchtime, then you look up again and it's time to go home.
Winter's really setting in now, can't believe it's November again. One good thing about being back to GMT is that the HK papers update an hour earlier, so I can get my news translations done an hour earlier and have a bit more time to myself before bedtime to chill out, write my blog and watch my series and stuff. Still watching "Land of Wealth" and am re-watching 80's series "It Runs in the Family" (Stephen Chow and Sean Lau) that I bought on VCD. Funny stuff!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Back in Scouseland
Back 'home' in Liverpool again looking after the shop this week. Things are pretty quiet though, so I have been catching up on some rest and TVB viewing.
"Maiden's Vow" was okay. The first story was quite good as I liked watching Sammul Chan's nasty streak. The second story was deadly boring and you just wanted to slap Charmaine's character for being so dumb. Third story was daft, like watching a silly sitcom, but then again I have never been much of a fan of the seventies series and the last story was cute - again, Sammul did great as the gay guy! I'd so love to have a mate like him, he was so caring and sensitive. I think Charmaine and Joe were at their most natural in the last story too, but the ending was just plain stupid. TVB have never been good with their endings - this series was no breakthrough.
I start on "Land of Wealth" this evening, although I have jumped ahead a bit and watched some of "To Grow With Love" to see what the hype was all about. It's okay so far, nice light comedy - I think I have to be in the right frame of mind to watch it though otherwise the shallow plot would just totally annoy me. My copy of classic ATV drama "Coincidentally" arrived this week as well, so my entertainment for the next few weeks is cut out.
Also went to watch "The Departed" yesterday. Being a big fan of the "Infernal Affairs" movies and based on the comments I have heard from other people, I didn't hold out much expectation for the film and it was a good job because I fell asleep for a few minutes in the middle of it. Yes it was that stimulating! There is no way that DiCaprio and Damon could match the charisma and charm of Lau and Leung and Mark Wahlberg was the only redeeming factor in the film. Jack Nicholson couldn't quite master the comedic timing of the Eric Tsang character and the incontinuity of the Sor Keung thread (played out in 'Departed' by various different people in the gang) destroyed the humour. Trying to combine all three films into one meant there was no suspense and the decision to drop the 'aside' where Leung and Lau meet in the hi-fi store was a bad one, because that ironic scene was one of the best in the original film. What made my experience worse was that the woman sitting behind me kept kicking my seat and then gasping in terror whenever she saw the unnecessarily graphic gore scenes. Maybe she should go and see a less violent film in the next screen instead, maybe "Open Season" would have been more in her league. Talking of which, I might go and catch that next - saw some trailers and they are hilarious!
Back 'home' in Liverpool again looking after the shop this week. Things are pretty quiet though, so I have been catching up on some rest and TVB viewing.
"Maiden's Vow" was okay. The first story was quite good as I liked watching Sammul Chan's nasty streak. The second story was deadly boring and you just wanted to slap Charmaine's character for being so dumb. Third story was daft, like watching a silly sitcom, but then again I have never been much of a fan of the seventies series and the last story was cute - again, Sammul did great as the gay guy! I'd so love to have a mate like him, he was so caring and sensitive. I think Charmaine and Joe were at their most natural in the last story too, but the ending was just plain stupid. TVB have never been good with their endings - this series was no breakthrough.
I start on "Land of Wealth" this evening, although I have jumped ahead a bit and watched some of "To Grow With Love" to see what the hype was all about. It's okay so far, nice light comedy - I think I have to be in the right frame of mind to watch it though otherwise the shallow plot would just totally annoy me. My copy of classic ATV drama "Coincidentally" arrived this week as well, so my entertainment for the next few weeks is cut out.
Also went to watch "The Departed" yesterday. Being a big fan of the "Infernal Affairs" movies and based on the comments I have heard from other people, I didn't hold out much expectation for the film and it was a good job because I fell asleep for a few minutes in the middle of it. Yes it was that stimulating! There is no way that DiCaprio and Damon could match the charisma and charm of Lau and Leung and Mark Wahlberg was the only redeeming factor in the film. Jack Nicholson couldn't quite master the comedic timing of the Eric Tsang character and the incontinuity of the Sor Keung thread (played out in 'Departed' by various different people in the gang) destroyed the humour. Trying to combine all three films into one meant there was no suspense and the decision to drop the 'aside' where Leung and Lau meet in the hi-fi store was a bad one, because that ironic scene was one of the best in the original film. What made my experience worse was that the woman sitting behind me kept kicking my seat and then gasping in terror whenever she saw the unnecessarily graphic gore scenes. Maybe she should go and see a less violent film in the next screen instead, maybe "Open Season" would have been more in her league. Talking of which, I might go and catch that next - saw some trailers and they are hilarious!
Sunday, October 22, 2006
"Face to Fate" and my addiction to Wuxia series
At the expense of some sleep and a couple of shopping/dimsum trips, combined with a contribution from shittyhormone insomnia and PMT lethargy, I have managed to polish off all 30 episodes of "Face to Fate" in the space of a week! I guess it is also down to my crazy addiction to 'wuxia' (ancient martial arts) series, especially when there is an element of fantasy in the storyline. I just get hooked and have to keep watching, even multitasking goes out of the window as it's one of the very few things in life that gets my undivided attention. I remember I once spent an Easter weekend doing nothing but re-watching Ekin Cheng's "Golden Snake Sword" and by the end of it, I must have left an imprint of my bum on the sofa! Oh and the eye candy helps as well... hehehe!
The series was based on a novel by Wan Shui On, but according to another report I had read somewhere, it is nothing at all like the original story. Typical TVB to adapt it into something completely different. There were a couple of stupid TVB-esque things I noticed that probably would have bugged the hell out of me in another series, such as the rubber tubing that Lai Yeuk Yi (Raymond Lam) and his brother used in their 'blood cleaning', the suggestion that they had transporters to get them from place to place in record speed and that they never had any luggage with them, but still had about three changes of clothing even when they were camping out in a cave. I think that the logical layout of the series - 'we have to find five heroes, seven ingredients to the cure and endure five rounds of the 'Golden Seal' tournament' - appealed to the logic of my mind and kept me going and the producer/scriptwriter did a good job of ending each episode on a cliffhanger, so you simply had to watch a little bit more to find out what happened. Another reason why I liked this series was that the characters were not all clear cut good or bad. Unlike most wuxia, where people are very clearcut goody-goody or evil villains, nearly all the main characters had a 'grey area', where they were neither good or evil. Even the protagonist, Lee Bo Yi (Frankie Lam) is neither a member of the black or the white and has his own weaknesses and demons to deal with.
The main cast was pretty good, Frankie, Raymond, Tavia and Selena all pulled off a decent performance and I particularly enjoyed the unconditional friendship between Frankie and Raymond's characters. However, the show was definitely made by the supporting cast - Derek and Nancy's romance was really sweet (although there was a tad too much 'run n hug' going on), the 'heroes' - Jimmy Au, Lee Ka Sing, Al Wai, Evergreen and Fiona - had some interesting mini-stories and I liked the fact that the main sect introduced much more than just the top four students and helped to introduce some fresher faces by delving a little deeper into the characters of the 'younger' students such as Chan Kwan, Matt Yeung and the girl who played 'Yat Ha' (her name slips my mind). The storyline was well organised and visually, this was another attractively presented series (not quite as good as 'War of In-Laws', but still good), bearing in mind the budgets and lack of location filming. Most of the location scenes were shot in Yuen Long's Tai Tong Lychee Valley, but they made the most of what they had and I thought they did a good job.
Oh I seemed to have slipped into review mode again, but I do recommend this series if you are into your martial arts. It's a shame though that this series will probably never be aired on mainstream Hong Kong television because it is typical of an 'export' production that is destined for Pay Vision. The Hong Kong viewers miss out on so much good stuff because they have a distinct preference for shallow, meaningless comedies. Hopefully TVB will continue to make at least a few quality productions per year and not just give in to mindless commercial pap. I'm off to watch "Maiden's Vow" now, but the multitasking will be back for that one. Not really too interested and it's just a stopgap whilst I am waiting to get my hands on "Land of Wealth".
At the expense of some sleep and a couple of shopping/dimsum trips, combined with a contribution from shittyhormone insomnia and PMT lethargy, I have managed to polish off all 30 episodes of "Face to Fate" in the space of a week! I guess it is also down to my crazy addiction to 'wuxia' (ancient martial arts) series, especially when there is an element of fantasy in the storyline. I just get hooked and have to keep watching, even multitasking goes out of the window as it's one of the very few things in life that gets my undivided attention. I remember I once spent an Easter weekend doing nothing but re-watching Ekin Cheng's "Golden Snake Sword" and by the end of it, I must have left an imprint of my bum on the sofa! Oh and the eye candy helps as well... hehehe!
The series was based on a novel by Wan Shui On, but according to another report I had read somewhere, it is nothing at all like the original story. Typical TVB to adapt it into something completely different. There were a couple of stupid TVB-esque things I noticed that probably would have bugged the hell out of me in another series, such as the rubber tubing that Lai Yeuk Yi (Raymond Lam) and his brother used in their 'blood cleaning', the suggestion that they had transporters to get them from place to place in record speed and that they never had any luggage with them, but still had about three changes of clothing even when they were camping out in a cave. I think that the logical layout of the series - 'we have to find five heroes, seven ingredients to the cure and endure five rounds of the 'Golden Seal' tournament' - appealed to the logic of my mind and kept me going and the producer/scriptwriter did a good job of ending each episode on a cliffhanger, so you simply had to watch a little bit more to find out what happened. Another reason why I liked this series was that the characters were not all clear cut good or bad. Unlike most wuxia, where people are very clearcut goody-goody or evil villains, nearly all the main characters had a 'grey area', where they were neither good or evil. Even the protagonist, Lee Bo Yi (Frankie Lam) is neither a member of the black or the white and has his own weaknesses and demons to deal with.
The main cast was pretty good, Frankie, Raymond, Tavia and Selena all pulled off a decent performance and I particularly enjoyed the unconditional friendship between Frankie and Raymond's characters. However, the show was definitely made by the supporting cast - Derek and Nancy's romance was really sweet (although there was a tad too much 'run n hug' going on), the 'heroes' - Jimmy Au, Lee Ka Sing, Al Wai, Evergreen and Fiona - had some interesting mini-stories and I liked the fact that the main sect introduced much more than just the top four students and helped to introduce some fresher faces by delving a little deeper into the characters of the 'younger' students such as Chan Kwan, Matt Yeung and the girl who played 'Yat Ha' (her name slips my mind). The storyline was well organised and visually, this was another attractively presented series (not quite as good as 'War of In-Laws', but still good), bearing in mind the budgets and lack of location filming. Most of the location scenes were shot in Yuen Long's Tai Tong Lychee Valley, but they made the most of what they had and I thought they did a good job.
Oh I seemed to have slipped into review mode again, but I do recommend this series if you are into your martial arts. It's a shame though that this series will probably never be aired on mainstream Hong Kong television because it is typical of an 'export' production that is destined for Pay Vision. The Hong Kong viewers miss out on so much good stuff because they have a distinct preference for shallow, meaningless comedies. Hopefully TVB will continue to make at least a few quality productions per year and not just give in to mindless commercial pap. I'm off to watch "Maiden's Vow" now, but the multitasking will be back for that one. Not really too interested and it's just a stopgap whilst I am waiting to get my hands on "Land of Wealth".
Labels: TVB
Sunday, October 01, 2006
CIB Files - "Can It Be" any worse?
Haven't done a TVB post in a while, but I was so disappointed by the much anticipated "CIB Files" that I have to mention it here, so if anyone reading this is in two minds as to whether or watch, I can save you some time and help you with your decision - don't bother!
I have to admit, I was quite looking forward to watching this series. There was so much potential in the storylines and backdrop, the cast was solid with some great talent and after reading Greg Rivers' enthusiastic blog post about it, I thought that it would yield another excellent police series, following in the footsteps of "Forensic Heroes" and the classic "Detective Investigation Files". After watching the series, the cynic in me is beginning to suspect that Mr Rivers was trying a little too hard to promote his series. I felt cheated.
The first episode proved promising, there was a little mystery in it, some investigation and second guessing and the characters were introduced with some intrigue. Unfortunately, it all fizzled out in the second episode and after that, the series began deteriorating into a mishmash of second-rate soap opera, attempted comedy and a modern-day tribute to Producer Chik's earlier success story in "War and Beauty". The cases became mundane and dismissive, the characters all displayed varying levels of blind stupidity and the 'flashbacks' to WAB such as Bowie's 'discussions' with Patricia, the love-hate relationship between Bowie and his father and the downbeaten Kenny Wong scenes were irrelevant and irritating, leaving me thinking to myself: "Eh? What was that all about?"
My view is that with top class actors such as Wong He and Christine Ng on board, Chik could have done so much more to enhance the show if he had concentrated more on the cases and the depth of the characters. There were so many unanswered questions: What had Christine endured to get to her position? Why was she so bitter with Bowie? What made Bowie change his mind about his father all of a sudden? How had Ah He's experiences undercover affected him? How had Maggie dealt with her ordeals? What makes the CIB such a fantastic team? ... instead, all we were presented with was a floaty wishy-washy explanations and interactions that all appeared to be surface deep, whilst the producer and writers indulged on trying to remind us of past successes and injecting the show with half-hearted humour that was both unnecessary and unamusing. Some scenes that bordered on farcical included the whole 'Fung Shui incident' between Greg Rivers and Kenny Wong and Ah He's unhealthy relationship with the traffic cop - 'Oh, we should stop meeting like this!' I could write better myself.
This blog entry is fast becoming a complete review of the series, so I will end my ranting here. Don't waste your time with CIB... honestly!
I'm a little behind on my series at the moment, so I haven't even started on 'Land of Wealth' or 'Face to Fate' yet, but I hope they will be better than CIB. One series I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at recently was "War and Destiny". The reason for this was I was captivated by Sunny Chan's performance in this show - he totally made it for me. Ron, Myolie and the others were same old same old and Mandy Cho's whiny voice once again nearly made me switch off, but Sunny saved the day and the show. I've never really paid much attention to Sunny in the past because he is not one of those artistes whose performance jumps out at you, but the positive impact his wife is having on his life coupled with an extremely well written character was the recipe for success in this show. Check him out - you won't be disappointed. I was chatting to Tammy about this earlier and we both think that TVB should do a sequel to this show but just have Sunny as the central character - maybe a flashback story to tell us what happened in his last 8 years since he went missing. That would give us a great scope for excitement and we wouldn't have to endure another 20 episodes of Myolie's crying and Ron's declarations that he is not Japanese. Hey TVB - if you're reading, let Em and Tams write this for you. Hahaha!
Hmm... what shall I watch next?
Labels: TVB
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Dodgy Ankle, British Heatwave, Random Number Generation, A Good Soaking and Dr Koo...
Pretty much sums up the last three weeks for me really.
I actually injured my ankle in February when I twisted it after tripping on a hole in the pavement outside work on a dark evening on the way to the car park. It was quite a bad fall and I ended up flat on my face in a muddle puddle and even the car driving past stopped to either laugh or make sure I was okay before driving off. The weird thing about my injury is that when I am standing up or walking, then it doesn't hurt. It's only when I am either lying down or sitting cross legged in a certain position when it starts to ache really badly. This usually coincides when I am sitting cross legged on my chair at my PC in the evenings. I really should go and see a doctor about it, but I am only reminded of the pain at night when the doctor's surgery is closed. Must have done some lasting damage to just one ligament or tendon in my ankle for it to be so temperamental.
Weather's been really hot in the UK in July. As soon as we hit August, it won't stop raining. Not that I am complaining because we can finally get some decent sleep without sticking to the bed in the mornings or having to risk eating or being eaten by moths and other insects by sleeping with the fan on max and the window wide open. (I am scared of birds flying in!) If these hot summers keep coming, will have to seriously think about investing in some aircon for the house. British houses are nicely insulated for the winter, but when it comes to summer, they just turn into human sized ovens.
Tis the season for random number generation as we renew our car and house insurance policies for another year. How the companies come up with these premiums is totally beyond me. When the quotes I get range from £280 to £480 for the same car and the same people and the same cover, it just proves my theory that they just use a random number generator to create these prices! Madness...
Went on our company outing to Alton Towers a couple of weeks ago - nice day out with my sibs and sis-in-law-to-be. My sis gives a better account of this on her blog, so I won't say much more apart from the fact we get totally soaked as we stood in a thunderstorm in a queue for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride. My semi-waterproof jacket was no match for the gallons of water that was chucked on us by the heavens and I was wet through. It was a fun day though and it was nice of my company to pay for most of it!
On the TVB front, I have been watching "Forensic Heroes" and as I'd expected, I really enjoyed it. Great to see the return of Florence Kwok and of course the company of 'Dr Koo'. Having recently gotten into the world of CSI after catching a few episodes on satellite TV, this series just came at the right time and I thought that everything about it just fell into place really well. Even Linda Chung was bearable as she appears to have de-squeaked herself and found herself a bit of a personality on the screen. Great stuff and well worthy of its 43 points! Just started on "Men in Pain" today and the first two episodes are promising. I am quite a fan of Louisa So and Ron's performance is an eye-opener, why after watching this series I may even grow to like him! (Or maybe it's just the floppy hair that I have a soft spot for...)
Pretty much sums up the last three weeks for me really.
I actually injured my ankle in February when I twisted it after tripping on a hole in the pavement outside work on a dark evening on the way to the car park. It was quite a bad fall and I ended up flat on my face in a muddle puddle and even the car driving past stopped to either laugh or make sure I was okay before driving off. The weird thing about my injury is that when I am standing up or walking, then it doesn't hurt. It's only when I am either lying down or sitting cross legged in a certain position when it starts to ache really badly. This usually coincides when I am sitting cross legged on my chair at my PC in the evenings. I really should go and see a doctor about it, but I am only reminded of the pain at night when the doctor's surgery is closed. Must have done some lasting damage to just one ligament or tendon in my ankle for it to be so temperamental.
Weather's been really hot in the UK in July. As soon as we hit August, it won't stop raining. Not that I am complaining because we can finally get some decent sleep without sticking to the bed in the mornings or having to risk eating or being eaten by moths and other insects by sleeping with the fan on max and the window wide open. (I am scared of birds flying in!) If these hot summers keep coming, will have to seriously think about investing in some aircon for the house. British houses are nicely insulated for the winter, but when it comes to summer, they just turn into human sized ovens.
Tis the season for random number generation as we renew our car and house insurance policies for another year. How the companies come up with these premiums is totally beyond me. When the quotes I get range from £280 to £480 for the same car and the same people and the same cover, it just proves my theory that they just use a random number generator to create these prices! Madness...
Went on our company outing to Alton Towers a couple of weeks ago - nice day out with my sibs and sis-in-law-to-be. My sis gives a better account of this on her blog, so I won't say much more apart from the fact we get totally soaked as we stood in a thunderstorm in a queue for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride. My semi-waterproof jacket was no match for the gallons of water that was chucked on us by the heavens and I was wet through. It was a fun day though and it was nice of my company to pay for most of it!
On the TVB front, I have been watching "Forensic Heroes" and as I'd expected, I really enjoyed it. Great to see the return of Florence Kwok and of course the company of 'Dr Koo'. Having recently gotten into the world of CSI after catching a few episodes on satellite TV, this series just came at the right time and I thought that everything about it just fell into place really well. Even Linda Chung was bearable as she appears to have de-squeaked herself and found herself a bit of a personality on the screen. Great stuff and well worthy of its 43 points! Just started on "Men in Pain" today and the first two episodes are promising. I am quite a fan of Louisa So and Ron's performance is an eye-opener, why after watching this series I may even grow to like him! (Or maybe it's just the floppy hair that I have a soft spot for...)
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Welcome to the Sims House!
Hahaha... yes I have been a little distracted for the last couple of nights, so the news pages are a little thin on the ground. The reason? Well you've probably guessed, I have my desktop back and I have some catching up to do with my Sims.
With my recent fixation on the TVB sitcom "Welcome to the House", then who better to start rebuilding Sim TVB City with?
Here's some pics...
Ko Family 1 - this is Ko Hing, See Tau Por, Ko Yau Yi and Ko Yau Ching.
I couldn't quite get the occupations right for this lot, so Yau Yi is currently a medic and Yau Ching is a scientist. Maybe if I get a chance I will move Yau Yi into the business career path. See Tau Por looks a bit old cos they automatically make the elders look grey. There is obviously no such thing as hair dye in the Sims world.
Ko Family 2 - this is Ko Yau Pang, Ah Fan, Ah Mer and Ko B
Ko Yau Pang - he isn't quite a chef yet. At the moment he is a security guard (hon gaan!) - maybe one day he will manage to get onto the Culinary career ladder.
Ah Mer - he is in the military, hence the uniform. It was the nearest career path I could get to DHL... close enough (and it makes enough money for him to afford a computer in his room).
This is Ah Fan in the bath. She's a bit pregnant at the moment, so all she does is eat, puke and bathe. She doesn't quite have enough body points to do yoga just yet, but when she does, I'll take another picture of her doing her stuff. She is on the Athlete career path, but not sure if Yoga instructor features in there at all. She looked really daft when she worked as a mascot though!
Hahaha... yes I have been a little distracted for the last couple of nights, so the news pages are a little thin on the ground. The reason? Well you've probably guessed, I have my desktop back and I have some catching up to do with my Sims.
With my recent fixation on the TVB sitcom "Welcome to the House", then who better to start rebuilding Sim TVB City with?
Here's some pics...
Ko Family 1 - this is Ko Hing, See Tau Por, Ko Yau Yi and Ko Yau Ching.
I couldn't quite get the occupations right for this lot, so Yau Yi is currently a medic and Yau Ching is a scientist. Maybe if I get a chance I will move Yau Yi into the business career path. See Tau Por looks a bit old cos they automatically make the elders look grey. There is obviously no such thing as hair dye in the Sims world.
Ko Family 2 - this is Ko Yau Pang, Ah Fan, Ah Mer and Ko B
Ko Yau Pang - he isn't quite a chef yet. At the moment he is a security guard (hon gaan!) - maybe one day he will manage to get onto the Culinary career ladder.
Ah Mer - he is in the military, hence the uniform. It was the nearest career path I could get to DHL... close enough (and it makes enough money for him to afford a computer in his room).
This is Ah Fan in the bath. She's a bit pregnant at the moment, so all she does is eat, puke and bathe. She doesn't quite have enough body points to do yoga just yet, but when she does, I'll take another picture of her doing her stuff. She is on the Athlete career path, but not sure if Yoga instructor features in there at all. She looked really daft when she worked as a mascot though!
Labels: TVB
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
My first ever footy shirt...
In six years of working for this company, I must have entered hundreds of competitions to win stuff and so far, I have won a phone and two cinema tickets. Had a nice surprise today when I was reading through the weekly email from the big boss and she announced that I was one of the winners of the first few draws in the "World Cup Predictor" competition. So I went off to collect my prize, thinking it was another company branded T-shirt or something, but to my surprise, I came back with a cool England shirt (complete with price tag - it was £35)!! This has to be one of the best things I have received from the company!
Found out about the nasty things that TVB have been doing to my fellow fansite owner TVB Square today. (Check out the blog at the site for more details.) I'm now wondering when I'm gonna receive a similar letter through my door. My hunch is that they are combatting any sites that offer 'downloads' of any kind and that they won't come down with the same force on little fansites like mine, but there are some other more blatant download sites that CHARGE people who are still in business. Now that's what REALLY annoys me! (Those who know me will know who I am referring to...)I think if TVB weighed up the amount of free advertising and publicity that fansites provide them with, it would far far outweight the amount of 'loss' they have made. Oh well, if TVBspace gets shut down and Ghosty is sent back to emspace, then don't worry, I'll make sure he gets his old desk back and a space to put his pot plant! Maybe my creative writing will make a comeback - unless TVB decides to crack down on fanfics as well, but that would be WAAAY out of order! (And all the references to TVB in 'Stardust Dreams' have been disguised anyway.... hahaha!)
Anyway, enough about those stupid people. Booked my next holiday - always have to have something to look forward to. Sooo looking forward to it now, a week of 5-star luxury and indulgence, nice weather, fresh seafood, refreshing hikes.....
Doesn't that look beautiful?
In six years of working for this company, I must have entered hundreds of competitions to win stuff and so far, I have won a phone and two cinema tickets. Had a nice surprise today when I was reading through the weekly email from the big boss and she announced that I was one of the winners of the first few draws in the "World Cup Predictor" competition. So I went off to collect my prize, thinking it was another company branded T-shirt or something, but to my surprise, I came back with a cool England shirt (complete with price tag - it was £35)!! This has to be one of the best things I have received from the company!
Found out about the nasty things that TVB have been doing to my fellow fansite owner TVB Square today. (Check out the blog at the site for more details.) I'm now wondering when I'm gonna receive a similar letter through my door. My hunch is that they are combatting any sites that offer 'downloads' of any kind and that they won't come down with the same force on little fansites like mine, but there are some other more blatant download sites that CHARGE people who are still in business. Now that's what REALLY annoys me! (Those who know me will know who I am referring to...)I think if TVB weighed up the amount of free advertising and publicity that fansites provide them with, it would far far outweight the amount of 'loss' they have made. Oh well, if TVBspace gets shut down and Ghosty is sent back to emspace, then don't worry, I'll make sure he gets his old desk back and a space to put his pot plant! Maybe my creative writing will make a comeback - unless TVB decides to crack down on fanfics as well, but that would be WAAAY out of order! (And all the references to TVB in 'Stardust Dreams' have been disguised anyway.... hahaha!)
Anyway, enough about those stupid people. Booked my next holiday - always have to have something to look forward to. Sooo looking forward to it now, a week of 5-star luxury and indulgence, nice weather, fresh seafood, refreshing hikes.....
Doesn't that look beautiful?