the story of stuff This very cool website have been sitting in my inbox for a very long time! Augh! Why didn't I see it sooner. Anyway...
The story of stuff - is, in my honest opinion, good is many aspects. It is fantastically well-made - nicely planned, programed, designed, plus, it is interactive, informative and educational (for those who are not exposed to the patterns of consumption)..
Have a look at the teaser:
Now, now.. don't be lazy, go click on the link and see the rest for yourself. You might just learn a thing or two about how our lifestyles CAN and WILL affect the rest of the world...
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laze
I am feeling really lazy these days.
I have doubled my driving lessons with Ken and have started working, part-time in town last week. Work is alright, as I believe I have had it worse before. But, whenever I got home, I just want to laze in bed and watch something, anything. Even if I am just staring at Alfred, waiting for my program to complete downloading. So long as I don't have to move and use my brain. I find it very unproductive, yet at the same time, I am somewhat comfortable with it (hmmm, kind of troubling..). I forget to water the plants again. Good thing all the plants I have at home are the hardy kind. Dishes are now left till morning. My nose started misbehaving on Saturday, so, I did not go to church this week. I wonder if it was due to the weather, or is it because my bedsheet needs to be changed again. Augh, household chores are endless, just like work. Once I have finished clearing something, before I know it, I have to do it all over again. Like, vacuuming the floor, washing my clothes, cleaning the toilet, and weeding and trimming the grass. I mean, I don't mind doing all that. As what Flora said, it can be therapeutic sometimes, but I am in a lazy mood. Super lazy.
Well, I have better get my butt moving this week. So that I can get some things cleared off my plate before it is too late! I have to post my mails out, re-confirm my course and re-print my resume soon!
Earlier on today, I was searching for something on google, and I discovered this neat site call Jamendo that showcases music artists, mostly from the UK. Music artists who joined Jamendo, chose to give access to their music for free to the users. All music tracks on the site are published with Creative Commons licenses. Thus, they are free for us to download! Some of the albums are really good. And did I mention too that you can preview the content and play the tracks before deciding if you want to download them? Since I have experienced no trouble previewing the tunes here, I am certain that you people elsewhere, with faster internet connection will enjoy this. The streaming time taken is next to nothing compared to other music related sites. So have fun browsing! More things to entertain yourself with. Let Jamendo open your ears...
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oh animes
Are you an anime fan? I love animes! I find them entertaining, and fascinatingly creative. The types of animes that I usually fall for are those whose characters have some kind of special power. Ha.. Maybe that is because I sometimes wish I have some too? Anyway, no matter what kind of anime character, I believe that the success of an anime lies on the visual sensation of the characters, as well as on a good plot or storyline that will help bring out the characters of the anime to life. My dear friend Mav asked me to give her a list of animes, as I have been asking her to watch this, and that but she could never remember them all. Moreover, there are so many animes out there, it is sometimes hard to decipher which is good. I find this website animenewsnetwork most helpful when it comes to finding out about the reviews of the animes I want to watch. Below are animes, not in any particular order, that I had seen mostly in recent years.Rated as such:
Not bad - *
Okie, I like - **
Must watch - ***
Inuyasha ***
Neon Genesis Evangalion ***
My Neighbour Totoro (Movie) ***
Howl's Moving Castle (Movie) ***
Chrono Crusade ***
Fullmetal Alchemist ***
Eureka Seven ***
Rurouni Kenshin ***
Spirited Away (Movie) ***
Shakugan no Shana ***
DN Angel ***
Moon Phase ***
Rozen Maiden ***
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya ***
Honey and Clover I and II **
Cardcaptor Sakura ***
Sola **
Mahou Sensei Negima! *
Bleach ***
Naturo **
Mai Hime **
Mai Otome (adaptation) *
Karin **
Flame of Recca ***
Scrapped Princess *
Full Metal Panic! *
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (Sequel) **
Full Metal Panic! Second Raid (Sequel) **
Black Cat ***
Serial Experiments Lain ***
Ghost In A Shell (Movie) ***
Doremon *****Wahaha, Classic!
If you want my opinion on each of them, then I don't think this entry will ever end!! So, I'd say just go watch it and find it out yourselves, okie? :-)
Currently, I am waiting for these:
Mushi-shi
Monster
Death Note
One Piece
Sky Girls
Ergo Proxy
EF - A Tale of Memories
H2O ~ Footprints In The Sand
School Rumble
True Tears
Samurai Champloo
UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie
.Hack//
Fate/Stay Night
Kaze no Stigma
Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan
Rental Magica and,
Kekkaishi - Thanks Mav for recommanding this, it is really good!
Though I am curious about the following animes, I think I might pass on them.
When They Cry:
ermmm, thought the anime looks cute, but the storyline seems abit scary.
Strawberry Marshmallow:
I think they are wayyy too cute.
Peach Girl:
Sorry, I am not really interested in love stories and back-stabbers.
Gundam Series:
Errmm, sorry again, I am just not keen.. Though I heard that it is good.
Air (TV):
I accidentally watched the finale, and it is sooooo sad, that I decided not to watch the series.
Chobits
No offense, but after watching the first two to three episodes, I decided not to follow the story anymore. Maybe I'll pick it up again, some other time.
Phew** That's alot of animes and hmtl codes for one blog entry.. I hope this is helpful, Mav... Happy hunting and watching these animes! Oh, and by the way, I found this picture online, really something. How many anime series characters do you recognise from this? Heh.. Tired now.. Laters!
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food food food and more food
I'm pretty certain that you are familiar with overseas students or Singaporeans lamenting that they miss Singapore food. I admit that I am one of them.Singapore is such a food paradise. And every Singaporean if not all, would tell you that food can easily be the centre of our Singapore culture and lives. Good food, means good life. No matter where Singaporeans go, they will always gather to eat or share some food. Therefore, we relate most vividly to our Singaporean roots through Singapore delights. But, perhaps it is also the only thing other than our family and friends that really makes us re-connect with Singapore.
And the funny thing is, no matter where Singaporeans are, they loveeee to write about the food that they have tasted, misses or the dishes they tried making. There are soooo many examples out there. See here, here, here, here's another one, and here. Some people take it as a form of therapy, others as a form of memoir, or just love to eat and love to take pictures of yummy food. Even travelers write about their visits to Singapore, drizzled with experiences of trying our local foods. Somehow, the two have become inseparable. There are slightly more 'professional' blogs, such as chubbyhubby, foodparadise, and ieatishootipost, who reviews food in and around Singapore.
Fortunately, not everyone's a critic. Recipe blogs can make life easier. Especially for people like me, overseas. I think I would tend to favor Strait-Chinese food, even though I am not particular about what I eat. I love all kinds of food, tasty food. But I find Strait-Chinese delicacies savory. A beautiful combination of Chinese and Malay cooking, with a touch of indian spices, and lots of coconut milk. Here are two recipe blogs that I found and simply love them. I have placed the links under the list of blogs in the side window. One is Susan Chua's Nonya Kueh blog. It seems like she have not been active on the blog, nevertheless I am grateful for her willingness to share the recipes, as well as her dedication in writting everything down. This other blog I found is pretty impressive. The recipes posted in this blog called; nicerecipes were orginally handwritten and passed down since 1957! The amount of detail, history and beautiful handwritten notes by the blog owner's grandmother, were carefully scanned and preserved in the blog. Truly awesome.I do not really know which Singapore local dish would be considered the top 10, most famous. But I reckon that these would definitely make it into the list:
Hainanese Chicken Rice,
Nasi Lemak,
Cha Kway Tiao (with cockles of course!),
Carrot Cake (Singapore stir fried style),
Katong Laksa,
Beef Hor Fun,
Roti Prata (or Roti Chanai in Malaysia),
Black Pepper Chili Crab,
Mee Siam, and
Noodle dishes - wonton noodles, mince meat noodles, ban mian noodles, the list can't just end here!
Other famous local delights definitely includes:
Ice Kachang (or A.B.C in Malaysia - Air Batu Campur, directly translated as Water Rock Mix),
Kueh Lapis,
Pandan Chiffon or Pandan Kaya Cake,
The Singapore Sling, and
Durian puffs...
If you are wondering why Satay and Otak are not in the list, that is because, I believe our neighbour, Malaysia may have it better. Oh, what about BBQ Sambal Stingray? Fish-head Bee Hoon, Satay Bee Hoon, Mutu Curry? Ahhh.. and Chwee Kueh, Mua Chee, Kway Chap as well.. Augh,.. What about Lor Mee, Mee Bandong, Sambal Blacan Fried Rice, Nasi Padang and Currypuffs?? Okie okie... this blog entry is really making me hungry. Augh.. I'm going to the kitchen and make myself some dinner.
Laters!
Contents of images are Hainanese Chicken Rice, Laksa, and Fried Carrot Cake. Yummm.
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happy belated new year people
Hello people. Happy belated New Year.. I know I know, I have not been blogging alot. And I am even late in wishing all of you Merry Christmas and Happy New year. I have been busy living my life, you see. And Aa came over, so we had spent some time together, going places.. I would have posted them up. But if you've read this entry before you saw any of the entries.. Sorry** be patient, okie? It'll be up soon..
New year..
Well, first of all, I must say that I am really grateful that despite being a pretty tough year, the Lord is merciful and allowed me to pull it through, so that I can proceed into third year.
Resolution? I don't really believe that it ever works... but I do hope that some things may change for the better of course.. I definitely hope that the world will become a better place to live in..
By the way, for those who are working, and wanting to maintain a good relationship with your bosses.. I have a de-stress game just for you to help you manage your anger There are 17 ways for you to 'get back on your boss' in this game. I found all 17. Let's see if you can find them. Ha!
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