Digesting Brad Pitt

when i first saw december’s issue of architectural digest i think i made pukes faces and rolled my eyes a couple of times .. u see brad pitt was gracing the cover of architectural digest – what the hell?? .. he dominates all the thrashy mags and now he wants architectural digest too? .. see this is why i NEVER pick up this mag .. i have always HATED .. no thats putting it mildly – i DESPISE architectural digest .. to me its just too pretentious, snobbish and all of the ppl featured and things in there are too friggin rich for their own good (well the things are of course absurdly expensive) and everytime if i flip through the pages its like screaming ‘HA HA! were rich and ure fuct! now watch us be all rich and buy 10000 dollars tacky gold door knobs while u guys rot in those worthless painted wooden door knobs .. you poor people”.. seriously .. thats how it felt .. plus they never really have good designs … its all too much to me .. so when i saw brad pitt on it – i was like yea whatever .. but then a few days ago i was so pissed off that i couldnt find anything interesting to read at the bookstore that i picked up architectural digest with brad on it … and i saw that it would prolly be something about ‘make it right’ foundation – so i figured why not .. at least i wont have to blind my eyes looking at gold trimmings in those rich ppls houses .. and to my surprise – i kinda enjoyed the article .. ive read .. well more like glanced thru an article about brad and ‘make it rigth’ before BUT of course i didnt think much of it cos at the time it was still at its early stage and i saw a video of architects presenting their designs to brad pitt .. ok i wouldve taken it more seriously if brad pitt wasnt a hollywood actor whose lovelife and what not appears on perezhilton on a daily basis .. plus the article mentioned that brad also had a part in the designing which prompted a nasty remark from me – i think i even commented on that site .. heh .. something like ‘yea ill bet they only let brad choose the tap fittings’ .. heh ..

but anyway after reading the bit about ‘make it right’ foundation in AD and also checking out their site – few things i found interesting :-

• they completed a few model houses –  and it has a modern /minimalist design to it that i love .. they even have photos of stages of construction on the site so u could see how everything is being built from foundation to the roof and also the finishing result
• having looked at some of the houses that were there before and i love old houses and im so pro-restoration its not even funny- i understand how some ppl might feel about these new designs but i guess the new design would handle the climate better and thats whats important .. you can see some of the old houses from this interesting blog
• they explained a few stuff about the design, what factors were taken into consideration when designing ie sustainable living and theres this concept that i wasnt aware of before called ‘cradle to cradle’ which is generally using things that could not only be recycled but also would benefit the land/environment etc .. all houses are also fixed with solar panels
• all houses have to be below 150k .. as most residents are from the lower income (which is also why bthey opt for sustainable design) and altho im not really sure but from the site i think all 150 houses are sponsored or going to be
• they had to be raised up quite high from the ground level in case of flood – about 8 ft (which is HIGH!) .. each house would have an attic and an escape hatch on the roof – to escape in case of a flood ..
• they have a completely different way of building houses compared to malaysia .. heh .. im super amazed at how the whole house was prefabricated .. like everything – haha .. they just built the foundation and just slap the whole house on top .. heh well not slap – but it sure looks as easy as that .. compared to over here where we have to cast cement mix and wait .. and wait .. and wait .. and cast .. and wait summore .. u get the pic .. i think the word i was looking for is ‘superfast construction’
• they used a special type of wood for the structure which has a blue tint and is treated to avoid termites and fungus .. nothing special but the blue tint makes the whole structure looks cool .. plus theyre using treated materials to avoid mold – i never really get what is the big deal if a house has mold problems UNTIL i did this office project recently and it was infested with mold EVERYWHERE .. on the walls, ceilings, doors and it even gets to the furniture .. and it just looks gross and creepy – like im in an episode of some japanese horror show .. um scary
• all houses were built using donations and not money from the government cos somehow they didnt think that that area is worth developing – due to it being close to a canal – the source of the flood (which is also why all the houses had to be raised) .. ok  i would understand why they dont want ppl to live there – its dangerous .. too many lives were lost and they dont want to risk that .. plus if its a flood prone area (and the worst hit) who would want to live there .. but what brad is trying to do is to just basically bring that area back to life ..
• i was really surprised that this was originally pitts idea and it looked like he put a lot of effort in it – which is really commendable .. and its nice to see the results after one year and see the ppls reaction .. stuff like that .. altho i am a lil bit irritated by that hat brad pitts wearing on the cover ..
• they actually have demonstrations or training of sort on how you could maximise all the sustainable design features that they have incorporated which i think is super cool – cos not only u get a house, ure also taking care of the environment AND u get free education .. so its great .. and i read somewhere that once you turn green – ull sort of open your eyes to new things and ull find ways to make everything green .. so hopefully this happens
• i like the whole concept of this foundation – of course due to the fact that its giving these ppl homes – which i think is great due to all the bad things that has happened to them .. and also the fact that u sorta know where your money goes to if uve donated .. i mean u see results .. im not saying that all the other causes or foundation are not worth donating to cos u cant see anything – its just that its NICE that you could see what uve donated for .. bleh – u get what i mean
• altho i hate architectural digest – and the article about sustainable living and cheap houses looks sorely out of place amongst the overly expensive houses “what?!? a HOUSE for $150 000???  i bought a freaking POT that cost twice that much” .. i guess mr pitts point was to get donations from the filthy rich ppl who read AD .. so thats cool

anyway .. all in all an exemplary effort from mr pitt and my hats off to him ..  i would now like to apologize for making fun of his pornstar moustache (when he had one) and also having this misconception of good looking hollywood ppl having tiny brains and will never do anything useful except filling up those tabloid pages .. heh .. u know stuff like that .. but i guess i have a newfound respect from him now so now he has a free pass to make one shitty movie – no wait i think he might have to use that for ‘legends of the fall’ .. heh

the curious case of movie ‘talkers’

i shall start the movie post with an interesting piece of news .. read here .. seriously all those ‘talkers’ out there should read this and be scared .. personally tho – i dont really feel like shooting someone who talks during a movie but instead i wish i have like long whip with those balls at the end of it so that i could just whip those ppl from wherever im sitting to however far theyre sitting .. that would be nice .. or those ninja stars – where i could just silently um silent them .. heh

so .. things ill be looking out for

the curious case of benjamin button

stars brad pitt and cate blanchett .. so far so good .. saw the trailer – i thot it was ok .. its a weird movie – as in the guy s growing younger and not older .. im not THAT excited about it cos its a love/romance movie – NOT really a big fan of those .. but still – i like david finchers work – so this is a MUST

 

slumdog millionaire

to me, everything danny boyle touches turns to GOLD – movie gold .. i dont care what other ppl say (especially about ‘a life less ordinary’) this guy is extremely talented to me .. i dont think that theres any movie he made that i didnt LOVE .. from ‘trainspotting’ to ‘millions’ .. aliens or romantic comedy – this guy will always get my vote for best director .. ok theres also that nolan guy – but boyle is one of the best .. anyway – point is – even if he made a movie entitled ‘shit’ and all reviewers gave it a 1 of 10 rating – id STILL watch it and most probably give it a 9.5 / 10 rating .. heh .. thats how biased i am .. hey this dude gave us ewan mcgregor! .. i could not ask for more (well actually i could cos he somehow stopped using ewan in his movies – of course ewan has prolly gone all hollywood and obiwan kenobi n shit – but still – it would be schweet if he uses ewan back) .. anyway .. this movie has been getting soo much good reviews – i thinks its even tipped to win ‘best picture’ for various major awards and boyle as ‘best director’ … time magazine called it a “buoyant hym to life” .. whatever that means .. but whatever – u know how i feel about this – im going to give it a 9.5/10 even before ive seen it .. heh .. so there

 

wendy and lucy

ok if u dont already know how obsessed i am with pets .. please refer previous posts … so naturally id wanna watch this and empty a box of kleenex at the same time .. i think its going to be one of those coming of age / life lessons kinda movie .. its about a girl with not much money moving to alaska to start a new life (dont they always do this – but ‘starting a new life’ makes interesting movies tho.. heh) .. and she has a dog and then dog goes missing .. and ill be crying .. and i dont really what happens at the end – but seriously if the dog dies – im gonna slap someone

 

defiance

ok .. theres only one reason im watching this movie – jamie bell .. i dont know if im going to like it tho cos i hate war movies .. and i dont really like james bond .. but i like blood diamond so this cant be bad .. can it?

 

the other side of truth

2 funny words – ricky gervais .. enough said

oh .. jason batemans in it too – we love him .. pic below is of course not from the movie but from gervais’ younger days in an 80s band .. heh .. see? .. its already funny!

adorable therapy

read this in the papers today – soup kitchens for pets of the homeless in germany .. googled it up and apparently usa and also canada have it .. guess i just didnt know about it .. reading stuff like these makes me feel all happy n stuff .. of course i didnt know it was a problem but when i was in the us i noticed that there were a lot of homeless ppl with pets .. and i somehow feel bad for the pets and not the owners .. i dunno why .. ok now im going to get all emo and say that its great that there are soup kitchens for pets cos as much as i hate the fact that all the homeless ppl dragged their dogs or pets into their um homelessness state (yes i know its not by choice) BUT i guess u know ppl really underestimated this bond that the human and animals have .. i think i saw a show on discovery channel about therapy dogs – dogs who are volunteered by their owners to visit really sick kids in the hospital or ppl in old folks home to cheer them up .. OMIGOD think i cried from start to finish .. so i think its good that the homeless ppl have dogs / pets as their companion and its great that they have this soup kitchen for pets n stuff ..   ok im gonna stop right here before i start bawling  – i seriously cannot watch a movie about how loyal dogs are to their masters without emptying a full box of kleenex

*image from here

i’ve never read the economist either

heh ..

from here

 

from here

 

do not like the message its carrying .. but really love the ad (by wonderbra.. get it?)

 

haha .. porn names are hilarious

delicious marmalade

had lunch with a bunch of friends (and little friends) today after work .. was quite late so i was pretty famished – or as my mom would say ‘on the verge of starvation’ – yes she uses that when shes really hungry .. far from verge of starvation tho .. heh .. but i shall use that term to describe when im extremely hungry – like how i felt earlier on ..

so we ate at d’lish .. food was okay – i dont for the life of me know why would i choose something as shitty as a sandwich .. ok sandwich was actually NOT shitty at all it had grilled chicken, avocado and cream cheese accompanied by a schweet salad .. but come on – sandwiches can only make me feel full like 20 minutes tops – after taht ill be in my ‘im on the verge of starvation’ mode again .. so i dunno why did i chose that when there where yummy pastas available – shouldve chosen the mushroom lasagne – cos it was YUM .. but luckily i had some back up plan – and ordered chocolate banana smoothie (looked and tasted more like a shake tho) and chunky fries with pesto .. pesto was major YUM ..

so anyway .. reason for the big lunch / gathering / meet up thingy was so that i can spend a lovely afternoon harassing after 3 littles kids and their short fused moms .. heh .. not really – meera is actually going off to auzzie soon so this is like a goodbye lunch .. heh … of course am going to miss her as now i will have only 2 friends .. heh .. plus shes my only single friend – well shes not really single but her husbands not here – so thats single enough .. anyway – hopefully she has a good life there and get a job and stuff .. or get babies and become stressed out like my other friends .. heh

interesting observation – will i be able to handle work stress, kids stress and hubby stress? .. heh – i doubt that .. very much actually

can’t get enough

nice stuff from oaknyc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

guilty pleasures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

neck loop – love this .. its like a continuous scarf .. heh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOVE this dress and the whole look (of course the scarf too) .. ‘ikat’ material is pretty big now – think i saw a few dresses in this material by a few designers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

same dress, diff material, diff scarf, diff look – am loving it more

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

love the extra long scarf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cool scarf – love the color – but i think it resembles a wee bit like a tea towel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

something about smocked dress that i love love love – especially paired with a cute scarf .. also love the dull color

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cute corduroy top by wikstenmade

guilt spring cleaning

am experiencing this pain between my neck and right shoulder .. hopefully it has nothing to do with stress .. am i stressed? .. dont think so .. i WAS earlier on this week – but towards christmas it was smooth sailing .. it was so smooth in fact that i managed to finish up some work that has been stalled for ages due piled up urgent and extremely urgent shit .. and today i managed to do some spring cleaning to my desk – so now my cubicle is somewhat more presentable and i could say organized – of course some ppl could not say that .. heh .. but it is better than what it was before – i couldnt even find anything and i had no proper ‘in’ and ‘out’ tray … my cubicle could actually seat 2 ppl but with the stacks of papers and files i had before on top AND at the bottom of my desk – no one dared to sit there .. so .. hopefully this brings in the good luck and also more money for next year .. hahah .. chinese feng shui is really getting to me

would post a pic of the clean new cubicle area .. but id rather not .. cos without a ‘before’ pic – ppl would be going ‘she calls THAT clean and ORGANIZED??!!?’ .. heh

 * an image showing the closest resemblance of my previously disorganized desk

body of lies

saw ‘body of lies’ yesterday and im seriously pissed off with rottentomatoes now cos i checked and it gave a shitty 5.5/10 rating for this movie .. what the hell?? .. i LOVE this movie and i think this is the most decent movie to come out after the dark knight .. i saw a few movies – of course one of em was ‘the day the earth stood still’ and i thot that movie was ok – very corny on most parts – but still watchable .. but thats until i saw ‘body of lies’ last night .. now its like ‘damn why cant keanu reeves choose a good movie to act in like leonardo does’ ..

ok i wont bother going into what its about – we have imdb for that – so leo .. i have to admit that i used to hate him a lot .. i dont even know why – i think i have this thing about pretty boys trying to tackle big roles .. they usually fail and thus waste my precious movie viewing time .. but leo has somehow made great choices in his roles and i could say now that i love most of the movies he stars in .. ive always liked ‘whats eating gilbert grape?’ – nothing to do with johnny depp .. heh not … but leo was ok in it .. then he did ‘the beach’ – i loved the movie but i wasnt convinced by him .. thot that would just be a one off .. then i think he did a few others like ‘the aviator’ – i didnt really like that one .. but i love ‘catch me if you can’, the departed and of course blood diamond .. and since blood diamond and deaprted im starting to think that hes not that bad after all heh .. kidding .. hes actually really good and quite engaging on screen .. hopes he wins an oscar one day .. and kudos to him for getting such meaty roles, playing against some of the best actors around .. so back to ‘body of lies’ – again leo did not disappoint .. he used to be a turn off for me – but now when his name is associated to a movie – im like ‘ok .. it could be cool’ ..  and it is – thank god for that .. i was really really getting bored with movies offered nowadays .. im kinda sick of hollywood type movies – u know like those blockbuster ones .. nothing interest me at all post dark knight .. i dont know why .. i think age is catching up on me cos i now prefer to watch something that is intelligent and thought provoking rather that something that is just action action and action .. so yea i guess that is why i really like this movie a lot .. love the plot twists .. great performances by leo – as i have mentioned before .. russel crowe was meh tho .. he just reminds me of my superior at work who just bloody knows how to give orders without seeing the whole scope of things – i mean im dodging bullets and shit man .. come on .. a surprise performance was by mark strong who played jordanian secret service leader ‘hani pasha’ .. hes good .. and that last part when he came on screen – i was so happy of the twist i clapped .. heh ..

ok comparison .. why do all those reviewers keep comparing this movie to bourne? .. sure its about spies – but thats it – thats as far as the similarities goes .. as much as i like bourne movies – i dont think any one of it is as smart as this movie .. and leos character is i think darker than bourne and i think the situation is much darker .. i know i couldnt take whatever i see here as how it is really in the middle east or wherever .. cos that would just be too scary cos ppl are getting killed like flies and the torture scenes – excruciating .. but then theres guantanamo bay .. so .. maybe it IS like that .. i dunno – but anyway – this movie is nothing like bourne ..

there were a few comparisons to ‘rendition’ too .. but i didnt watch ‘rendition’ so i just cant comment .. lucky for me tho cos none of the reviewers had anything good to say bout ‘rendition’

ok so then of course this being a middle east / terrorist movie – of course wed have ‘syriana’ comparison .. id have to say ‘syriana’ is an extremely smart film .. and there are a few similarities between the two – namely middle east / terrrorist and double agent stuff .. but thats it .. id have to say bboth movies are actually very different to each other .. is say that syriana is more like the bigger picture while ‘body of lies’ is more like dealing with one teerrorist at a time .. while this movie may not be as smart as syriana – it still has its good parts .. i especially like the part when the jordanian agents ‘hani sameel’ plans come together – slowly but surely .. it also shows how the americans are adressing or counter attacking the terrorists the wrong way .. i think that all the while – the main issue here is you must understand the enemy and how they work in order to defeat them .. it is not just – shoot shoot shoot kill kill kill .. like what the americans are doing – and we would also see that this is the way russell crowes character thinks – he wants fast action and he wants fast results and if bpossible with high casualty number .. which is not how the jordanian secret agent works – a point that leos character realise ages ago and was surprised that everyone in the CIA was so ignorant as to not realise that … the only way to destroy is to get in – and to get in youd have to understand them .. and thats the only way ull get results .. i think that russell crowes character is not in the frontline and therefore do not realise this – leos character however sees it everyday and sees that most of his plans go wrong when done the CIA’s way even only at the last few minutes .. that is why he opted to go against it .. with better results of course

all in all id give this movie an 8/10 .. solid performance by leo and mark strong .. and thank you ridley scott for making watching movies enjoyable again after ‘the dark knight’ .. seriously – the dark knight was soo good that i thot i would never be able to enjoy a movie ever again .. heh .. overly emotional i know .. anyway – im glad i saw this movie (almost didnt) and would definitely watch it again

MH VS AK

funny how theyve changed the format in latest favorite radio station BFM and features these morning interviews with business people or as they call it ‘the morning grill’ .. and what is even MORE funny is that I would listen to them .. like wholly .. heh .. wont even bother to change stations .. i dunno im not much of a talkshow person and i HATE it when DJs overtalk but with this show – i kinda like it .. i think maybe its the interesting ppl that they bring on and the no-nonsense DJ type of ppl who interviews them that makes it bearable and sometimes .. cool.

think they had a flower and gifts company (that ive never heard of) but seems to be doing very well it seems .. then there was the tony romas / manhattan fishmarket MD .. and then Ms Read/D’lish owner  .. whom i didnt know jack about but it was a very interesting listen .. and a few others which i cant remember – i think theres that odyssey bus owner at some point .. so anyway – my point – since when did radio interviews got interesting?.. im more open to it since podcast i guess .. this is like a surprise podcast of sort .. heh .. so anyway .. i kinda liked all the interviews that they did but when i heard that theyre going to interview the overly popular tony renandez of airasia fame, i was like – ok not like hes over exposed or anything – or not like ive never read/heard an interview of him before … so today for lack of any other options – i decided to listen to it anyway .. well its either i listen to that or listen to replays of tune-deaf pussycat dolls songs or IQ destroying prank calls done by obnoxious DJs .. to my surprise – i enjoyed the interview .. it was interesting and very informative .. also gave an insight on how much tony hates MAS hahaha .. well he didnt say it out but i kinda get the negative vibe … so first of all id say kudos to BFM for getting it right – i think for some weird reason they managed to find a niche market and as tony said – theyre focused on it .. they did right on a few things in fact – they knew their targeted audience are business ppl – so i guess that makes it a 25 to 50 age group .. so first – these ppl wouldnt be caught DEAD listening to the craptastic artists offered nowadays (ok i know maybe there are a few goods ones but everytime someone mentions ‘todays artists’ somehow pussycat dolls comes to mind), they play 80s songs – most of us in that age group group could relate to that and i LOVE reminiscing the good ol days, they play good ol rock – this i havent really figured out why – a lot of 90s pearl jam fans are businessman nowadays?.. dunno .. maybe .. then second – they put those interview/grilling sessions from 8 to 9am – a time when all of us would be in our cars going to work .. PLUS its a nice change when everyone else was doing dumb stuff and playing those overplayed pop songs .. and third – no nonsense DJ – and by no-nonsense im not saying they got a serious DJ – its just that this DJ is NOT overdoing it and just plain non-obnoxious – and of course has a pleasant voice..  so all and all that conributes to an enjoyable experience .. so good job to BFM and hopefully they stay that way .. interesting interviews and great songs – good combo

so now back to tony airasia – few things i found out about him thru that interview –

1. speaks with a british/american slang (i still can figure that out) 

2. he has a blog (yea i kno.. unbelievable) 

3. wears airasia cap ALL the time .. especially when travelling using othe airlines (judging by a photo from his blog) 

4. kinda hates MAS (heh) 

questions were interesting .. his answers were of course interesting .. could sense his frustration with MAS (which I find interesting .. heh .. but he has a point) ..  so all in all i found this interview very refreshing and its a surprise cos its not like i havent read anything about him before .. so of course one of the questions were the feedbacks from airasia passengers – heh .. and i really like the way tony answered it .. just straight and to the point .. u paid for budget airlines so you GET budget airlines .. and honestly by the complaints that these ppl make – if i were tony id have told them ‘oh fuck off and stop complaining – you couldnt even AFFORD to go to BALI before airasia .. now u get a chance and ure complaining?’ .. MAS on the other hand .. heh ..

id hafta say that i think ive used MAS as many times as ive used airasia .. i dont have any complaints for airasia so far .. i know what i paid for and im not trying to get gold when i paid for i dunno nickel .. or whatever .. i dont mind the delays (which airline doesnt have delays?) .. i dont mind the non-designated seats – i like sitting at the back anyway .. and what is this fucking mentality that malaysians have that they always have to sit in front? of anything for that matter – busses , trains .. u name it .. they have this ridiculous mentality that u always HAVE to sit in front .. EVEN .. EVEN when there are multiple doors that u can use .. so it makes no difference right? back or front? .. i just dont fucking get it .. i dont mind queuing to get to the plane – and when i DO i just dont queue and sit and wait .. no problem … ppl are complaining about all sorts of things and yet they forget that they are paying very little .. for me – i get to go to bali – thats all i have to say

MAS like i said on the other hand – i think i have 1 post complaining about them (at least) … thing is – if they were budget airlines, i prolly wouldnt care .. but theyre NOT, theyre a premium airline and yet they gave you SHIT service .. ive had a few bad experiences with MAS .. and theyre really horrible .. i wonder if they have rectified that complaint i have on their customer service line – wonder if they have actually stationed someone there .. or maybe that was part of their cost cutting practice – no customer care .. glad to report that after all the ruckus i have created – they refunded my money on the next week itself … after of course 4 months of claiming .. so thats premium airline for you .. but damage is done – i dont think i can talk to any of MAS staff now without being snappy after only 30 seconds .. im losing my patience with them .. malaysian hospitality my ass .. well unless of course THAT is malaysian hospitality …

so anyway .. no point beating a dead horse .. hopefully they figure it out – its taking too long tho .. poop