Panda Day

CARE-GIVERS OF CHINA’S TREASURES
People who care for pandas have a photo taken with the 13 panda cubs born in 2008
at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on January 21, 2009 in Chengdu of Sichuan Province. The base currently has 82 pandas in captivity, including the 13 panda cubs.

Enjoyed the cute pictures? I did. After all, how often do you get to see so many pandas all at once, hugger by the humans in sterile garments? Wonder how much they weigh...

Tiger at the Nursery

It's the eve of Chinese New Year, close to midnight, and if you stay in Singapore, that would be the best time to:

1. Visit a nursery to get your Lunar blooms/potted plants/'kum' at basement bargain prices.

2. Visit Chinatown to get Lunar goodies again at basement bargain prices.

3. Visit Chinatown to watch the fireworks/fire crackers.

4. Catch cheesy MediaCorp countdown shows on TV where artistes belt out even cheesier cina  tunes in their mediocre voices.

I chose No. 1. With Tiger in tow, we visited the cold room to grab some flowers on the cheap. Now, if you're a warm-blooded local like me unaccustomed to 10 degree Celsius temperatures, this is definitely a chilly experience, especially if you get stuck under a ventilation vent choosing pretty tulips.

That's where Tiger comes in. It's always a great idea to bring your dog along and wrap his front paws around your neck. Emmm..soft, cuddly and warm. Most of the other people inside either look on with envy and try to pet your dog or act a little surprised and giggle.

The other fun thing you can do at the cold room is to position yourself outside the exit and watch bespectacled persons walk out with frosted glasses. Invariably, their reactions are all the same...halt a bit, look lost, then pluck off the specs and wipe the lenses. Very entertaining!

Have a ox-piscious Lunar New Year everyone!

Bottega Veneta dresses

Yummmy...my favourite dresses from Bottega Veneta's pret-a-porter 08. Especially the pink one in pic 3. Lurve the ruching, pouffy skirt and the cute sleeves.

The last 2 pics are classic..restrained, minimalist, functionalist design by Tomas Maier all in the same hue (including stockings, gloves and shoes!) Been loving the brand since Maier took the helm in 2001 and injected the signature woven leather look into their bags, gave us classic clean lines (as opposed to trend-driven designs).

Hilarious Pictures

I thought these pictures are hilarious. Origin: the world's largest factory, China! No offence to the Chinese people; after all, I'm Chinese too. I think they have their own ingenious ways of solving problems. Enjoy!

Kanda Snowman Festival

A girl smiles as she touches a snowman at the annual Kanda Snowman Festival in Tokyo January 17, 2009. About 70 tonnes of snow was brought from the mountainous Gunma Prefecture and about 100,000 visitors were expected to attend the three-day event.

I like the shy-looking cow in the first pic. It's not every day that you see a snow cow!

Outfits from Urban Outfitters

New Collection from Urban Outfitters

Some of my favourites:

Look at the delicious hi-low hem in this racer-back number. I love the winged print in that grey version. This cut is guaranteed to help you lose a pound.

As for this cowl-necked top, I thought accessorizing with a skinny belt gives it such a different feel. I love the way this neckline is so adjustable, giving you different looks all the time!

BALENCIAGA PRE-FALL 09

Nicolas Ghesquiere has outdone himself once again. Oohh I love Picture 1...those black ribbons interspersing the fur coat is so yummy. And those cool boots-wedge in pic 3 oozes Coolness. I like the grey bag in Pic 4 too! It appears to be either woven or quilted leather...anyway those bumps must feel so addictive.

The arm mittens in Pic 3 and 4 are really "ermm" though. Makes you look like you suddenly had a hormonal overdrive and grew much hair on your arms! Or you were morphing into a grizzly bear.

Not impressed with pic 6. The ruching puts 5 pounds onto the model instantly; the mid-calf dress shortens the legs . The colour is boring and grey, and the motorcycle boots and gloves makes her look like she can't decide where to go!

Nokia's Muvee

Watch what Nokia N95's muvee feature did for my video. All you need to do for this cool video is to use an existing video and select the muvee feature. Various themes are available. It took only 10 minutes. This application cuts and pastes the most exciting parts of your video, adds new angles, frames and music and put them all together in a shortened version of your video. You can even lump a few together. Really cool for the video-splicing adverse technorati.

Unfortunately after I upgraded my phone's software, the Nokia people downgraded my applications by removing this Muvee. Bwahhhh...I want my Muvee back!

Red Cliff 2

From right, Mainland China actress Zhao Wei, Hong Kong actor Tony Leung, Taiwanese actress Lin Chiling, Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, Hong Kong director John Woo, Mainland China actor Zhang Fengyi, John Woo's wife Niu Chun-long and Mainland China actor Tong Da Wei pose during the news conference for their latest movie "Red Cliff 2" in Hong Kong.

John Woo is preparing to introduce his first Chinese-language film in 16 years to foreign audiences after the historical epic proved a massive success in Asia.

Those of you who are still deciding whether to watch Red Cliff 2, made to a budget of USD80 million, hesitate no more. It is really worth your while. Not only do you get a dose of Chinese history (set nearing end of Han dynasty, before the period of the 3 Kingdoms) in a relevant way, you get to watch eye candy Lin Chiling and Takeshi. (For fans, there were gratuitous shots of Chiling in the buff in Red Cliff).  I'm not so enamoured of the rest. Zhao Wei looked quite haggard perhaps from the long filming and Tony Leung, although he is a fantastic actor, looked his age. The villian Cao Cao looked too kindly i thought, almost likeable. The casting director should have looked for a more evil man. Zhang Fengyi was quite suave.

 I prepped up for the movie by borrowing a dvd (pirated or not is non of your business haha) of Red Cliff to recall what took place. For those of you where this option is not available, don't fret. Red Cliff 2 director John Woo has kindly done a snapshot of the first movie in his classic freeze-slash style.

Red Cliff has the perfect mix of humour, suspense, strategy, plot, subplots, picturesque cinematophy, cool soundtrack, gore, wild chases and killings. Initially my main motive for watching was Takeshi (drool drool) but in the end I really enjoyed the show. There's even some general knowledge to be gleaned from here...like how to deliver a foal, how to read weather, how to make great Chinese tea etc.

I think the main draw was the story itself. The war strategies that the troops employed appeared relevant even to a modern audience. At the end there is even a moralizing on the merits of battle. Ok...go watch! 5 stars definitely!

P.S: If you go expecting to learn actual events of Chinese history, prepare to be disappointed. Every director has his artistic liberty. Woo employs elements of movie-making with historical facts. Read Wikipedia for actual points of difference.  After all, this is entertainment.