Korea VS Singapore

Ohmien, bummer, the world didn’t end after all T.T boohoo, now I have to rly start getting down to work =-=

Still haven’t finished 49days T.T n relatives coming over soon, meaning I won’t have time for my project, longer meetups with friends, drama etc. haizzzzz n im running outta ideas of where to bring them. Think it’s sad that I can only gush about 49days here whenever I even make a post. Plus the fact that it isn’t useful for me to reminisce on in the future…other memories wld b better. So thought I’ll just randomly note down some differences between Korea and Singapore. Been almost a year since I got back, so I should quickly compare and contrast before everything is deleted from my RAM.

FOOD

Korean food is spicier, more kick. Not in general but like the dishes that are spicy are really spicy, unlike certain dishes in sg which I find alright though they are SUPPOSED to be spicy. Then again, this is all up to personal preferences, cuz I got a pretty high spice threshold. And coming from someone who can take spicy stuff, when I say that Korean food is spicy, it really is. On the same point, they have NO chilli sauce. Nope. Soy sauce with chilli powder (if my guess is right…it was offered in my cafeteria) exists. They simply use 고추장 (gochujang) which is like erm spice in paste form? Used for kimchi, the stews etc.

There WAS very little bubble tea in Korea, but heard that there’s Gong Cha in Seoul somewhere now. I had to rely heavily on Dunkin’ Donuts’ bb tea which costs a bomb, like 3,500won for the hot one, almost equivalent to SGD4+ and it was a small cup!!! *cries* Oh and the locals don’t seem to like the pearls a lot…they drink alcohol (soju, maekju, makgeolli etc) and coffee heavily though. There’s like a coffee shop (not the hawker ctr kind, I shld call them cafes) every other few shops along the street where the youths hang out like Ewha, Hongdae. And you can always find shops called “chicken and beer” and the like lined along streets too.

I didn’t really realize but others pointed out that there were like no veggies. Kimchi is definitely present in every meal and there are leafy vegs for you to wrap your bbq meat and eat it their way.but like the normal cooked leafy veggies were nowhere to be found O.o and then there’s the case of the fruits being quite expensive. Strawberries should be ok when in season but otherwise, I heard they are expensive. Again, I didn’t realize this XD cuz I only gorged myself on bananas for my servings of fruits and I didn’t really think about the prices. Ohoh the grapes! They are pretty different. Got to eat some grapes at certain outings and gatherings, and the skin is pretty tough to chew and leaves a rough feel on your tongue, so you either just swallow after a few chews or perhaps throw them away, but I think that the skin should be the most nutritious one with all the antioxidants etc bah?

They provide water everywhere. Like in those home restaurants, there’s always a flask of water and cups for us, no need to specially ask for iced water. So a water bottle isn’t really necessary in Korea. In Singapore, some places might just even charge for iced water =-=

The best difference that Singaporeans would love is that in Korea they have free banchan반찬 or side dishes, which includes steamed egg (takes a while to arrive) and odeng or fishcake (my fav) and the absolutely necessary KIMCHI~ and……DRUMROLL………..it’s free flow!!! *beams* I haven’t come across a Korean stall in Singapore that really can compare to the side dishes offered in Korea, plus the fact its free flow. I think they are afraid that Singaporeans will really take advantage of this and bankrupt them. I think you can literally order a bowl of rice for like 500won (less than SGD1) and then eat with all the side dishes if you are really out of money for the day in Korea. And in Chinese restaurants in Singapore, they charge a lot for the peanuts =-=

Randomly insert some pictures taken at Manna Story in Singapore. They got free flow side dishes lah, but then for certain ones only (meaning those meat and more ex kind wont have free flow T.T)

PEOPLE AND THEIR QUIRKS

Koreans are more respectful I guess. Actually I think that the use of honorifics in their language plays a big part as well. English doesn’t have honorifics so it’s just you and you, whereas for Korean, you have 너, 당신. French also has tu and vous. So it’s easier to sound disrespectful I guess. But for travelers who learnt their Korean phrases from dramas and happen to use the banmal 반말 version, they are mostly understanding. Unless you look very Korean, then I bet they’re gonna be super offended. They consider your age to determine if they will use banmal with you or not. But that was the only aspect I could witness. Sadly, I couldn’t really see for myself if their respect goes beyond words and encompasses their actions towards elders. Cuz I do know for a fact that the Burmese take actions very seriously too (usage of two hands, bowing the head, sitting at a lower level than elders etc for e.g.), duno if the Koreans surpass them or not.

They bring along their toothbrush and toothpaste everywhere they go and brush their teeth after every meal. They aren’t really super clean freaks. I asked a Korean friend and the answer I got was that because kimchi, garlic etc in their food usually will lead to bad breath and they didn’t want to be disrespectful to others. Sounds legit, no idea if that’s really the truth for all or not though heh heh.

Despite all the above that seem to suggest that they are really nice people who respect others tremendously, do not be fooled. On the streets, they often just knock into people and just brush it off, totally not bothering to say sorry as we most probably would in Singapore to stay out of trouble. Seems more prevalent in big cities where people are always in a rush. And oh man does it hurt sometimes.

Korea is super safe and they trust people a lot too. Again, I think this has to do with our culture. I keep recounting this incident in Busan where one hotteok seller has a pail full of money and expects customers to pay and collect their change (if any) on their own. Seriously, if this is in Singapore, I think the owner would have lost quite a lot of money, like people pay lesser than they should be paying or collect back more than the change they ought to get.

TRANSPORTATION

Very very convenient and very very confusing. I had an app that helped to determine which stops to transfer at and to transfer from which line to which, otherwise I most probably would be stuck for half a day staring at the subway map of Seoul. A LOT of lines. I’m afraid that’s what Singapore is gonna be like soon, if the leaked future MRT plans are any indication. Like there are 12 different routes one can take to get from point A to B. Honestly, I don’t see the point. Makes it confusing for not only the locals but also tourists. But I guess it doesn’t beat Australia. I remember that their trains at the same platform have different stopping points, so before you board you have to make sure that you are boarding one that DOES stop at where you wanna go, or you’ll end up staring at the station whiz past your window.

The buses and busstops are pretty awesome too. The busstops have like the route planned out, kinda similar to what is at Singapore’s bus stops now too. But the buses, wow. City buses read out the stop name in Korean and for certain important landmarks and stuff, in English as well. This in addition to the stop name scrolling across the screen at the front of the bus, similar to trans island buses in Singapore. Still called trans island hor? And the bus fare is like flat fare and you pay once you tap your card to board the bus. Oh yeah, they use ezlink card system too, except that the “cards” come in the form of cute handphone accessories too, shld be using NFC technology or sth I guess. You don’t have to tap when you alight, unless you are intending to board another bus after this in the same direction. Flat fare for the same direction. I asked my Korean friend before about this and apparently, you can change 3 buses in the same direction if I remember correctly (in my city at least, not sure about other cities).

OVERALL

There are those recycling bins everywhere, need you to separate your rubbish into the various types and dispose of them. When you see these bins almost everywhere I think it becomes a habit. Add that to the fact that the Koreans are doing it too, so as a foreigner you feel even more obliged to do so. They also clear up after themselves at fast food restaurants. NOT just school cafeterias. And Korea is considered pretty clean. I remember Sydney being terribly littered, and the strong winds didn’t help =-=

One thing I dislike about Korea is the cheap prices of cigarettes and the ease at which you can obtain them. They are sold in vending machines, for goodness sake. And frigging cheap. I think Singaporean smokers would find Korea a totally heavenly place. Now that I think of it, the reason they brush their teeth so much might also be because they are afraid the tobacco or wtv inside e cigarette would stain their teeth =-= erm.

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Wow. I never expected this kinda reflection would be so long a post hahahah

maybe ill update this post again with photos taken in Korea when I have the time to spare.

Overthinking

Finally done with exams. Ok that was actually one week ago, but ohwells it feels lik just yesterday. Cuz I’ve been slacking my life away and with that I mean that I haven’t been watching any dramas/variety shows nor have I been doing my project (which I should). I’ve just been sleeping, lying in bed n helping with the painting of our walls for a bit.

BUT! I’ve finally finished up the whole of 응답하라 1997/Reply 1997. YAY! Now there’s still 49 days left. Arghz.

Hoya with the doggie cuz both are so cute ^^

Reply 1997 is ooooohhhhhh so good. So nostalgic since the flashbacks were based in the 90s, although the flashing forward and back and forth was a tad bit confusing at parts that I had to rewind and also rely on the deconstructing of the drama on dramabeans. I liked that the whole drama isn’t too focused on the love part, as in the love between lovers kinda love, but instead encompasses all kinds of love like the love of parents for their children, sibling love etc. And it even adds a twist with a guy-guy possible pairing which most viewers totally wouldn’t mind either, cuz it was so sweeeeettt =) Love the focus on family for several parts of the drama, carn stop my tears, no T.T *cries into pillow* for other dramas I’ll bawl my eyes out simply because the lead is also crying and I find the other lead so stupid for not doing _____ but for this drama, I end up tearing at parts where the characters are far from crying, just simply sharing their life stories. Like even though it was obvious that the dad doesn’t succumb to cancer or anything like that (we have already seen him alive and kicking in 2012), when he was diagnosed and all back in the 90s, still couldn’t help it at parts. AND the whole drama was so short! 16 episodes which in total I think around 16 hours at most only since each episode except for the last two were around 30-45 minutes long kind. It’s a “sitcom” after all.

Ok for more serious stuff.

Exams. Really regret taking certain mods instead of others I could have taken this sem. In comparison, the past year exam papers seem much easier, but then they always do, until u’re like ½ weeks away from the exams and trying the paper for urself, and then when u’re facing the paper on the actual D-Day itself. But then again, carn do anything to change anything. Split milk. Can only wipe up the mess and buy a new carton. Or just stave off milk.

21 December 2012 – That’s in 9 days. Carn even have xmas?! But seriously, when I do say that I wish for the world to end, sometimes I mean it. Cuz human beings don’t seem deserving of this planet. We are at each other’s throats all the time. But then again, who could help it? This is what competition does and what natural selection does I guess. But at times, you witness, experience stuff that literally “restores faith in humanity” only for it to be destroyed again once you turn your head away =-= 

 

On another note, it’s actually just a whiny me wanting to shrink responsibility from making big decisions and making my transition into official adulthood. Which I am not ready for. At all. Wanna run away from that. Studying in school really seems much much easier. Realizing that I have known certain friends for like almost 10 years and counting now really makes me feel OLDDDDD though I know 5 years down the road, I’ll look back and think that I was foolish then (2012) when I still wasn’t THAT old and should have been enjoying every moment of my life. Haiz. Cuz that’s exactly what I am doing now. Reminiscing (acc to google this seems to be the correct spelling, im puzzled and confused too) the “me” 5-10 years ago (not too far off from what the Reply 1997 characters did) and thinking how I should have not worried about random stuff but instead focus on enjoying myself like I could at that young age. Tsk tsk.

Wanna do something exciting but I never have the guts to do so and I end up focusing on what I can, studies and studies. Now I am wondering where all that led me. And if I’m actually doing anything productive in my life that I would actually like and be proud of it when I look back. I do like some of the stuff I’m learning and doing at the moment but not ALL of it and I do get my kick out of scoring well but that’s about it. I do not feel strongly about stuff I do, learn etc. N I dun think that’s gonna help me for any interviews. And as much as I want to prove to all those interviewers that actually those that had acted the part well most probably cannot do the actual work well when the time calls for it, I most probably cannot even get myself past the interviewing stage to do that. Your grades will only get you that far, to the interviewing round. Then when you are unable to adapt and show the interviewers a side of you (fake or real aside) they desire in a future employee, you are out of the game. N that’s one of the reasons I hate adulthood, the job, the career you’re supposed to have for life. N all that for what? Money to survive in this world. Not to do what you really like. Cuz sometimes stuff you love doesn’t pay well or isn’t even enough to get you and your family through daily life. So what’s the use? It’s like we work for happiness (wealth, stability) but in the process, we also discard our own happiness (doing what we really desire). Ironic and frustrating. Then again, this is just old me whining “it’s not fair” when actually I could get off my butt to do something about it. But I’m just afraid. I like stability and I do like where I am right now, though I do get unhappy if I think about the past and all the “what ifs”. But if I had made other choices in my life, who knows, I might still be hating that choice and perhaps regretting it even more. I could have not studied when I was younger and most probably now I would have lesser career choices. For some things, more means better and this is one of the things. You can never have too many choices. Sure you can have one hell of a headache deciding but that kinda suffering is better than being limited and left with no choice. Right now, in an act of rebellion, I’m having thoughts of highlighting my hair in different colors. Crazy thoughts that once again, I do not dare to carry out in action when I start to overthink and consider all the consequences I could face – possible rejections from jobs etc.

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Maybe I should just stop thinking, and start doing, and living.

Busy........procrastinating

Almost a month since I last posted anything. Got a few drafts of posts about food places and very cui food pictures but not yet ready. I shall compile, one fine day, then publish as one uber long and overwhelming post.

School. But not exactly heavy workload. I can handle it. And I am slacking quite a bit throughout the week so I wouldn't say that I am stressed about tt. The sources of my stress now and then is 1) when I come to the realisation of all the stuff that I should have started on/done, 2) when I wake up from random loooooonnnnnggggg naps (maybe they shouldn't be called naps) and feel damn angry with myself thinking about the stuff I could have accomplished in that same amount of time, 3) when I experience (1) or (2) and end up using a "Since I've done it, I should just continue down the road of destruction and despair" philosophy with the rest of my day and at the end of it, feel even angrier with myself. =-= Really boils down to my procrastination.

While procrastinating (like now), I feel happy until I feel pangs of (1) then the regret kicks in and then (3) and I go back to my procrastinating state =( what is this?!

That was just a random video I took at Changi Airport Terminal 1. To make this post less dull.
Its an art installation called "Kinetic Rain". I couldn't help but wonder what the code written for this is like.

Watched 2 more episodes of '49 days' as I figured that that would at least make it more worthwhile then watching and rewatching youtube MVs. That has become a habit for this year. I go online thinking I need to do some research or check my email and go onto youtube as well just to enjoy some music while I work. But I always end up watching the MVs that I have watched before - procrastination level 100.

'49 days' is just getting better and better. Everytime that awesome song plays in the background, I cry a bucket of tears T.T because the plot is so heart-wrenching at that point in time and the soulful melody and sad lyrics just pushes me off the cliff into my own ocean of tears. Now at the end of episode 10, we are left hanging with Jihyun wanting to give up the remaining of her 49days (around 28 days left I think) because she sees no hope and then suddenly she "magically" obtains a pure tear from someone who 100% truly madly deeply loves her. The audience is made to think its Hankang since the scene right before was focused on him. But I'd like to think it was someone else, as Hankang is a super possible candidate for the 3 tears mission and I would like to see Jihyun clear those harder targets first so that the last days would be more of a breeze. Bitter before sweet. But then again, seeing how dense Jihyun is, I think she might not know how to make Hankang's tears appear >.< *slaps forehead*

Ok, there. I feel much better ranting to a computer about my own procrastination while doing the act itself. What a hypocrite. And I feel even much better gushing about '49 days' to my computer =D I need to get back to work. Soon, heh heh.

49일

Been watching this drama "49 days" or "49일" these few days. Chanced upon this drama thanks to one of its OST songs that I heard on radio. Such a heart-wrenching song.

Synopsis or maybe just spoilers (since I'm like telling most of the story)::: 

Shin Ji Hyun is a princessy only child who is about to get married to her beloved boyfriend-cum-fiancé Kang Min Ho when she got into an unfortunate accident. This accident was somehow caused by a stranger Song Yi Kyung who has been living her life like a zombie for the past 5 years and tried to commit suicide but failed to do so and inadvertently caused a pile-up along the same road that Shin Ji Hyun had her accident later on. As it was not yet her time to die, the soul reaper or Scheduler as called in the drama gave her an option to try to stay alive (her body was comatose) by collecting 3 drops of PURE tears that prove a person's true love for her within 49 days. Some conditions were laid out though. She could not approach any people related by blood to her and she was to use Song Yi Kyung's body as a host (during her sleeping hours) to do what she needed to. As she had to earn what she wants to spend, Shin Ji Hyun (in Song Yi Kyung's body) took up a part-time job at her childhood friend Han Kang's cafe. Han Kang happens to have a huge crush on Shin Ji Hyun but have kept it under wraps and distanced himself from her as he is too late. Plus her fiancé Kang Min Ho is a hyung he met while studying abroad.

Initially, Shin Ji Hyun thought that it was going to be easy as she could find her fiancé as well as her two best friends, Shin In Jung and Park Seo Woo, for those 3 tears. But as the story unfolds, it turns out that it is not that easy after all as Shin In Jung has been going out with Kang Min Ho for a long time and was in cahoots with him in planning the downfall of Shin Ji Hyun's dad's company. Marrying her was part of the plan. It all gets more confusing as over time, both Kang Min Ho and Han Kang starts to fall in love with Shin Ji Hyun in Song Yi Kyung's body. Thing is, Shin Ji Hyun is trusting and dimwitted at best and so she is just basically very blur about all these although up to the point I have watched, it seems that she has come to realise that Kang Min Ho is falling in love with her/Song Yi Kyung.

L to R: Shin In Jung, Scheduler, Song Yi Kyung, Han Kang, Shin Ji Hyun, Kang Min Ho

HAHA this drama is super awesome. It isn't tear-jerking or anything (the characters do a lot of crying though, n its sorta making me numb). Each episode is around 1 hour or so and it isn't too draggy or too rushed, the timing is very nice and enough is covered each episode. AND I'VE ONLY WATCHED LIKE 8 EPISODES?! Compare this to Secret Garden hmpf, duno why I wasted my time watching SG man...it was so draggy and the first part was boring. And yet people were raving about it =-= I think it's due to the cast members. SG has Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won, enough eye candy. 49 days has Nam Gyuri who is like a doll, and rightfully so, cause her plastic surgery is far too extensive =-= the female lead (Song Yi Kyung's body which has Shin Ji Hyun's soul in it) Lee Yo Won is not exactly very pretty. She's tall but I don't think she has a very attractive vibe and her shoulders are not very wide, not that it's not good but I think she will look nicer with wider shoulders...there is Jung Il Woo as the Scheduler but eh his nose looks plastic too. Jo Hyun Jae (as Han Kang) is not bad too but he feels old for me and I still think something somewhere must be fake haha, this nagging feeling that only Lee Yo Won is natural enough. And maybe the actor that played Shin Ji Hyun's dad, Shin Il Shik.

I think one of the reasons for this awesomeness is that the characters and their histories are rich and very interesting so the audience have a lot to look forward to each episode. Plus they have their little secrets here and there, their intertwining lives and the whole soul and body belonging to different people thing going on. Damn good scriptwriters. Perhaps this kinda drama works for me - where the first episode seems to start from a certain point in the characters' lives and there are stuff to catch up on, instead of dramas where the audience experience things together with the characters at the same time and there is no secrets or flashbacks to indulge in. Sometimes when there are too many flashbacks it starts to get irritating but not for this drama, because as predictable as some of the flashbacks do get, they fit in nicely with the flow of the drama and thus, no complaints. I need to say it again, DAMN GOOD SCRIPTWRITERS.

I just realised that Secret Garden, 49 days and City Hunter were screened in this chronological order, no overlap. And yet all I heard people raving about was Secret Garden and City Hunter =-= WHY 왜왜왜? I haven't watched City Hunter yet, but I think that 49 days is quite tough to beat with regards to its plot. For the acting, Lee Yo Won is doing a decent job acting as Song Yi Kyung in her zombie-like state as well as the bubbly but dimwitted-at-times crybaby Shin Ji Hyun (albeit still in Song Yi Kyung's body). These two characters have such different personalities haha but Shin Ji Hyun in both her own body and Song Yi Kyung's never fails to make me irritated. Cuz I don't find her antics cute and I hate her crying for almost anything. But I don't hate her haha just irritated, that's all. Up to this point, I do not hate any of the characters though I do dislike some of them for the bad stuff they have done (Kang Min Ho and Shin In Jung) but the scriptwriters are doing a good job making them have reasons for their "evilness" and thus the audience would most probably empathise with them instead of hating any character to the core.

Moral-of-the-story wise, 49 days is showing us the reality of life. Your so-called true friends may not be what they seem and it would take another besides you (or maybe just a different body) to figure that out because some people are just so god damn good in acting. It is a bit sad to think that if there are less than 3 people who truly loves you, your life isn't worth living. I love it when a drama or movie depicts life the sucky way it is and not sugarcoat it and just put in standard bickering and soap drama plots.

If only it was possible to tell if someone really loves you.

I choose to spend 100 days with Mr. Arrogant in 2012

Three movies!

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100 Days With Mr. Arrogant

Disgustingly funny movie. Like it is funny due to some disgusting scenes as well as some not so very innocent scenes, which I doubt I would have understood the humor behind it if I had watched it like in secondary school. See how my mind has become polluted over the years? =-= I am afraid that next time kids will have no problem watching NC16, M18 comedies and end up understanding them perfectly fine. I think the way they determine movie ratings need to be constantly updated.

SPOILERS

Anyway, both the leads are eye-candy, so even when the acting becomes overboard act-cute for Ha Ji Won’s part, you overlook it. You can also overlook the not so good CGI at the bungee jumping scene thanks to the pretty enough faces of the characters.

I don’t like the build-up of their love story. It is similar to BOF’s Jan Di and Jun Pyo in a way, Like I do not get to witness the growth of their love, how it was nurtured. There weren’t enough scenes to show the changing attitude of the two towards each other, in my opinion. Although it was shown that the male lead started to be nicer to the girl but I don’t know leh, there is a lack of feel? The only sweet scene besides the happy ending scene was the part where they were saying good night to each other through sms and the guy was gonna type a reply in a similar sweet tone as the girl’s but ended up deciding against showing his true feelings. That part to me is more significant and is more useful to the plot than the rest of the story which doesn’t flow too well. It made me go “Ah-ha! Caught you! You have fallen in love with her.” There was supposedly this other scene (the bungee jump one) that is supposed to have a similar effect but it fell flat because of the pathetic CGI and cuz the lack of interaction between the two while the girl lay in hospital downplayed the whole significance of that scene. They spent like a few seconds filming in that room with the guy sitting there and then getting up, then the girl finally open her eyes. They could have planned for the guy to like hold her hands at least, but no. Or better yet say some mushy stuff that reveal his feelings but then the girl was still knocked out so didn’t hear. I thought that is the standard formula of most romantic shows? Maybe the director is trying to break out of the norm but ahem, the whole story is still sorta predictable, so...haiz.

I did like the flow of things after their 100-day anniversary though. A try at a plot twist there, and the twist made sense. And those lights near the river was so cool!!! I do wonder though, why the girl never start hitting the guy (jokingly, of course) after learning the truth of him ganging up with her mum, her current tutor and even her college to trick her. Thought that is a good formula to follow – girl hits guy although she is obviously relieved and happy and then the guy grabs her hands and they kiss. Feels very standard kinda thing to me. And since romantic shows are usually very predictable to start off, might as well go on and follow the standard formula and have fans go aww and cry at all the specific moments in the film. I guess can just watch this very predictable movie for eye candy and to while away time when you feel like doing nothing at all.

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Choose

This was supposed to be some thriller film. Not a horror or scary kinda film but also not very thrilling.

SPOILERS

The twist wasn’t a very OMG-WHAT-THE-HELL twist, but an ok twist. I do get the motivation behind the psycho’s actions, trying to take revenge (as it mostly is).  The whole movie feels like a failed SAW-impersonating movie, where victims are forcibly asked to choose between two impossible choices, both which brings pain and suffering. It is also shown that the victims were all chosen for a reason, but I think that the torturing parts were not enough (3, 4 if you count the sheriff) and the connection was made late and wasn’t strong enough an impact. And the ending confused me a lot. I understood that the creepy guy Fiona saw in the hotel was the lover of her mother but I am confused as to if he had a part in egging her half-brother, the torturer, to take revenge or if he was part of the action all along., cuz the movie ended after his identity was revealed. The actors did a decent and believable job though.

Overall, I thought it was a waste of my time as not only was the plot weak but even the scares and torture wasn’t deliciously evil or disgusting.

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2012

The effects were good, and all the close-calls when it came to running away from the disaster made it nerve-wracking as the audience is made to sit on the edges of their seats hoping the characters could get out of the place in time and then heaving a sigh of relief along with everyone when they do succeed.

SPOILERS

There was some like “humans should fight for each other” message but then like the vigilant citizen website (http://vigilantcitizen.com/moviesandtv/the-hidden-symbolic-meaning-of-the-movie-2012/) said, it was more of “the rich will survive and the rest of you shall die”. The movie makes sense in that indeed, a lot of capital is needed in order to build all these humungous ships. The website is correct in pointing out that although Dr. Helmsley made a speech about how humans should fight for each other, he didn’t volunteer to like give up his seat whatsoever to those other poorer, less-privileged people who have all been left behind to die. He only “realizes” his wrongdoing perhaps, near the end and takes action. But so many are already dead, a bit late huh? But I guess this is where “it’s never too late for anything” comes in. After all, his speech saved the rich, who were the one who funded this whole thing. I think it is dumb that they wasted so many precious seconds debating and voting on the ships whether or not to open the doors for the rich who were almost left behind because there was no time. And I want to know what happens afterwards. Do the rich simply forget about how they were almost abandoned and make peace to continue life on Earth or will they bear a grudge and only start the quarrelling etc after they reach Africa safely and cannot be threatened by the ship’s controllers to be thrown overboard?

The vigilant citizen complains that disaster movies always depict the layman as a bunch of irrational, rowdy people that required shepherding, but I think that this is not entirely untrue. People do panic and forget how to think rationally in times of despair and this isn’t something to be ruled out.

I think just watch the movie without reading too much into anything is good haha hopefully you won’t be subconsciously trained to think a certain way about certain stuff after watching movies with supposed “hidden meanings”.

The Dark Knight Rises

Thanks to omy.sg and Domino's Pizza, I not only got to catch The Dark Knight Rises for free but also got posters, collectible The Dark Knight Rises glass cups and free Domino pizzas (in the form of vouchers)!!! =D

I remember seeing Domino's in Korea and it was then endorsed by Kim Soo Hyun.

Apparently, now it's not =( but anyway, I didn't get to try Domino's in Korea either as we were only eating the pizza selling within campus and any other pizza that school events ordered (which wasn't Domino's for some reason). Now I'll get to try it in Singapore...soon haha then I'll have to right to comment about its taste. Although there is no direct comparison, if Domino's in Korea is close to the national standard of pizzas over there, Domino's Singapore has quite a lot of expectations to live up to. The healthy pizzas there are seriously HEALTHY. No joke. Like your fingers won't even get oily after eating and I would describe the crust as more chewy than dry. This in comparison to the "healthy" choices we have here, ha, no competition at all. And they have fillings like sweet potato that surprising goes pretty well with the toppings and I don't really feel sick of it even after eating several slices.



Wakao look at that dough falling...drools...but since Domino's didn't even start from Korea, let's put this aside haha. From perusing through the webbie of Domino's here, I think they set high expectations for themselves too, service wise at least, with 30 minute delivery and 15 minute takeaway guarantees. I remember always hearing on the other side of the phone that at least 45 minutes or sometimes an hour (peak hour) is needed for delivery when I placed orders, but I've not ordered pizza since I left for Korea so eh, not sure if the situation has turned for the better, but still kudos to Domino's for this kinda guarantee. Damn, I am getting hungry @.@

Ok done with food for now!!! Until I taste it for myself.

Collection of tix and goodie bags at GV Vivocity

Pictures of what was in the goodie bag

stickers, why no joseph gordon-levitt?! =(

the limited edition glass that Domino's Pizza was giving away with purchase of certain items

3 posters in total for one goodie bag. still no joseph gordon-levitt =(

On to the movie! =D so awesome~ was supposed to go watch with friends after I caught The Dark Knight on channel 5 and the new one came out in cinemas but then due to some schedule issues, the plan fell through. So great that I managed to get this chance to watch, although it only officially started screening around 9.20pm+ and ended at around 12 midnight, causing the audience to all rush out to catch the last buses of the day. The timing was a bit awkward...heng we got onto the last bus, if not would have to have taken a taxi and cost a bomb to get to my house O.o I found it weird that we were asked to register from 7.30pm onwards but we could only enter the theatre at around 9pm (although it was stated on the event invite that we could at 8.30pm). Oh wells, I think there must be some admin stuff going on. And I expected a mini pizza reception instead of receiving vouchers so it was O.o when they started distributing the food vouchers to us while waiting in the cinema.

There was a short speech by the marketing manager of Domino's where she mentioned that this is most successful movie collaboration (with The Dark Knight Rises) out of those that Domino's has done so far. They were giving away special limited edition glasses (which we were given for this movie event) with purchase of The Dark Knight Rises meal or The Rising Add-on Bonus, but the promotion just ended today (5 August). Hopefully they will do collabs for Catching Fire and Mockingjay *fangirls*

Then the movie finally started! YAYS *some spoilers*

I remember a while back hearing some random guy talk about the movie on the mrt. He commented that The Dark Knight was better and that the latest installment doesn't make sense. I agree with the first part, I disagree with the second. I liked how the second movie in this trilogy revolved around the theme of having a good and evil side to everyone and about trying to suppress that evil/bad side of yours. I especially liked the part where two boats of civilians and criminals were set up against each other by The Joker. It goes to show the darker side in humans where even though we have not erred before, we might not think twice to do something if it's to save our own asses. Selfish - that's what we truly are. It's just a matter of having more self-control to keep your nature in check, or the world is doomed. I totally loved how the movie managed to point this out very beautifully - making me start to support the Joker and want the good people to blow up the other ship first just to prove the point XD yes i nearly went as psycho as the Joker himself. For this movie, the true cowardly and selfish nature of humans are again shown. The rest of the nation leaves Gotham city to their own devices when threatened by a nuclear bomb going off should there be outside intervention.

I pity Tom Hardy who acts as Bane. It's gonna be hard for people to judge him for his acting skills as most of the time he has this oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth, and he has to rely on his eyes only to portray any emotion (erm not much emotion to be shown with this character either). Basically, it isn't a role that's gonna allow him to shine + he's wearing that uncomfortable mask and very uncomfortable long coat + he has Heath Ledger's Joker as his villain predecessor who was scary yet beautiful in his acting.

The major twist in this movie is quite awesome. I guessed that Miranda was nothing good but as the movie went on and she didn't do anything evil, I gave her benefit of the doubt. Totally didn't recognise the first sign of her being a villain - the truck marked by Gordon and his team as the one transporting the nuclear core was actually a decoy; Miranda helped measure the radioactivity or something for that particular truck and identified it as high readings of radioactivity and thus the correct truck. I just thought that Bane found out what they were doing and changed trucks =-=
While Bruce was stuck in the well-like prison that Ra's al Ghul, then later his wife and child, used to be held, it was constantly mentioned by the characters inside that the child of Ra's al Ghul was the only one who has managed to escape from there before. After a sighting of Ra's al Ghul's apparition, Bruce in his physically and mentally broken state deduced that Bane is that child and started bucking up and recovering so that he could go back to save his city. Flashbacks also showed a child that we are assumed was male with his/her very short hair that's close to bald. Turns out that child is a female and Miranda Tate at that.

The ending of the movie does a nice summing up - showing that carrying away the nuclear core and having it explode above water didn't kill Batman/Bruce (he managed to run a patch installing auto-pilot on The Bat), how Bruce is now living a new life (with Selina Kyle/Catwoman) as Alfred once mentioned he hoped he would have and John Blake revealing his registered legal name to be Robin and then making his way to the Batcave (though I'm still unsure how he got the coordinates, I think I blinked somewhere for too long or sth haha).

The action and CGI was good, storyline was okok. I liked the score!!! Builds up the tension very well. I liked Anne Hathaway's acting! I think it's also because her character is in a dilemma and thus have more emotions to perform. Robin/John Blake was a bit boring and I still don't like Commissioner Gordon's continuous lies/coverups. I vote for Gotham to know who Batman was, for this movie, I don't get the point in not revealing since he is thought to be dead anyway and most prob not coming back. The "anyone can be Batman" hope and crap thing that Bruce stood by doesn't make sense to me =-= Do the kids that saw The Bat blowing up together with the nuclear core believe Batman survived it?

I want a new trilogy or something!! With Robin officially inside too, as a sidekick or as a lead I don't care. I want Joseph Gordon-Levitt to reprise his role, that's it.