Who is This Girl?

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Useless Info Residing In My Brain

Indulgence in the past month or so :

Books

1) A Prison Diary : Volume I (Hell)

Volume II (Purgatory)

Volume III (Heaven)

Classification : Autobiography

In short : Jeffrey Archer writes about his time spent behind bars after being sentenced for perjury. Recommended for those who are interested in mundane affairs ( like what people in prison do and eat to kill time). The three books trace Archer's passage from Category A to Category D prisons and stories of his fellow inmates were included.

Lesson for Puffyrazzi : The difference between 'escape' and 'abscond'. Ahhh, the power of the English language...

Rating : 3.5 stars

2) Angels and Demons : Special Illustrated Edition


Classification : Fiction, fusing both religion and science, also mixing facts and fiction.


In short : Dan Brown churns out another thriller with The Da Vinci Code's protagonist, Robert Langdon. This time Langdon solves the mystery of the secret society, the Iluminati and zips around Rome and Vatican City trying to stop an antimatter canister from blowing off the Vatican City during the cardinals' conclave to elect the new Pope. I love the illustrations that accompany the story. Sure takes loads off your mind trying to imagine what the inside of the Pantheon or Chigi Chapel look like when you've never been to Europe.


Lesson for Puffyrazzi : Few pounds of antimatter is enough to wipe out a city.


Ratings : 4 stars

Dramas

1) It Started With a Kiss , 惡作劇之吻


Classification : Romantic Idol Drama


In Short : Cute and simple-minded girl falls for genius. This drama follows her life for the 4 years she spent trying to win his heart. The Old English Sheepdog ( Xiao Ke Ai ) that appears midway in this drama is too cute! Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng showed some solid acting in this one.


Lesson for Puffyrazzi : Second leads in idol dramas are always much nicer and its sad they don't end up with the chick. *sigh*... poor ah jin. I love you, though.


Ratings : 3 stars









2) KO One , 终级一班


Classification : Gangster flick


In Short : KO One is a class meant for delinquents and rejects. The story revolves around members of the KO chart who possess different fighting superpowers. The drama is presented video gamestyle ( when two characters fought, their strength and weapons are displayed on screen above them). The acting was abit choppy though but i thoroughly enjoyed the cold jokes and the suspense of guessing who KO One ( AKA #1 on KO chart) was. Most hilarious scene was when KO9 was revealed to be a transvestite called Tsai 1 0 (Tsai Yi Ling) and the role was played by Xiao Gui of '100% entertainment' fame.


Lesson for Puffyrazzi : Senseless drama can be so entertaining at times.


Ratings : 3 stars

Phantom Of The Opera

A week after Jolin's pop concert, i headed to the Esplanade Theatre for the critically-acclaimed musical 'Phantom Of The Opera'. Of all the musicals i've listened to, Phantom is the number one on my list of 'must-watch'.

Unlike the week before, the musical started right on time. About 5 minutes prior to the show, i zipped out for a quick toilet break and one of the ushers gently reminded me to be back in 5 minutes or else i would only be let in after the first few scenes. Not wanting to miss the famous chandelier-raising opening scene, i obediently returned in 2 minutes.. haha


Based on the novel written by Gaston LeRoux, songs from the musical such as 'All I Ask Of You' , 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Music of the Night' were on my regular winamp playlist during my university days. Being there in the theatre and reliving those songs brought back many nostalgic memories.

The story traces the love triangle between the Phantom, his protege Christine Daae and her childhood friend Raoul Vicomte de Chagny, a nobleman. The phantom is a disfigured musical genius who combs and lives in the sewers of the Paris Opera House.


The beautiful sets and costumes left me mesmerized with their beauty. The changing of scenes were effortless and during the 2 hours, members of the audience were spellbound by the beautiful tunes and we felt as if we were really transported back in time during the height of the Paris Opera House glorious days.

My 2 friends who were sitting just a few rows from the stage in the matinee show expressed that they felt moved by the performance as they were near enough to see every detail of the actors' expressions. I bet they were also close enough to touch the chandelier when it crashed just before the end of Act I... =)

Lastly, i share with you the lyrics from 'The Music Of The Night' :

Night-time sharpens,heightens each sensation . . .

Darkness stirs and wakes imagination . . .

Silently the senses abandon their defences . . .

Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendour . . .

Grasp it, sense it -tremulous and tender . . .

Turn your face away from the garish light of day,

turn your thoughts awayfrom cold, unfeeling light -

and listen to the music of the night . . .

Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!

Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!

Close your eyes,let your spirit start to soar!

And you'll liveas you've never lived before . . .

Softly, deftly,music shall surround you . . .

Feel it, hear it,closing in around you . . .

Open up your mind,let your fantasies unwind,i

n this darkness which you know you cannot fight -

the darkness of the music of the night . . .

Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world!

Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before!

Let your soul Take you where youl ong to be !

Only then can you belongto me . . .

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication!

Touch me, trust me savour each sensation!

Let the dream begin,

let your darker side give into the power of the music that I write -

the power of the music of the night . . .

Puffyrazzi's Expanding Business

Puffyrazzi would like to announce that from today onwards, she will not be updating her blog as frequently anymore. The reasons? My expanding business that spans through many countries in Asia Pacific. Here i share two of their photos for any of you out there who are potential or interested share holders hohoho....

Yong An Departmental Store, Hong Kong

Yong An Chinese Restaurant, Yokohama Japan

2007 唯舞独尊 World Tour

Hey hey hey, I was privileged to attend Jolin 蔡依林's Dancing Diva concert in Singapore Indoor Stadium last Saturday. It was the last leg of her world tour concert that began in July 2006. Initially, i thought that she would not be stopping in Singapore as her whirlwind tour had stopped in Malaysia in December '06 ( which everyone thought was the last leg). Out of the blue, it was announced there would be an additional stop in Singapore...whoo hoo.



Queing up to enter the stadium. Nice poster .... had my tote examined but my camera was not confiscated as it was in hiding.

I've always enjoyed listening to English music more, but i am now beginning to accept more Mandaring songs. I prefer upbeat songs and would normally reserve my admiration for dancing singers. To me, Mandarin ballads all sound the same. I love dancing male artistes who do the popping-locking routine. There is a dearth of Chinese female singers who actually dance when they sing, i can only name a handful : Jolin ,Elva, Landy. As i have been dancing since secondary school, i can understand how difficult dancing can be. I have seen non-dancing friends diss singers or dancing for their lack of skill but what they don't realise is a dance move that looks easy may take ages to master. If you don't believe me, try to dance along to what you see on TV, i can assure you that you will laugh at yourself in the mirror.

Approximately 30 minutes before the show, the stadium is slowly filling up and eventually was brimming with fans anticipating a good performance.

I'm happy cos i got a good seat. It was important for me to get a good seat cos i was there for the dancing, not the singing... haha~ I do know she's not much of a live singer . My seat was on the right side of the stadium. The good thing was it was very near to the stage, i was even nearer than the first row on the front but of course, i was watching everything from a side view. It was a blessing in disguise though, cos everyone in front of the stage ended up dancing along midway through the concert. Those of us at the front side seats remained seated so we could still enjoy the show while in our seats.

The view from my seat. The stage is about 5m away from me.

Jolin made her first appearance by suspending herself on a pair of gymnastic rings slowly descending from the top while posing in a split. Oh crap, once the lights dimmed, so did my camera capabilities. It was impossible to capture a clear photo with all those dancing and and moreover in semi-darkness... haha... Please bear with my badly taken photographs. She started with a medley of dancey songs. After that she put on a white gown and proceeded with mid-tempo numbers.

Her opening medley. What beautiful legs the dancers have... :D

Then, she disappeared backstage for a costume change. Out of nowhere, Energy suddenly jumped on stage and crooned 3 songs ; 2 fast and 1 slow song. I am not familiar with Energy, but what i can tell you is that they are not really very charismatic. The 2 girls sitting right beside me dashed away for a quick toilet break, as did many others!

This photo is dedicated to Crispy, who is a big fan of ANY boybands... haha~ Puffyrazzi was able to squeeze her petite self into a photo with Energy!!! Hey, do you notice the girl in front of me is not even paying attention to Energy?

Everyone began cheering when Jolin reappeared, this time in a purple gown, belting out a string of ballads. Her voice was clearer when she was singing slower songs. During the fast numbers, the live band's music was too loud, drowning out her voice and the loud bass was thumping and vibrating my seat, really! After 3 ballads, she stripped off her purple gown revealing a black tube matched with a pair of puffy shorts. She sang 3 cute songs, including 2 Jay Chou-penned older songs.

I didn't like the purple dress very much. It looked too big for her frame and abit clumsy to walk in.





At this point, the crowd that was initially sitting and cheering began to warm up. Those on the floor began standing and waving their battery-operated light sticks like maniacs... haha... Those in her fan club even brought lighted banners. Others danced and sang along, some even shouted in their replies when she was addressing the crowd. For once, i saw the warm side of Singaporeans =P

The meek crowd in the beginning. This was before everyone started standing and dancing along. See, i was sitting even nearer to the stage than the first row! Akakakaka...

Next, Jolin and her dancers performed a military dance, complete with trench-coats and machine guns. She perfomed 'Prove It' in this get-up but later stripped to a body-hugging suit when she continued on with other songs. During '唇唇欲动' she tried to perform 2 successive cartwheels but her 2nd one failed, and she crashed to the floor. The audience gasped audibly but continued to cheer...

She later donned a black racy costume and entertained with a bunch of her signature dance songs. All the crazy fans have reached the highest at this point, i can't even hear her sing anymore... oh dear god, i just sat there watching her dancing , wondering where she got her stamina from. I couldn't even dance without panting and her she could even sing whilst dancing ( i must add that she was dancing on 2-inch heels)....arrrggh...God is unfair...

Simply love the boots she was wearing during the gun dance. Male dancers lifted her up just before she released the final gunshot.

Her microphone pouch hanging precariously just above her butt dropped during '看我 72 变'. Her back-up dancers tried to help her midway during the number. When they could not solve the problem, another 2 backstage workers came up to assist them. Finally after they managed to stick it back, the song was over and it was time for her to dash off to prepare for the encore.

Dancing along the tune of 'Prove It'.

During her encore, she appeared with a gymnastic ball and ribbons to perform '舞娘', adding numerous stag leaps and pirouttes in the routine. I didn't get a good pic, which was a shame cos the ribbon looked really nice. Jolin's was pink and her dancers' were all white.. The last song was '倒带' which was really appropriate cos everyone wished they could rewind everything and watch again.

Jolin's last song was 倒带, on an elevated platform, before waving goodbye and descending along with the platform

In all, i think this concert was below-par compared to her previous concerts and those on DVD. She forgot her lyrics in several songs and did not complete some dance moves which she previously did easily. She looked like she was lacking in practice, probably cos she was on a long break after her previous leg in Kuala Lumpur. I was also disappointed cos the special guests Energy did not interact with her AT ALL. I was actually expecting Stanley Huang to guest this concert. Haiz...

My next venture to a concert should be next year.. heh heh... it should be 小豬's world tour which is starting in June this year. By the time he reaches Singapore, it should be either end of this year or next year. Ahh.... anticipating another good performance from a fantastic dancer.

Express Cupcake

Yo yo! I tried a new cupcake recently. The special thing is that i made it all from scratch in a matter of minutes. Ha ha...that's what i call super-instant cupcake.

In this cute box comes 2 sachets of cupcake mix. I have no idea what it says on the box ( i can't read Japanese for nuts) but i think it's mocha flavour.

Ingredients needed : One sachet, a standard size mug and an egg

Beat egg into mug. Add in cake mix and stir till no lumps are observed.

Heat with low heat for 5 minutes in a microwave oven

Eureka! A cupcake ready to be consumed... Yummm.... mMmmmmMmm...

QQ Shaking Hands

My mom teaches QQ how to shake hands. Also, he just had his first haircut. Enjoy!

Are We On the Same Planet?

Noun : Alkoxylates, Niagara Filter, MRR, ethoxylates, propylene glycol, emollient, soda ash, catalyst , anti-bumping granules

Verb : Sparge, slop, purge, recirc, emulsify, cookdown, pastillate, spray, reflux, deodorize, bleach, refine, rework

Friends : Fourier-Transformed near infra red spectroscopy, Karl-Fischer auto titrator, High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Enemies : Pyridine, Acetone, Conc. Sulfuric Acid, Ether, Toluene, BHT ( the antioxidant, not the man) , Chloroform

Baby names : Fermol, Glycerox, Steanol, Cithrol, Cromollient, Croduret, Arlamol, Rheodol, Crill, Emgenol, Crodet, Volpo

Errands : Hydroxyl Value, Polyol Profile, Fatty Acid Distribution, Moisture Content, Refractive Index, Specific Gravity



Conclusion : Puffyrazzi suffers from post-work depression