Culturally Preconditioned

Here’s the other brilliant track from Madonna’s Hard Candy. Totally reminds me of Gaynor’s I Will Survive. Not a big fan of Kanye, but this is definitely doing down as one of Madonna’s classics.

I have to admit that I initially found Madonna’s Hard Candy disappointing. I mean, some of the songs are absolute rubbish. I still think half of the album is absolute trash, but this album does contain some rather good songs, 4 Minutes.. Heartbeat.. Miles Away. And I think Madonna has come up with possibly two of the best songs in her career. I’m posting a video a fan made out of the first one - Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You.

Now I may be criticized for citing this as the best.advertisement.ever since I’m not a parent… but I swear, this ad is SO fucking meant for some parents out there.

So I have made it a point not to post a food entry because there’s just too many food blogs out there that I don’t even have time to go through them as frequent as I used to. Besides, I got to a point when I got to fed up with the over abundant of food blogs that I almost threw up. You know food blogs hae gone down the drain when people start to blog and review even the most mundane things like Ayamas dishes. Hey, I actually like Ayamas.. but sorry, I don’t actually see the point of reviewing these sort of food, ya know.

Aaaanyways, it’s been over a week since I last read Boo’s (my favorite food blog) entry on the latest fluffy cheesecake promotions at The Loaf. I have sworn off from cheesecakes ever since Christmas Eve 2007. The disgusting cheesecakes at these Starbucks outlets are simply atrocious. They are like some weird chemical concoctions that’s just inedible. Filthy soap-like texture and artificial flavours. No fuckng thank you. And yes, I have written and posted my comments to them, and am still waiting for their response. Nada. They really cannot say, in good conscience, that the cheesecakes they are selling are inedible. No way. Filthy gelatinous bathing-soap tasting terrine, that’s what they are. I love my Starbucks drinks but goddamn you, Starbucks, for putting these shits on your shelves.
So it’s been a few months since I last had cheesecake. I don’t mind it that much since I don’t really have a sweet tooth. But I ‘accidentally’ ate a green tea cheesecake (topped with a fresh blackberry - yummay) at Shangri-La on Monday, and wow.. that was amazing. So when I retraced Boo’s entry on the range of cheesecakes at The Loaf’s special promotion.. I was simply drooling again.

So much so, that I actually dragged my fat ass out into KL this morning, and god knows how much I hate driving into KL - and into The Pavillion, no less. In general, I really don’t like going to certain shopping malls - Sunway New Wing, Midvalley Gardens, Bangsar Village II - and the Pavillion is one of them. Don’t ask me why. But believe me when I say, when I go to these places, I often say out loud “GOD, THIS PLACE IS SO FUCKING PRETENTIOUS”, just to see the other people’s reactions. Hey, it’s fun!

The Uhu!hu! Cheesecake promotion is currently on at The Loaf, and I was greeted by these Harajuku-like girls handing out these flyers. Man, I will NEVER get the fascination with Harajuku girls. They freak me the fuck out - just like Cabbage Patch Kids and Trolls dolls do. Freaky. Anyway, I bought 3 of the pre-packed cheesecakes.. and the girls at the counter asked me “Sir, do you want to take a photo?”. And I was like “Say what? C’est moi?”. Pause. “WHY?”. Seems that they are running a contest or some sort.. if you go there and buy the cheesecakes on offer, you get to take a picture, and they’ll post the picture at the outlet for all to see. Well, if judging is based on “THE MOST RETARDED LOOK”, I’m pretty sure I’m a shoe-in for the win. What do you think?

Okay don’t even ask me what the hell is up with that supah gay head tilt, but I honestly have to give credit to myself for being able to hide my lard ass behind the cake boxes. Yay! I actually bought the whole range to share with my sister, niece, nephews.. and possibly cats. Promotion will end this Monday, so if you want to give it a try.. get to it pronto! I was also told that possibly 14 new varieties will be sold in one of their near future promotions soon.

From the REAL KL range

Wholesome Nestum, Icy Lychee, Stylo Milo

Refreshing Longan, Banana Supreme, Durian Obsession

From the REAL WORLD range

Lustrous Coffee, Luxurious Chocolate, Harmonious Green Tea

Glitzy Strawberries, Fascinating Earl Grey, Caamelised Heartiness

From the REAL FRUIT range

Blueberry Treasures, Inspiring Fluffy, Magnificent Mango

Berries Ensemble, Kiwi Surprise, Tangy Lemon

I’ve only tasted two so far - the Nestum one (because I hate Nestum and would like to get it the fuck out of my way), and the Durian one. The Nestum one surprisingly tasted pretty good, but the Durian one didn’t tickle my fancy that much. A little too sweet for my taste. The durian bit was nice, but I really could do without the bloody sugar frosting. I really hate frostings!!! As for the rest, we’ll go through those over the weekend.

edited to add : The Tangy Lemon was pretty nice, and the Fascinating Earl Grey - divine. 

In other food news, I don’t know why, but somehow I found myself in Kenny Rogers yesterday, ordering their grilled lamb promo. The total meal was approximately RM25, consisting of a tiny muffin, three puny servings of side dishes, one small sized grilled shoulder of lamb, coke. That’s bloody fucking expensive! I mean, come on! It wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t worth the RM25 that I paid for. For RM25, you can get the following from Bakerzin’s set lunch at 1Utama : three tapas-sized starters, one main dish, one dessert and one coffee. Glorious!

Mushroom bruschetta, calamari salad, Caesar salad

Seafood pasta (if you were to order from their ala carte menu, they would include a crayfish along with it)

Pasta with clams (loads of clams, although I think the Vongole would’ve tasted more nicer since the clams are served soaking in its original juices)

This wasn’t the dessert that came with the lunch set (which was waffles with ice cream and strawberry coulis) - this is actually one of their signnature mini molten chocolate cake.

Okay.. I think that’s enough pigging out for now.

OMFG Stereophonics in Singapore!

From : MTV ASIA

Stereophonics Live In Singapore!

March 12, 2008
Singapore - LAMC Productions is pleased to announce that the highly acclaimed U.K. alt rockers Stereophonics will perform at Fort Canning Park on April 28, 2008

Stereophonics have had six consecutive albums debut at No. 1 on the U.K. charts including their latest release Pull the Pin!

$85 Early bird tickets will go on sale at Sistic starting March 17. Standard priced tickets will be $95 from April 1 – 27 and $105 on the day of show (excluding Sistic fee). All tickets are standing general admission.

Holy shit on ice! The Stereophonics are finally coming to this part of the world!!! YES YES YES!!!!!! But I can’t help but wonder if it’s a little too late for the Phonics to spread their wings in Asia. I have to admit that as much as I’m one of their biggest fan in this region, they’ve somewhat lost momentum for their past two albums.

I was hooked on them when I first listened to their Local Boy in the Photograph single from one of those freebies CD samplers from Q magazine. And I was a loyal supporter ever since! Their first album, Word Gets Around, is definitely on my all-time Top 5 favorite music albums ever. It’s simple, it’s raw.. but most importantly, there are ZERO love songs on that album. I remember actually voting for them to win the Brit Awards for Best Newcomer, which they did. It was an amazing victory, cause I didn’t think that many people liked them back then.

Local Boy in The Photograph is a fucking classic song. Of course our own local TV3 had to fucking butcher the song by playing the shitty video over and over again till most every one got sick. I blame TV3 for their failure to gain fans here.

Remember that video? Yeah, even I can’t fathom seeing it for more than two times in a row. The song still kicks fucking ass though. I remember buying tickets to their first ever home coming concert in Cardiff (Cwmaman Feel The Noize), only having to forsake it because I had an exam that day. Grrrr..

And Traffic will FOREVER be Stereophonics’ best anthemic song ever.

Their follow up album, Performance and Cocktails, were highly anticipated - following their recent win in the Brit Awards.

Isn’t that cover awesome? So fucking awesome that I actually went down to London to the exact photo location at a football pitch and took a picture there. LOL… how stupid was that? The songs on this album are absolutely orgasmic. Seriously. Personally, I think this was their absolute peak in the music biz.

Personally, I loved Hurry Up and Wait

But Just Looking.. this anthemic song is right there behind Traffic.

And of course, there’s Pick A Part (That’s New).. in which I actually won a competition and received a studio released video recording of this track. Awesome, awesome, awesome. The vid’s a take on The Italian Job, by the way.

I was lucky enough to catch them in Manchester (got into the mosh pit, no less.. it was fantastic!) during their Performance and Cocktails tour just before graduation.

Just Enough Education to Performed followed shortly. By this time I was back in Malaysia, where possibly only 5 people cared enough to knows who the Stereophonics was. So much so that I had to order the CD from amazon.co.uk. The first single pissed off a lot of music reviewers (yeah listen to Mr Writer and you’d know why).. the video is pretty awesome though.

But the only really good song that I liked from this album (and probably one of their best releases so far), was the Rod Stewart cover of Handbags and Gladrags - most of you would recognize this song as the background track to The Office. I fucking loved this song, and this video… well it’s basically just the band singing.

By the time their fourth album, You Gotta Go There To Come Back, was released.. I kinda lost interest. The only songs that’s worth mentioning from this album are Since I Told You It’s Over, Getaway and Maybe Tomorrow (which was featured in the rolling credits of the award winning movie - Crash).

Their fifth album - Language, Sex, Violence, Other - was a return to form - indicated by their first #1 UK single - Dakota. Love it. This was a pretty good album, but I wouldn’t have bought it if I didn’t know what the Phonics have done in the past.

And finally, their sixth album, released last year - Pull The Pin. Well I have to admit that I didn’t really give a shit as to what’s on this album.

HOWEVER, the Phonics always sound excellent live on stage. THE STEREOPHONICS ARE THE BEST LIVE ACT EVER. So.. shitty releases aside, I am soooo planning on catching them live in Singapore next month. Let’s just hope they’ll focus 90% on their earlier works. Oh boy oh boy oh boy.. *orgasm*

In case you live under a rock, or perhaps work for The Star variety section, you probably would know by now that there will be no glitz and glam for this year’s Golden Globe awards because of the annoying Writer’s Strike thingy. The results were announced recently, and I have to say that I am VERY pleased with some of the results this year. Results, as taken taken from Variety.com

MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
“American Gangster”, “Atonement”, “Eastern Promises”, “The Great Debaters” , “Michael Clayton” , “No Country For Old Men” , “There Will Be Blood” - Can’t say that I’ve seen any of the above-mentioned movies, nor do I have the interest to. WINNER: “Atonement”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Cate Blanchett - “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, Julie Christie - “Away From Her”,
Jodie Foster - “The Brave One”, Angelina Jolie - “A Mighty Heart”, Keira Knightley - “Atonement” - An interesting group of nominees : I’ve always loved Cate Blanchett’s performance but I’ve yet to see her in the sequel to Elizabeth. Jodie Foster.. how can you not love her. Keira bores me in all the movies she’s in. And the day Angelina Jolie wins a Golden Globe, will be the day Madonna wins an Oscar. WINNER: Julie Christie - “Away From Her”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
George Clooney - “Michael Clayton”, Daniel Day-Lewis - “There Will Be Blood”, James McAvoy - “Atonement”, Viggo Mortensen - “Eastern Promises”, Denzel Washington - “American Gangster” - Meh. If you’ve seen Clooney and Washington act, you’ve seen all of their movies. Kinda like Pacino or DeNiro or Jim Carrey. WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis - “There Will Be Blood”

MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“Across The Universe”, “Charlie Wilson’s War”, “Hairspray”, “Juno”, “Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” - I would seriously gouge someone’s eye out if the overrated Hairspray won this category. Looking forward to watching Juno - cause the buzz it’s created has been nothing but huge. And the trailer for Sweeney Todd looks aaaawesome! WINNER: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

FILM CATEGORIES

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams - “Enchanted”, Nikki Blonsky - “Hairspray”, Helena Bonham Carter - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, Marion Cotillard - “La Vie En Rose”, Ellen Page - “Juno” - I personally think the nominees in this category overshadows the nominees in its counterpart in the drama category. WINNER: Marion Cotillard - “La Vie en rose” - I am so overjoyed over her win, because she was really spectacular in her role. So glad I caught this movie last June!

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Johnny Depp - “Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, Ryan Gosling - “Lars And The Real Girl”, Tom Hanks - “Charlie Wilson’s War” , Philip Seymour Hoffman - “The Savages”, John C. Reilly - “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” - I’m kind of surprised that Tom Hanks is nominated in this category.. perhaps I might make an effort to watch Charlie Wilson’s War. But knowing Depp’s track record, is it to anyone’s surprise that he wins yet again? - WINNER: Johnny Depp - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Bee Movie”, “Ratatouille”, “The Simpsons Movie” - There only one clear winner here, don’t you think? - WINNER: “Ratatouille”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days” (Romania), “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly” (France and USA), “The Kite Runner” (USA), “Lust, Caution” (Taiwan), “Persepolis” (France) - Haven’t seen any of the films, including the over-publicised Lust, Caution.. but I can’t wait to watch The Kite Runner and Persepolis - WINNER: “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly” (France And USA)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Cate Blanchett - “I’m Not There”, Julia Roberts - “Charlie Wilson’s War”, Saoirse Ronan - “Atonement”, Amy Ryan - “Gone Baby Gone”, Tilda Swinton - “Michael Clayton” - I love Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton. Not so much Julia Roberts - WINNER: Cate Blanchett - “I’m Not There”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Casey Affleck - “The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford”, Javier Bardem - “No Country For Old Men”, Philip Seymour Hoffman - “Charlie Wilson’s War”, John Travolta - “Hairspray”, Tom Wilkinson - “Michael Clayton” - I’m super glad Travolta didn’t win this. Haven’t seen Bardem in this movie, but I liked him in his other movie. I thought Casey Affleck was going to win this given how much spotlight has been focused on him lately. - WINNER: Javier Bardem - “No Country For Old Men”

DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Tim Burton - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - “No Country For Old Men”, Julian Schnabel - “The Diving Bell and The Butterfly”, Ridley Scott - “American Gangster”, Joe Wright - “Atonement” - Kinda surprised Tim Burton was nominated by this. But even more surprised by the actual winner - WINNER: Julian Schnabel - “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly”

SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Diablo Cody - “Juno”, Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - “No Country For Old Men”, Christopher Hampton - “Atonement”, Ronald Harwood - “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly”, Aaron Sorkin - “Charlie Wilson’s War” - The Coen brothers, really? - WINNER: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - “No Country For Old Men”

ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder - “Into The Wild”, Clint Eastwood - “Grace Is Gone”, Alberto Iglesias - “The Kite Runner”, Dario Marianelli - “Atonement”, Howard Shore - “Eastern Promises” - no comment - WINNER: Dario Marianelli - “Atonement”

ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE
“Despedida” from “Love In The Time Of Cholera” - Music By: Shakira, Antonio Pinto, Lyrics By: Shakira, “Grace Is Gone” from “Grace Is Gone” - Music By: Clint Eastwood, Lyrics By: Carole Bayer Sager, “Guaranteed” from “Into The Wild” - Music & Lyrics By : Eddie Vedder, “That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”- Music By: Alan Menken, Lyrics By: Stephen Schwartz , “Walk Hard” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” - Music & Lyrics by: Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow, Kasdan - omg I miss Pearl Jam - WINNER: “Guaranteed” from “Into The Wild” - Music & Lyrics By: Eddie Vedder

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
“Big Love” (HBO), “Damages” (Fx Networks), “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), “House” (Fox), “Mad Men” (Amc), “The Tudors” (Showtime) - I REAAAALLY want to start watching The Tudors but never found the time to download the show. Whatever it is, I am so glad House didn’t win this.. and even more fucking ECSTATIC that Grey’s lost. If you’re a Grey’s fan. STAY.AWAY.FROM.ME. - WINNER: “Mad Men” (Amc) - Lionsgate Television

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Patricia Arquette- “Medium”, Glenn Close - “Damages”, Minnie Driver - “The Riches”, Edie Falco - “The Sopranos”, Sally Field - “Brothers & Sisters”, Holly Hunter - “Saving Grace”, Kyra Sedgwick - “The Closer” - Should I start watching Damages on Astro? Hmm I don’t think so. - WINNER: Glenn Close - “Damages”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Michael C. Hall - “Dexter”, Jon Hamm - “Mad Men”, Hugh Laurie - “House”, Jonathan Rhys Meyers - “The Tudors”, Bill Paxton - “Big Love” - Boo to Michael C Hall not winning. Yay to Hugh Laurie not winning. - WINNER: Jon Hamm - “Mad Men”

TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“30 Rock” (NBC), “Californication” (Showtime), “Entourage” (HBO), “Extras” (HBO), “Pushing Daisies” (ABC) - I love all the nominees in this category, except Pushing Daisies. I could’ve sworn this show has been cancelled years ago - WINNER: “Extras” (HBO) - BBC And HBO Entertainment

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate - “Samantha Who?”, America Ferrera - “Ugly Betty”, Tina Fey - “30 Rock”, Anna Friel - “Pushing Daisies”,Mary-Louise Parker - “Weeds” - Even though I love Ugly Betty more than I do 30 Rock, they right nominee won, IMO - WINNER: Tina Fey - “30 Rock”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin - “30 Rock”, Steve Carell - “The Office”, David Duchovny - “Californication”, Ricky Gervais - “Extras”, Lee Pace - “Pushing Daisies” - Tough call cause they are all so brilliant in their roles (except Pushing Daisies), but I’m really glad Duchovny won this one, because the show is totally underrated. I’m so glad I stuck by this show when it first aired a couple of months ago - WINNER: David Duchovny - “Californication”

MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee” (HBO), “The Company” (TNT), “Five Days” (HBO), “Longford” (HBO), “The State Within” (BBC America) - no comment - WINNER: “Longford” (HBO)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Bryce Dallas Howard - “As You Like It”, Debra Messing - “The Starter Wife”, Queen Latifah - “Life Support”, Sissy Spacek - “Pictures Of Hollis Woods”, Ruth Wilson - “Jane Eyre” (”Masterpiece Theatre”) - so glad Debra Messing didn’t win this one.. over acting much? - WINNER: Queen Latifah - “Life Support”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Adam Beach - “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee”, Ernest Borgnine - “A Grandpa For Christmas”, Jim Broadbent - “Longford”, Jason Isaacs - “The State Within”, James Nesbitt - “Jekyll” - no comment - WINNER: Jim Broadbent - “Longford”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Rose Byrne - “Damages”, Rachel Griffiths - “Brothers & Sisters”, Katherine Heigl - “Grey’s Anatomy”, Samantha Mortin - “Longford”, Anna Paquin - “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee”, Jaime Pressly - “My Name Is Earl” - Rachel Griffith.. I love her to bits.. but her role in this show is beneath her - WINNER: Samantha Morton - “Longford”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ted Danson - “Damages”, Kevin Dillon - “Entourage”, Jeremy Piven - “Entourage”, Andy Serkis - “Longford”, William Shatner - “Boston Legal”, Donald Sutherland - “Dirty Sexy Money” - I wanted Donald Sutherland to win this one so bad, but I could live with Jeremy Piven winning this again. He’s a really good, underrated actor, IMO - WINNER: Jeremy Piven - “Entourage”

Continuing from the last episode… teams arrive at the pseudo-pitstop in the following order :

1. Ann & Diane
2. Marc & Roviltwat
3. Collin & Adrian
4. Paula & Natasha
5. Daichi & Sawaka
6. Henry & Terri
7. Pam & Vanessa

.. only to discover that this leg of the race wasn’t over yet. So they get their next clue to the race, which is to travel to Hakata Port, the international ferry terminal where teams had to board a ferry to Busan in South Korea. Personally, I was really bummed that they didn’t have an actual pitstop in Japan, but life .. I mean, the race.. goes on.

All of the teams were again bunched up for the 320 km ferry ride. Well at least this is a brand new mode of transportation to move from different countries. Once in Busan, they had to find the Jongro Taekwondo Academy and had to break three wooden planks each. I wasn’t expecting there to be so much chaos (scratching that word cause that fucking Roviltwunt used that word full of ‘wit’) pandemonium going on trying to find the location. But it did, and finding this initial location pretty much painted how the order of pitstop was roughly going to be.

Once at the academy, almost everyone managed to break their planks with not much trouble. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the teams were allowed to actually keep their TaeKwonDo uniforms. I don’t think this ever happened in previous tasks that involve them wearing uniforms or outfits. They next had to take a taxi and go to Jagalchi Market and find a clue near the Golden Pig statue. Teams were cautioned that Yield was ahead. They were so much smack talk coming from Sawaka and Daichi, and also Paula and Natasha about yielding the Dancing Mums. I’m still trying to figure out where much of the hatred were coming from.

I thought nobody was going to really yield anybody, but Terri and Henry yielded… Marc and Roviltwat, which was surprising considering Marc and Roviltwat had already arrived there. However, as some viewers have pointed out, (thanks MrsG!), it might’ve been a calculated risk on their part, since they can’t really tell if Marc/Roviltwat is either ahead of or behind them - and if any teams needed to be yielded, these two were definitely the ones because they are becoming incredibly dangerous and super incredibly annoying in this race. So, in short, the yield was wasted in this leg.

The next detour was to either (1) Slither - where they had to fish for two tokens from a tank full of slimy octopus, or (2) Deliver - where they had to eliver food to three different addresses. All of the teams performed Slither. I mean, after watching a gazillion episodes of Amazing Race, 99.99% of the time, delivering things to places with weird addresses is NEVER a good thing to do.. so I was surprised when Daichi and Sawaka opted to do it. I was also laughing my ass off when Natasha screamed “OMG the octopuses are mating!”. (I don’t know why.. but I miss Aurelia.. imagine the even weirder stuff that she could’ve said here).

They next had to travel through the APEC building to get a clue. The next clue leads them to the final roadblock in this leg. Teams had to travel to Yongdusan Park, where a gatekeeper will hand them a key, and they need to find a matching lock on the gate (they were probably around a hundred locks there?). Pretty unoriginal and lame considering this has been done before on the season with Romber on it - and at least THAT one gave an actual chance for teams to catch up (they must’ve had over a thousand locks there). Finally teams had to get on a taxi and head to the final pitstop of this race. In the order of arrival at the pistop :

1. Marc & Roviltwunt - they’re pretty competent racers and have been really lucky. Both are still douchebags though, what with the camera whoring through and through. I mean, they’re aware the cameras are there, I get it. But stop shoving the unfunnny and lame antics down our throats. For fucks sake.. I have had enough of this team. Bring back Edwin and Monica!
2. Adrian & Collin - I really wished this team had won this leg. Bravo on them for stealing the cabs away from the twunts.
3. Terri & Henry - As MrsG had commented on Sucks (hahahahah welcome to the dark side!!!!!), someone must’ve dropped her some happy pills this episode, cause she didn’t even screech once! Bravo! And they did relatively well this episode.. Now, finally, I can root for this team back again. Let’s just hope the happy pills effect will last a couple of episodes at least, huh?
4. Pam & Vanessa - I’m still loving the Chong sisters. Hearing them speaking in pseudo-Scottish in the cab was kinda cute. Now I’m kinda glad it wasn’t an actual pitstop in the last episode, cause that would’ve spelt the end for this team.
5. Paula & Natasha - They’re getting more visible now.. perhaps because the teams are dwindling down.
6. Ann & Diane - I was pretty certain that this team was FUCKED halfway through the episode. And the hatred from Daichi and Sawaka was totally justified from how the moms’ faked their dialogues to mislead the team. But can you blame them? You’re the second last team, you HAVE to do everything you can to stay in the game. Things are not looking so good for this team.. too many bad ju-jus from their editing.
7. Daichi and Sawaka - Truthfully, I was totally sad to see them leave, especially Sawaka who’s heart, as you can all see, was really in this race (the farewell song was unnecessary.. but that’s okay). They rocked the first half of the race, and lady luck was certainly not smiling on them in Korea.

That said, no matter how good racers Marc and Roviltwat are, I honestly don’t see how anyone can get behind this team. They are probably my most hated TAR team ever, even surpassing Victoria and her abusive husband Jonathug.

I will leave all of you with this amazing Lost recap (Seasons 1 - 3) since season 4 will be premiering in a couple of days.

Well, can you blame me? I’m off to Bali tomorrow and I haven’t packed shit yet. Anyway, random thoughts on the latest episode of TAR 12…

• Yay for Christina for getting to 1st place (not so much for Hernia prick)
• My love for the Goths knows no bound - and the previews of Kunt blowing a gasket in the next episode is looking awesome
• Jen and Nate still sucks
• Grandad is THE man.. grandson proves to be useless for the thousandth time
• TK and Rachel are boring pieces of shits. They’re just.. there.. in a who gives a fuck kinda way.
• Hank Azaria was screwed by the planes.. tough shit. But the airport drama this week was INTENSE.

And this one’s just for miki… I LOVE this screencap from the week before :

Since I’ll be in Bali for the rest of this week, looks like I’m going to miss the next episode of TAR Asia, which sucks.. cause truthfully, I AM finding this season pretty interesting. However, the fucking TARA editing team needs some fucking lesson in making previews… what is the fucking point of showing which teams will be arriving happily at the next pitstop? They have basically given away which teams do NOT get eliminated in the next episode.. and I’m not happy. Dumbasses.  Oh and I forgot to mention, Allen Wu’s hushed voice at the haunted forest last week totally reminds me of that guy from Misteri Nusantara… LOL.

Survivor China is coming to an end. The penultimate episode will air this Thursday, and the finale will be aired on Sunday. I haven’t been following spoilers this season, so I have no idea who will win.. but I have to say, this has been one of the BEST seasons to have aired since Pearl Islands.. and that’s saying a lot. And also… I received my China buffs in the mail today. Woohoo!

I just hate it when the voiceovers in TAR says “Can xxx and yyy’s relationship withstand the pressure of the race?”. For fucks sake, do you really need to get on this race to find out if your relationship is going to last? Hmm.. let’s see. If you can withstand 10 years of your guy shoving you around when he doesn’t get his way.. I’m sure this race won’t do any jackass shit difference to what your relationship is heading into. (Yes yes I’m being over dramatic, but that’s allowed - and very welcomed - on my blog)

But let’s not jump to that just yet. Teams started off at Fort Santiago in Manila for the start of this leg of the race. They had to board a taxi to the GreenStar Bus Terminal and head to Pila Laguna which is an hour and a half bus ride away. Lots of unnecessary bus footage, I almost dozed off. And it was interesting to hear Marc say that “It’s amazing what pretty girls can do (to get what they want) in this country”.. cause I was thinking almost the same thing “It’s amazing what pretty mactors can to get on this show”. Well I guess that’s why it’s called the Amazing Race. Amazing things happen, and amazingly enough, I am still slightly bitter. LOLtastic.

Once they reach their destination, they find out it’s a Roadblock, where they had to go into the muddy rice field and plow a figure of 8 using the carabou. When Allan first explained it, I was like.. WTF is a carabou? I know a caribou… but what the hell is a carabao. It took me several minutes to realize that he was talking about the water buffalos, and interestingly enough.. carabou = kerbau. Duh, right? Yeah, must admit that I was stupid enough not to realize that instantly. I was kinda excited to see this because a few months ago, some spoilers surfaced showing Paula and Natasha finishing this roadblock.

After their roadblock, they next had to go to a Caltex Star Mart (dumbass token product placement of the week) in Manila and deliver 4 boxes of donation using a jeepney to some orphanage. I love the Chong sisters, but man, they really fucked it up by missing the “in Manila” clue, but I guess it could happen to anyone. And I’m not going to go all politically correct here, but the orphanage kids scrambling/attacking the donation package was downright scary/sorry at the same time. Geez! I swear the kids at the African orphanage seemed a lot more civilized than these poor kids. I know that’s not a nice thing to say, but I was just surprised at how the kids were reacting to the care packages. And one of the Chong sisters totally stole my heart for saying this : “given between the kids and the kerbau, I’ll go back to the kerbaus right now”. Again, probably not a nice thing to say, and she’s probably joking, but that’s exactly how I felt. And this is nothing to do with them being orphans. I personally just don’t have the patience around kids. Yeah I’m an asshole. Tough shit.

Okay, next was a detour in Santa Cruz between (1) Heel - where they had to match up 250 pairs of shoes, and (2) Wheel - where they had to assemble a bicycle from scratch. I personally thought matching 250 pairs of shoes would be a total nightmare, but surprisingly the Australian-speaking girls from Thailand did really well on this detour. And finally, the next stop after the detour was the Pitstop for this leg of the race. And in the order of their arrival at the pitstop :

1. Marc & Rovilson - pretty strong team, but after a while, I can’t help but noticed that almost everything these two have to say sounds rehearsed (very much like their audition video). Their likeability is wearing thin, and it’s only been the second episode.
2. Paula & Natasha - I’ll give credit where credit is due, and they did pretty well on this leg of the race, so kudos to them.
3. Anne & Diane - Wow. Third place again. Quite an amazing feat. I’m loving this team more and more.
4. Pamela & Vanessa - Poor girls had a shitload of bad luck in this leg. But hey, 4th place isn’t too shabby. They’re still proving to be one of the teams to beat. I hope they’ll continue to do well on this show.
5. Adrian & Collin - I’m glad their ranking is improving. I like this team, but seriously now, are we going to be preached every goddamn week how they are having communication advantage because they can read body and sign language? God! This is going to be Charla all over again (but then again, I totally heart Charla and Mirna, so that’s okay)
6. Brett & Kinar - I thought this team would continue to be all boring. Oh hang on, they did. However, Kinar literally made me laugh out loud when she wanted to mount the water buffalo. OMGWTFLMFAO! At least she was able to laugh at herself, so they’re okay, I guess. I look forward to seeing more personality from this team.
7. Sophie & Aurelia - “I got ze clue!”. LOL I love it when she sayz zat. And I sincerely believe this will be team to bring us the trainwreck entertainment value this season. You can tell how badly Sophie wanted to strangle Aurelia at the bicycle detour, and how Aurelia was all “oh I’m pretty! look at me! *wink* *flirt*”. LOL. I hope this team won’t go anywhere anytime soon.
8. Daichi & Sawaka - so they’re ‘big’ story this leg was them having a ’small argument’ in the taxi. Mmmm okay.. moving on….
9. Henry & Terri - Not much coming from them this week, but if I was in the same bus with them, I wouldn’t hesitate to shout out “shut the fuck up, lady!” during all the singing in the bus.
10. Monica & Edwin - (eliminated) - Urgh.. I don’t know if I even want to start. The Asian Romber? Dude, Rob doesn’t sit on the sidelines and whine, oh we cant stop cars like that, oh we cant do this, blah fucking blah. Rob doesn’t shove his partner around like Jonathug does. Man, what a douche. I’m so glad, they are off the show.

That said, I do think the editing still has a lot of room for improvement. They didn’t even bother to mislead the viewers at how large the gaps were in between the teams. Halfway through the show, did anyone REALLY think Monica and Edwin wasn’t going to be eliminated? Hmm I thought so.

So it’s that time of the year again. No wait.. it’s that time of the year again 8 days ago. You can tell from my extra enthusiasm this year that I’m going to fail miserably again for this year’s attempt at NaNoWriMo. NaNo Fucking WriMo. I don’t even fucking know why I put myself through this. DEADLINES ARE MY FUCKING NEMESIS, and if I were to ever fucking finish this fucking NaNoWriMo thingy, I’ll be fucking damned if there isn’t at least 25,000 fucking “fucking” words in the 50,000-word fucking mini-novella. Fucking fuck.

So I’ve been doing this since 2004… then again in 2005… and then 2006… I even made it into one of my 2007 resolutions.. but a chapter a month? Who the fuck am I trying to kid? I don’t have that kind of fucking discipline.. (just like Mulder in Californication - best new show to grace the tv this year). And I think I know why.

I think I may have figured out the reason why I have failed yet again and again and again. I keep harping on Daud… my main protaganist for the past couple of years. Daud in Distress… my ass. (Hey that rhymes!). So this year, ladies and gentlemen… I HAVE DECIDED TO KILL THAT SORRY MOTHERFUCKER.

Yes.. no more Daud In Distress for me this year. My new mini-novella will be called…..

“DISTRESSED DAUD… IS DEAD”

(an excerpt)

“”So this is how I’m going to die. Huh.. I didn’t think it would be this anti climactic. An accident. A fucking random accident.” That was the thought that went through Daud’s mind. In that split second, when you think a person would freak the fuck out when he was about to be greeted by the Grim Reaper, it was surprisingly a serene, and most surreal 5 microseconds of Daud’s miserable, pathetic life”

HAHAHAHA….. I’m so glad I’m killing this character. Take that, you asshole.

Okay, does anyone else think I need some form of medication?

ps. my new NaNo profile is listed on the left-side of this page. Yay!