dark secrets revealed!

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince was always one of my favourite books from the Harry Potter series. I remember reading it in J2 and being absolutely blown away by it! Because of this, I had very little expectations of how movie 6 would be, simply because I disliked most of the movie interpretations of the books: not because the acting was bad or the feel of the movies weren't good, but the way the original story was cut and butchered to condense all the amazing subtleties that only literature can bring into the films. It has been a long wait for movie 6, and I must say I have lost quite abit of the passion and excitement that I used to have with regards to all things Potter, and I think I shocked a number of friends when I admitted that I have yet to catch the movie til today. Its probably the first time where I DIDN'T catch a HP movie within the first three days of its release!

Anyway, I finally caught the movie today! Movie 6 was admittedly, surprisingly good! As a Potterite, I will always have things to gripe about, but as a whole, it was still quite a well made movie! The acting was good, the dark feel of it perfect, the vision of the world quite accurate. What I didn't like was of course, the usual issues of how the screenplay cut out important plotlines, scenes and lines. I absolutely didn't like the scene of the burrow being incinerated. I felt it was absolutely redundant, and the time spent wasted on that scene could have been used instead to film the original ending in the book, which featured a battle in the astronomy tower of Hogwarts. I also had an issue with the intense focus the film had on the whole teenage romance thing. I felt the film-makers were focusing too much on what was supposed to be a minor subplot in the books; they were banking on something that was definitely going to be appealing to the crowds, and completely neglected what was the main focus of the novel: that of Dumbledore's and Harry's evolving teacher/student relationship, and the way they finally worked together to unravel the mystery of Voldemort's immortality.

I find it a pity that the whole affair with the memories was brought across in such a seemingly flippant way, but to bring all those chapters from the novel into life is going to be an impossibly boring task. It would have definitely been much more entertaining to focus on the hilarious situations that teenage love would bring about. Still, I find it sad that there was so little focus on Dumbledore in this movie. I think he had too little scenes, so much so that I don't feel like the audience actually got a chance to feel for him. I don't think many people even cared that he actually died. His death didn't feel emotional enough. Yeah, that's it.

Still, there were things I did like. Jim Broadman's Horace Slughorn was well portrayed. Daniel Radcliffe's Felix-Felicis-Intoxicated-Harry and Rupert Grint's love-potion-intoxicated-Ron were both simple HILARIOUS. Alan Rickman's Snape was once again, played to perfection. Lavender Brown and Cormac McClaggan were both so well portrayed that I cringed whenever they appeared. Young Tom Riddle was creepy and a picture of controlled evil, just fantastic. And the whole cave sequence was actually quite well portrayed, except for minor changes here and there, and how some heart-breaking lines from the novel were left out.

All in all, it was quite a good movie. As a whole, it was one of the better Harry Potter movies made, but of course, not perfect. None of the movies can ever be perfect, because none of them will be able to capture the magic that the books bring. Its just so different reading it, and letting your imagination run wild. I think these movies help enhance my original impression of the world that the books are trying to create, but in the end, nothing beats one's own imagination when it comes to fantasy. Now all I want to do, is to read all 7 books over again.

what do you see?

This year's NDP song really sounds like a track of a mystery Coldplay album! Honestly, I kinda like the tune. Its quite a nice melody, but as an NDP song, FAIL LAH. Its too monotonous to be one, and I can already imagine people's reaction to it already. Its like having a super emo-birthday song. How tragic. Haha.
The lyrics are funny as well, and not in a good way! It has absolutely nothing to do with Singapore, and honestly, its quite contrived isn't it? And I feel that the 'hopeful' lyrics just don't go with the slightly flat tune. Quite a mismatch.
Even the Music Video feels weird. Haha. Not a good way to introduce rock music to NDP man.

and so it goes...

This is a cover of the song 'And So It Goes' by Stefanie Sun, sung during her recent concert here in Singapore. Originally sung by Billy Joel, this song is melancholic but hopeful, and perfectly sums up how I've been feeling over the past 2 weeks or so.



And So It Goes - Billy Joel
In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
__________________________________________________

Recently, while watching certain events unfold, I can't help but feel that every single thing that I predicted would happen has finally happened. It feels as if I have utterly lost the war. There were times when I wanted to vent my anger, to scream and shout out loud because honestly, I　couldn't stand watching everything unfold anymore. Most certainly, the 'me' of the past wouldn't have been afraid to do so. Unfortunately, the 'me' of today has been taught well, having gone through many bitter lessons, to not let myself go berserk anymore. Its called 'being calm and matured and collected' they say, because its for the greater good, to prevent the situation from descending into disharmony and unhappiness; truth be told, its really just calculated censorship.

Negativity at its most creative equates to melancholic bliss, while Negativity at its most destructive equates to melodramatic rants. Over the past few days, I've attempted to channel all the dark, negative thoughts flowing through my mind away, into some dark chalice of despair locked away in some corner of the room. But I've obviously failed, because nothing creative came out of it, and here I am, once again, tethering at the edge of another melodramatic rant. That's because, at the end of all those nights, I came to a sudeen realization that I am now really, both literally and figuratively alone. Once again, my watchful silence has failed me. All it has created is a bitter pill for me to swallow. One that I have no choice but to take.

I know what my friends who read this would say, that I'm NOT alone. I know that physically, yes, I am not. I am surrounded by fellow colleagues everyday in the Hospital, but the truth is, emotionally and psychologically, I am absent. Which is why, I am thankful for the reunions that I have been having over the past weekends or so, meeting up with people whom I've missed and longed to meet again for such a long time, doing brainless things like eating roti prata and drinking coffee, rotting at each others' homes, and chit-chatting about life in general, because they've allowed me to be distracted from everything. Between putting up a happy face and being crazy all over again, I've become too busy to remember how horrible I've been feeling. Perfect distraction from the venom flowing through my veins.

The saddest thing of all is that I am fully aware of the source of all my venom. But like a poison tree, it is hard to discard it. Pride, ah the dreaded sin called Pride, is preventing me from letting it go, because deep down inside, I cannot allow myself to step back again.

I have the antidote. But the antidote itself, is poison.

with my rifle and my buddy and meeeee!

Purple Light - Anon
Purple Light,
In the valley,
That is where,
I want to be,
With my friends,
true companions,
With my rifle and my buddy and me.

IFC sibei jialat
5BX lagi worse,
Everyday,
doing PT,
With my rifle and my buddy and me.

Booking out,
See my girlfriend,
Saw her with,
Another man,
Kill the man,
Take my girlfriend,
With my rifle and my buddy and me.

ORD,
Back to studies,
Got degree,
So happy,
Cant forget,
Still remember,
With my rifle and my buddy and me.

Purple light,
At the warfront,
That is where,
My body lies,
If i die,
Will-you-bury-me,
with my rifle and my buddy and me.
_________________________________________

Watching 'Own Time Own Target' made me realize how much I bloody miss singing this song!

and the answer is...

On Saturday, the 11th of July, I attended Stefanie Sun's 'The Answer Is...' 2009 Concert. Its her third concert held in Singapore, but its this marks the first time I've gone to watch her perform live in a full fledged concert.

I remember the reasons why I couldn't attend her previous two concerts very vividly. Her first concert was held when I was in Secondary 4, and I remember that it coincided with my Prelim Examinations; needless to say, my parents would never have allowed me to attend her concert then. Her second concert was held when I was 18: at this age, my parents no longer restricted my movements and freedom anymore, but unfortunately, I was still serving my time in Tekong then and the weekend she held her concert just happened to be the start of my field camp.

I love Stefanie Sun. I've been a fan since she first burst into the scene 9 years ago. And to not have been able to catch her live concerts was something I've always lamented. So, when I read and heard that she was finally going to have another concert here this year, I knew, beyond a doubt that THIS was going to be the year where I would FINALLY catch her performing live. And nothing, not even the Orthopaedics Gods that be, can stop me!

The concert was a blast! The stage was incredibly complex and futuristic, the use of the lights and holograms and projection images were amazing. Her many costumes were interesting to watch! Her dancers were fantastic. But most important of all, was her voice! The moment she starts singing those ballads which she just excels in, I felt a rush of warmth gushing through my veins - its a sense of familiarity, of comfort, felt only when you listen to a voice that you've been listening to for the past 9 years. These are songs that evoke so many different memories for me, and to be able to listen to her sing them live was just phenomenal.

Thank you Stefanie for a wonderful night! I can wait to attend your next concert! =)

love fifteen

Roger Federer never seizes to amaze me. =)

早點回家

This is still my favourite song from the new Sodagreen album. I love the story behind how it was created, that it was inspired by the composer's Grandparents. And the Grandparents are actually featured in the music video as well! A very meaningful song that reflects a lot of my feelings with regards to the issue kinship and valuing family ties.

I think the most important thing that we should do is to take care of our Grandparents. I have to admit that I probably place more store on being respectful to them than to my own parents! Haha. But yeah. I love my Grandmother and my Grandfather very much, and I absolutely feel that its our duty as grandchildren to do the most we can to keep them healthy, active and living fulfilling lives.

Its one thing just asking about how they are doing and visiting them at least once a week. I think what's more important is making an effort to talk to them, communicating with them, to bring them out for fun trips, to watch TV and discuss the plot twists with them. To have a great relationship with them, that's what truly matters. Its unfortunate that many of our generation and those younger can hardly even communicate with our grandparents' generation, so much so that many of us don't really know how to care for them. Its like we are total strangers. Such is the unfortunate state of things these days.

I just hope that majority of us can recognise this problem and attempt to rectify it before its too late.