*Squeee* Fangirl Tyme!

OMG I just spazzed out when I saw this!



AAAHHH!! My Katua kissed each other on the lips! @ 0:03-4! Omgomgomgomgomg!! Spazzzzzz!!! And so close too! Awesome seats!

Ok, I'd better explain. So You Think You Can Dance Tour footage! Doing Hip Hop! Y'know, that boyfriend-going-off-to-war-tis-the-last-day-before-he's-leaving dance (refer to my Top 20 post). Josh was supposed to kiss Katee on the forehead, as per choreography, but he kissed her on the lips! OMG us Katua fans are just spazzing all over the place right now. Lol, I bet Joshua was jealous with Twitch for making out with Katee every other night during that 'Mercy' dance. :D Ahaha. Josh, just ditch your girlfriend and hook up with Katee! You'll make thousands of people happy. Plus, you'll have SUPER awesome dancing babies!! :D

Woosh, yay that's my guilty pleasure from now till December at least -- So You Think You Can Dance Tour 2008 now ongoing in the States! Me = rabid fangirl, is trying to watch all available tour dance clips on Youtube every other night. It's like daily stress reliever/therapy for the midterms lol. I'm always ambivalent when I do that though, cos I'll be getting so excited and spazzing in my chair before realising I won't ever be able to go down and watch them live. Tour started in Tacoma, WA on the 20th and I think just finished performing in San Diego a few hours ago. I'm sooooooooo jealous of friends in America! :( They can just purchase tickets from ebay and pop by somewhere to watch. And I sooooo desperately want the tour booklet! alkdsjladnklho dfjs;gvosuv a;fkepisldkcg. Anyone free to help purchase one? Willing to pay for all shipping/transport/food/micellanous fees! Yes, I'm that desperate.

In other tour news, Chelsie kicked the briefcase off the stage during her and Mark's 'Bleeding Love' routine!



Lol, around 0:40. I'm glad someone ran over and put it back on the stage before it ended. This routine rocks everyone's socks off btw. Oh yeah, Mark's fanpage is full of awesome. Check it out!



Damn, I'd better get on with those SYTYCD recaps so that people can at least understand what I'm posting about lol.
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Singapore F1 Grand Prix

I'm frustrated. The mid-terms and papers are sucking whatever of a life I have left away. Far far away.

That is why I can't go downtown for a fix of the world's first F1 night race. I can't go and watch these million dollar high tech machines/babies scream (their heads off) across Anderson Bridge, roar onto Esplanade Drive and basically blast off into the outer space at the speed of light.

I caught a glimpse of it yesterday night on TV though and suffice to say, it was awesome beyond words. The lights were crazy, the sound was good and the race was pretty exciting. I may not be an F1 fan but my adrenaline was pumping quite a bit when Fernando Alonso beat Lewis Hamilton's fastest time during the last few minutes of practice. And when Felipe Massa clocked the fastest time for two sections of the race. Awesome stuff. And now everyone is lauding Singapore for the efficient organizing, a challenging track and great lights. (BBC is cute doing that :D)

Hip Hop is proving to be a fix for my anxieties. It's mind-zoning stuff; I just focus on the beats and nothing else. Takes my mind off everything. Right now, I'm listening to Nelly's album 'Brass Knuckles'. Ha, considered an oldie but he's a darn good rapper compared to some of the newbies.

Back to hitting the books I guess. !&%$#^@&#. Concentric circles and grid lines are killing me!
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Fall 2008: Movies

Time for some shameless pimpin' again! :D Lots of wonderful movies showing this fall. The funny, the serious, the indie and a whole truckload of Academy Award material just waiting to be nominated. Definitely something to cheer for. Let's go down the list of the films that I'm dying to watch. (Title links to the trailers, guys. Cos I don't wanna clog up my post.)



First up, we have Revolutionary Road. A movie many people anticipate because it reunites Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet for the first time since Titanic. Remember? They starred in the most money-making movie of all time. :O Yes. All time. 10 years later, they're back with this project directed by Oscar winning Sam Mendes (Winslet's husband) of American Beauty fame. The movie is an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling novel by Richard Yates, tells the story about a married couple in 1950s America who lives in suburbia. It's a really emotionally complex story -- those that you can chew on for days to come. I got scared watching the trailer. Not because it was, like, scary, but the context and plot of the movie frightened me. A lot. Of how it can go wrong so easily. Which is why I will definitely catch it when it opens in December.

A warning to all LeoKate fans -- this is going to be a freaking far cry from Titanic and anyone expecting this to be a continuation of the 'What if Jack didn't die" will be sorely disappointed. Firstly, the time continuum is wrong. Film takes place in the 1950s. Jack died in 1912. Duh. And the story is absolutely different. Read: dysfunctional suburban couple. So yeah. Highly recommend to watch it still because it could very well snag up lots of Oscar nominations.





And then, there's Valkyrie, a WWII epic (?) starring Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy. Film's basically a real story about a group of high-ranking Nazi officers plotting to assassinate Adolf Hitler during the height of WWII. Of course we knew he was unsuccessful, duh, but it's interesting how it went because we seldom have movies that are shot from inside the German Reich. Usually it's all from the Allied point of view. I'm not very impressed with Tom Cruise lately but it could be extremely awesome here if he nails this one. Question: Why must most movies he stars in have his face as the only face on the poster? Think Vanilla Sky, MI123, Last Samurai, Collateral... yaddayadda.

Tom is a Nazi pirate! Arrrgggh.

The trailer looks like helluva movie though. Bryan Singer directs! Apparently, there was some conflict with the German government on the filming in actual locations and using swastikas (which are currently banned in Germany). Shrugs. I'm going to catch it anyway. Love these war blockbusters.


There's also that film, Australia, with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Basically a big-ass 1930s love story set in ... I don't even need to say it out loud. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, it's going to be a spectacle for the eyes. And Hugh Jackman! I'm swooning already. Expect a whole lot from this because two awesome Australian actors = Australia represent. I'm hoping it'd be like "Out of Africa".

Rugged FTW.

No movie poster though cos Jackman is good enough for everything. :D Ok fine, IMDB didn't let me grab any and no official posters are uploaded yet.

James Bond movie ahoy! Quantum of Solace. It's Daniel Craig as James Bond. 'Nuff said. I haven't read the novels by Ian Fleming yet though... should get round to it soon.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett reunite too in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I'll actually not say anything here because it won't do the concept of this movie any justice. Watch the trailer instead. I got goosebumped by it. Imagine if it was for real.... that would be so freaky.

A movie I really wanna watch is Mama Mia!. Which is out already! Caught the theater version when it came to Singapore some years ago and kind of loved it so definitely will catch this one. Basically, it's a huge ball of romantic fluff rightly touted as the "feel good movie of the year" by several newsgroups. Word. Looking forward to Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and gang doing their thing.

And last but not least -- The Duchess. Which has opened in cinemas already too. The film is about the life of (the real) Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (played by Keira Knightley). Funnily, she seemed to have many uncanny parallels with Lady Diana's life. Not just in the events, but also in personality and milestones of their lives. It doesn't diminish the appeal when you learn that Lady Georgiana is, in fact, an ancestor of Lady Diana. Whoosh! Talk about comparisons. Going to watch this one just for the kicks.

Of course, these are not all the (good) movies coming out this fall. Lots of awesome stuff in the cinemas. Just that these are the ones I've read about and wanna watch. I also wanna watch the following movies releasing later, ie without trailers still.

1. Twilight (inner fangirl going :D I haven't read the latest book though so don't spoil me! There are many trailers here actually. Too lazy to post them all lol. Trap you say!)

2. Max Payne adaptation (Max = Mark Wahlberg makes me cringe)

3. Defiance (Haven't really read much but Daniel Craig's in it. Pretty big shot WWII movie. Oscar material)

4. The Reader (starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes in an adaptation of the novel by Bernhard Schlink. WWII film. More Oscar material. Again.)

5. Righteous Kill (where Robert De Niro + Al Pacino!!)

6. W (Chronicles George W. Bush's life from his Yale days through the Iraq War. Just for the kicks too.)

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (it was supposed to be released this November but postphoned to next year. Grumbles, so we all have to wait. -.-)

There are much much more actually. Appaloosa, Changeling, Body of Lies. Much anticipation. Except for HSM 3 though. I can't believe the tween industry is so freaking huge and sustainable.

In case you were wondering whether 'Fall 2008:" is going to be a series of posts ... nah. I just thought the title was cool lol. Ah wells, wtheck. I did this whole thing for fun anyway. Mid-terms and term papers suffocating me to death!
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Kate Winslet's Oscar Buzz

Wow, there's a lot of buzz on Kate Winslet (of Titanic fame) winning the coveted statuette in next year's Oscars. Apparently, famous fashion designers are already wooing her so that she'll wear their gown to the ceremony, and win. Winslet is starring in, dig this, two Oscar-potential Oscar-ish movies -- The Reader and Revolutionary Road. And she's totally tipped for one, if not two nominations for Best Actress Award, and getting it, finally. (She's the youngest person to receive 5 Academy Award Nominations. Ever.)

Funny thing about it is that right now, the two films are not even out yet. And everyone's saying "Oh, she's going to win it. For sure!"
And I'm like, -.- , they're not even showing yet guys, way to jump the gun. Not that I doubt her acting ability, but huh? That's just not logical. ... Crazy Hollywood people.

Having said that, I still really really hope that she'll be able to win this time. Totally deserves it, if not for her current work but also her past achievements. She's one of the few actors that really draws me in with her acting; she entirely embraces the character and flushes them out properly, nuancing everything as she goes along. Yes, I'm a big fan and I'll be cheering for her next March.



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Jay Chou's New Album: Capricorn

I am not happy that Jay Chou's new album ("Capricorn") is coming out soon. Not happy at all because I'm fighting these battling feelings of ambivalence -- should I buy it? Or should I not. I wanna get his new songs and hopefully be musically enlightened. At the same time, I'm terrified of disappointment, a la his last album. But I'm really excited! It's magically themed and we all know how proficient Mr. Chou is in magic. I quote from some forum -- "Jay Chou has also written a "magic" song in his new album, there's also a song about the "joker", the two songs even reveal the exciting interaction between the magician and the joker, it's very dramatic." So perhaps there will be outstanding arrangements and amazing lyrics. Having said that, the last time he tried something new, ie the cowboy song, it turned out disastrous.

Argh.

Ok. I shall risk my already fragile impression of Jay Chou (refer to my previous Jay Chou post) and just go get that album. It's been less than a year since his last one and I guess I'm willing to take the plunge. Not that it would be a make or break thing, but opportunity costs, opportunity costs.



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The 2008 Financial Crisis

That's what future generations of people will say when they refer to the financial conundrum we are in now. Because it's apparently worse than the Great Depression in the 1930s! :O

I can see parallels and similarities between the two and why it's considered worse but I cannot seem to believe that I'm living through it now. Hmmm, maybe I romanticize it too much. But it's scary all the same and frightening to the financial industry, regardless what country you're in.

Lehman Brothers has collasped, bringing with it many companies who are shareholders and have purchased bonds from Lehman. And it's shocking, to say the least, watching a major bank -- a huge player in the financial world -- file for bankruptcy protection overnight. The modern financial system is shaped such that when one key domino falls, everyone else will be affected, with a variety of detrimental effects. Likewise, when that key player makes money, everyone will be affected, in this case, positively.

So with AIG (thinks of Man U! Lol.) presumably is quite a big shareholder (I haven't checked!) of Lehman, it is undergoing a huge crisis now. The (Bush) government has refused to bail it out and the Wall Street companies are desperately trying to save it. Because the consequences and complications of it collapsing are unimaginable. AIG = one of the, if not the largest insurance company in the world. Bah, even my family has AIG insurance. And not to mention a large percentage of the American people (life insurance, health, car, house, etc). So the effects will launch the markets into a maelstrom. It's quite scary actually. And I'm sure the American government has not done anything to prevent this from happening since the BearSterns collaspe! Gah! Stupid Republicans in the stupid White House. The next 24 hours till Wednesday are crucial for the survival of AIG apparently. ... I wonder if anyone will pick up the phone if I call and ask stupid questions? Ahaha.

Funnily enough, I have a feeling all this rubbish can be elegantly attributed to human greed. See, we learnt our mistakes in the 1930s and increased risk management and financial controls of banks after the Great Depression. But soon money calls and everything is abandoned gradually, resulting in the full-scale catastrophe that is laid before our eyes. (cue dramatic music) It's a cycle that goes on and on I think. So in 70 years time, we shall see another one of these grace the Earth.

Ah, humanity. The irony. .... Someone must be laughing at us from outer space or something.

OH yeah, these are just my rantings/musing btw, don't take it too seriously. They're fairly simple, naive and somewhat childish. My mergre research on this is still very preliminary so maybe not everything I say is true. Lol. Go read! I think it's a pretty rare thang happening here.

Moving on to other news, Sarah Palin is proving to be worse than George W. Bush. Oh yes. And you thought no one could surpass that idiot. But that's for another day.
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Myrika's Personal Library

:O




:O again.


I am spectacularly astounded by Myrika's Personal Library. Truly. It turns me on in ways that only erudite and academic people know of. How wonderful it would be to have a personal room like this, where I can spend hours at a time just buried in some book, any book and leave the rest of the world behind. And her organisational system almost made me squeal. Lol, ok I just love her splendid room. I wannnnt a room lyke zis twooo!

Ok. Cut that nerd speak. Lol. I know I'm freaking some people out. Can already hear the shocked gasps of "When did zj turn into a nerd? Omg what happened to her?". Frankly, I have never ever been called a nerd before. Until I came to University that is. In primary school, I was known as the loud brassy tomboy who played soccer with the boys. In lower secondary, I was a rebel with an unorthodox hairstyle, whom the teachers all hated btw. In upper secondary, I cleaned up my act. A little bit. And still touting a hairstyle that got me into lots of trouble (I blame my conservative school). In high school though, I basically became a full-fledged, extremely low-profile average rjcian. Yes, I've been labeled with a wide variety of types before but haven't come within a hundred light years of 'nerd'. (sorry for casting stereotypical molds. it's an inevitable evil.) And now, after a month in a new environment, already quite a few people have come out and commented about me being pretty nerdy . What the hells? I'm academically inspired okay. Euphenism ftw.

Awright guys, jokes over. I am not NERDY. You have not seen nerdy before the way I've seen it. Argh. It's prejudice injustice! If there's ever such a thing lol. But ultimately, it's still a relative thing I guess. Sort of need to start getting used to it.
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Chris Brown featuring Einstein?!?!

Lately, I've been re-listening to some Chris Brown and came to a shock realization when I was listening to "Forever". Chris Brown employs relativity in his songs! :O

Basically, the very first few lines of the song goes like this.

It's you,
and me
moving at the speed of light
into eternity, yeah.

And if you are familiar with Einstein's general relativity theory, you'll know that when you travel at or close to the speed of light, time will pass slower and you'll age slower. So when you travel at the speed of light, time moves so slow that it's practically constant, creating this "forever" feeling, which is what the song name is and hence what the song is about.

!!!! Chris Brown is a genius!?! Lol, or at least his producer is. I think it's amusing, at the very least. Academia in Hip Hop! :D

Of course, a more technical person can argue about the perspectives thing. An observer on Earth would see, in terms of his time, them travelling forever. But to the couple traveling at the speed of light, it feels as if they're proceeding at normal time. Hmmm. So it actually dosen't work out that neatly in the song. Heck, we'll never know whether Chris Brown really understands relativity or not, and who gives a hoot. He's sexy enough for everyone.

I know what you're thinking: Einstein must have gotten to her brain! ... It has! For many hours a week, I breathe, eat and sleep Einstein. He's such a genius! Once every century probably. And you can feel his spirit when you study his work. Awesome. I'm just singing with academic wonder. Thanks to Professor Phil and his neverending passion for this course.


Lol, for all those who don't want anything to do with Einstein, I highly recommend this song to you anyway, if you like Hip Hop. It's got sick beats and instrumentation that gives the whole song a sleek futuristic feel and add in Chris Brown's melting vocals, you get an exceedingly sexy song. Great to dance to because of the alternatives the beats present. Dave Scott chereographed to this song for Comfort & Twitch on So You Think You Can Dance Season 4 and it was seriously the best conventional Hip Hop routine of the whole season. It got picked up as a Judges favourite for the finale too and Comfort and Twitch were just sick in both Top 8 and the finale. Totally SICK. Haha, now you know why my mp3 has it on eternal loop these days. Just can't get enough of the song, and routine. Awesome stuff. Watch it!



That was the dance itself during the Top 8 performance show. Now the finale, which was danced cleaner and better.



And here's the full original song itself, courtesy of Chris Brown (I love him!). Get addicted, yo.


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