Blending In

It's been more than a month since I last said something here about me. Work has been busy after the 1st 2 weeks. I think i'm working with a great bunch of people who are very experienced with their work and I'm learning loads from them everyday. I try as much as i could to ask and learn, listen and absorb, but I wonder how long I can last before I get sick of it. Well, at least for now I think i'm doing okay.

I'm still trying to get use to having less time to myself. With work taking up the bulk of time everyday, there's really not much time left to do my own stuff and also keep time to rest. This lack of rest might be slowly building up in me, as everyday i feel a little more tired than the previous.

So far I believe i still made the right choice to be a traffic engineer. I'm putting to use what i've learn in school. That is actually something i'm very happy about. Many people do not use the knowledge they acquired in uni and start everything anew with a different and unrelated job. I'm glad where I am and happy to be able to understand my job better than a usual civil engineer.

Karate Kid

Watched @ The Cathay

Re-make of the old Karate Kid but with many twists. White kids becomes black, karate becomes kung fu, Japan becomes China. Well that just show how much world perception has changed. Japan used to be the up and coming nation with all the high tech stuff and super efficient economy, but my china is the new dragon, everything is about china.

There's quite a bit of chinese propaganda in the movie. The movies seems to put the country in a pretty good light. It's nice to know that US movies are trying to change the image of china being backward and old.

The action sequences in the show are pretty tight. Perhaps that's Jackie Chan's credit. His trade mark funny actions are still there but much less intensity. Age played a pretty big part, his character ages too.

This is a good movie to watch. Entertaining and Yu Rong Guang is always good at being the villian. haha.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Dre Parker: You don't know the rules?
Mr. Han: Simple. You hit him, don't let him hit you. 

Official Website

Pictures

Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

Watched @ Cathay Downtown East

This movie is adapted from a very popular video game. A classic video games makes it to the big screen once again. I loved the parkour like jumping actions thru-out the movie, those are exactly the type of actions players of the prince of persia games hopes to achieve. Super cool.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Backup Plan

Watched @ GV Marina

Romantic comedy starring J Lo, it's been awhile since seeing her on the big screen.  It's good entertainment. Plot is nice and catchy with good laughs thru out the show. highly recommended for a good time.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Iron Man 2

Sequel to the 1st Ironman movie, not much link between the 2 other than the characters. Plot wise it's quite simple. But it's the high tech gizmos and gadgets that's most captivating. Just the suitcase size ironman suit? Super cool!!

Watch it for the action, nothing more could be asked abt the acting. it's not an arts film, it's action!!

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Ivan Vanko: If you could make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him. There will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come.
[looks at Stark]
Ivan Vanko: All I have to do is sit here and watch, as the world will consume you... 

---

Tony Stark: I'm not saying I'm responsible for this country's longest run of uninterrupted peace in 35 years! I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a Phoenix metaphor been more personified! I'm not saying Uncle Sam can kick back on a long chair, sipping on an ice tea, because I haven't come across anyone man enough to face me on my best day! 

Official Website

Pictures

1st week over

After one week of working life, i think i've found some sort of rhythm. It's not that scary as compared to the first day. I'm learning to absorb information with more relevance, able to make more sense out of them. But i'm still slightly cautious when taking in information, fearing that I might miss out something important or forget something really soon. I feel this is going to be a good experience. 

Day 1 in Kingdom of Sg Roads

First day jitters are still hanging around even though i think i had a pretty decent first day. 1st half of the day was some not-so-useful induction program, which i struggled to stay awake for.


When I reported to my department i realise many were on leave due to mayday off-in-lieu. That included my supervisor which left me kindda like a headless fly, but the good thing was i was among a bunch of friendly and funny people. Especially my buddy, total joker. Totally made me less stressed up, much more relax. 


It was tough surviving the first day when there was basically nothing for me to do except to clean up my table & cubicle. Tough to act busy when there's really nothing for me to act on. All that was cos my manager not around to boss me around, hope it will be better on my 2nd day when he's back. 


Gimme work!! :P


But as my buddy would say, enjoy your holiday while u can.... hahaha...

Butterflies

i'll be starting my 1st real job in a few hours. I'm feeling so so so nervous, excited, anxious, frightened, terrified... so many different feelings of horror all in my chest now.. I feel like pressure on my chest is so strong, it's constricting me to death, yet at the same time I feel like my lungs and other internal organs are going to expand and blow up! worst still, I feel so much gas in my stomach, I've been burping out gas for the past hour or so. That must be the work of the butterflies in my stomach, and perhaps the work of the butterflies in their stomachs too!!


I'm really looking forward to a new stability in my life, one with a good regular income so that I can start looking at plans for the future. Yet i'm afraid that the requirements and expectations to fulfill at such a position is beyond my capabilities. Suddenly i've lost confidence in all i've learnt in uni. Seriously, what Have I learnt in uni? I would be at lost if you asked me that qn. 


Breathe!!


One Step at a time!!


Eventually, you walk out of the fog and see the world in a clearer picture....


Breathe!!

Ip Man 2

Watched @ GV Marina Sq

Usually I don't watch chinese movies at the cinema, cos they are always out in stores or online within a few weeks. But this is an outing movie with friends so i watched. I have to say, i'm not disappointed with what I was watching.

I think the greatest credit has to go to the script and the director, they manage to make a movie about a man who was known to be unassuming, and made him into a cult hero. Impressive. Perhaps even more credit had to go to the guy who played the villain in the movie, he really managed to make everyone in the cinema hate him so much, that everyone cheered with the supporters in the movie when he was finally beaten. That is a great reaction indicating a great movie.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
洪震南：为了生活，我可以忍。但侮辱中华武术，我不能忍！
————————————————————————————
梁：师父，如果真的有10个人带上家伙来打你，怎么办？
叶问：跑！

Official Website

Pictures

Bounty Hunter

Watched @ The Cathay

Another Gerard Butler movie that comes of the assembly line. His movie are coming out so fast, there's hardly time to forget his previous one. The problem with this one is that it totally reminds me of the ugly truth, not totally the same, but there's essence of the previous show in it. That is a bad thing.

The other bad thing is that the plot is quite filled with loopholes. the opening and finale are just lousy. Not plots that are well thought off, just plots that are trying to give gerard butler a movie, so that they can squeeze as much $$ as they can out of him while he is still the popular man. disappointing. Notice how far he has fallen in movie standard ever since 300? tsk tsk tsk

There nothing much to say abt jennifer aniston, she is in her typical role. boring cos it's the same her, but than again, that's the her I wanna see. :P

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 4 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Nicole Hurley: Life is making mistakes.
Milo Boyd: And death is wishing you had made more.

Official Website


Pictures

Date Night

Watched @ GV Vivo

Hilarious comedy, the plot is NOT out of this world, just a series of unfortunate events. Nothing very memorable, but being memorable is not the point for comedies. The laugh is all that counts, and laughs I've really had quite a few.

I think Steve Carrell has been typecast, his roles are more or less the same, goofy, underachieving guy who whacks out a good thing or two at the end of the movie. Tina Fey, i think it's the first time i've ever seen her a a lead. She's been around for ages and got famous for mimicking Sarah Palin. Great performance by the leading duo, good chemistry. They really did take my on a good comedic ride.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Bangkok Aftermath

Back from bangkok for more than 2 weeks already, but have yet to post anything about it yet. Finally I've found some time to do it. Been pretty much occupied with this new game called three kingdoms, kindda regret starting it, cos it's really time consuming. WTH!! there are so many players who seem to be online 24/7, crazy!!

Anyway abt Bangkok, my trip there was pretty much disrupted by the red shirt protesters, cos they were right smack congregating at the place where I wanna shop!! I seriously have a very strong urge to just use "weapons of mass destruction" on them. But then again, there were too many of them, seriously scary, now that i'm looking back at it.

First day that we were there, the congregation were only beginning to gather, so it did not felt that tense yet, just seriously traffic jams. We checked into our hotel, wanted to start shopping when we realised the shopping centres were forces to close, only then we sense the situation is tensing. Best part was we even tried to go check out central world, which was actually a bad idea, cos the headquarters is pretty much just outside the place and density of red shirts were much higher there. The atmosphere was so dense, it was almost suffocating. Both of us basically freaked out when they start chanting and yelling their slogans, we just had to act calm and move as far as quickly as we could. Oh yah, turning back was no longer an option.

Saving grace of the day was that the Spa was still quite a distance away from the mess and it remains open. It was actually quite crowded there. Tourists mostly, I sense that most of them had no where better to go then there. We reached the Spa abt 4plus, and there was no vacancy till 6pm, we were just contented to stay there. Anywhere away from the reds is better. Suan Lum night market was our plan for that night, luckily that too remained open, few days later the Spa and Suan Lum area would have been messy too. I even managed to catch the Man U vs Chelsea game there.

Bulk of second day was spent at Chatuchak, good thing this place is really far from the tourist central. It's business as usual, as it nothing is happening at all. bought some stuff, walked alot, ate alot, pretty much accomplished all the required tasked at Chatuchak, but on a much longer time frame. Brought dear to this bear shirt shop, sells cool bear shirts, i seriously did not know how I was walking in that market. If you have been there you would know how complicated that place was. And yet I somehow found the place like a homing missile with GPS guidance, i just thought of the place and walked turned when I felt like turning and "TADAH"!!

We managed to squeeze some time to visit platinum and do some shopping there, it was OPEN!! or so we thought. As we shopped for a while and was thinking if we could get dinner at the japanese restaurant, all the stalls began frantically clearing and packing and  within minutes most of the stalls have they shutters down and the operators are moving out of the building, we took that as our que to leave as well.

We found a nice cosy restaurant near our hotel for dinner. it's a western restaurant, but we ordered thai food. not bad, and best of all it offers free wifi!! :P and more Spa to end off the day, traditional thai massage, not as acrobatic as we thought. We were served by 2 aunties were who talking non-stop among themselves, quite hilarious cos they talk as if we couldnt understand a single word they say. True, we could not understand a single word, but I could roughly tell they were talking abt US!!

Final day, we decided to venture around our hotel, pratunam area, and it had to be done early. The red shirts are not that active early in the morning, so we had to move early, cos judging from the trends in the past few days, most stall would close once the protestors gather in large numbers and start holding up traffic. We even manage to catch lunch at the japanese restaurant at platinum, that's was before things started looking rowdy all over again. thankfully we were headed to the airport soon after.

This trip gave me a new view of thailand, the one that's in political turmoil for many decades. And judging from the sights that we see in bangkok. This is no where near the end, even if this episode ends, the political situation is no where near being stable. it's too volatile. Some people are just too politically sensitive and totally not viewing the government objectively. It's like "if the government is not red it sucks"!! And yet on the other hand, you can also see people, who can go on with their day to day matters like nothing ever happened. I believe that is usually the case for the majority, they dun really care who's in power, as long as they are able to survive. Yet the minority that's voicing our their complains and whatsoever, thinks they are the majority and everyone wants to be like them. They need to learn that just because no one is saying "yes this government is good" doesnt mean that everyone thinks "this government sucks". Things are still going to get ugly.

I wonder when will be the next time thailand would be safe to visit once again.

Clash of the Titans (non-3D)

Watched @ Cineleisure lvl 9

So much hype had been brewing around this movie, I personally feel it has not delivered much. At least it has not done enough to out-do it's predecessor. I've watched the old classic, monochrome version before when i was a kid, and i briefly remembered the movie to captivate me much more than this version did. Oh!! I remembered the owl, though I have no recollection of it's usage. I only remembered it used to move.

Acting wise in this movie, it's hard to judge, liam neeson as zeus, feels alittle feeble. And sam worthington as perseus, felt like terminator 4 all over again. well, I think the biggest problem lies in the plot. This is supposed to be an epic movie, but after watching it, it felt like a summary.

It's like the whole original story was summarized into under 2hrs so that we could watch it in 1 showing. actually, I would be happier if they made it into a 4hr long epic movie. Much like the "10 commandments" sort of  way. The whole grandeur of the movie would be lifted. Unlike this haphazardly compiled version.

Also the fact that it was converted to 3D as a sales gimmick is really desperate. They are so desperate to ride the 3D wave phenomenon, that they totally flopped in it. Well that was the comments i had gathered, so i watched the non-3D version instead. Indeed there are several scenes in the movies that would do well with 3D effects. But the effects are just the same when you do it in post-production instead of pre-production.

What could have been a hell of a ride became just a walk in the park.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 6 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Bangkok Here I come... AGAIN!!

In a few hrs, i'll be flying off to bangkok again. I believe it's my third time in the past 12 mths. This is a last min trip, dear and I decided to take cos i might be starting work soon and we both have no idea when our next free period will be. So this might be a good opportunity to bring her to bangkok and go to the places I went the last time with silie & russel. This will be a tightly packed weekend, many places to cover in this short period of time. I intend to be photo whoring this time around, I realised i have been taking very few pictures in my past few overseas trips.

Oh yah, in the past 2 days I ate stuff I really like once again! I'm treating my stomach really well recently. 

Thurs nite went to eat Korean food at Manna (Telok Ayer). I been there a few times and the food there hasnt disappoint. Really yummy bbq meats, the real korean style. How do I know it's real? cos most of the customers and the employees are korean, oh and the boss too!! However it's not cheap, quite ex actually. Therefore it's a place I would come only when i'm feeling rich or i'm eating with my family. 

Friday morning, after going to Bright Hill to pay respects to my grandma, we went to Toa Payoh's Fortunate Restaurant for dim sum. I've been hearing abt the place for years, but never had the chance to try it. It's really crowded, huge queue outside when we arrived but the queue clear up quite fast, so it was good. Service was very prompt. Service is hongkong style, where all the food comes in aluminium steamer trolleys and you will pick out what you wanna eat from there. It's good, well most of it. I really recommend the "xia jiao" (prawn dumplings) and egg tarts. I would come back just for these 2 items, but the rest were quite good too. Oh there's peking duck too, but we din manage to try it, cos they served it when we were done with dessert. Really full and satisfied.

And now it's time to head to BKK for another round of enjoyment... :)

I got it!

I've gotten the answer I wanted. I've been accepted. I'm going to be a traffic engineer. I've not been given the salary I wanted, but that's expected and i'm glad it's within my expectation of how much they are willing to offer.

Aftermath of Interview part 2

Ever since my 2nd interview on friday, i've been having pretty good food for dinner. Hog's breath on friday and Senki earlier today!! I enjoyed a lot!!

I've been stressing about the interview for the past week, and it's been getting on my nerves every now and then. Good thing my mum has not bug me about it much. That's a relieve. The bigger relieve is that it's over, and I think I did not screw up too badly. I was told to wait for answer which will come by the end of the coming week. *fingers crossed*

Hog's breath on friday evening was heavenly!! Ordered a mega 400gm prime rib to share with dear companied with a finger food platter. It's the best steak I've had in ages. It really hit the spot (as the saying goes, even though I have no idea where the spot is. it's one of those places where you will know when it happens!!)

Senki, japanese food buffet, loads of salmon and swordfish sashimi. Did not overfill myself, stopped after 1 huge round of everything I wanted and 3 round of sashimi. It's not easy to tell yourself to stop during a buffet. Buffet goers will know what I mean, especially asians. We always wanna get the best value of what we paid for.

The best part, after all that food, I'm not feeling too guilty about it, cos it's about time to go for a long walk!! 3 time in the past 7 days.. not bad I would say....

Xin Wang HK Cafe

simple fare done well is always something that fits my palate well.At Xin Wang, they serve the usual overpriced "cha chan ting" food, but the plus point here is that the food is done well. Even though there's the occasional microwaved stuff like the "bo luo bao", there's a lot of good stuff here. For the past year or so i've been going to this cafe quite often and yesterday I found a gem on the menu!! Yes, a gem.

Special Pork Rib Beehoon, it's basically the taste of the canned pork ribs infused into beehoon. When done well, it can be the most appetising beehoon you have ever eaten. The version I had yesterday was really well done, every strand of beehoon was filled with the fragrant & fatty taste of canned pork ribs. Sinful, I know. Yummy, you will know after first taste.

Disaster movie day, Category 7: End of the World versus Haeundae

Watched @ Funshion

I dun mean to be lazy and have 1 post for 2 movies, but cos I watched these 2 disaster movies one after the other. I cant help myself but to compare them, and the result is rather shocking. Here's the background to the 2 movies and my views on them.

Category 7, a 4hr mini-series originally aired on CBS in 2005. it's a very detailed and well thought thru plot which follows directly after Category 6, another mini series in 2004. It's basically about these killer tornadoes that are blowing out of proportion due to global warming and intense heat output of the metropolitans of the world. The pace of the movie is good, even though I watched 4 hrs straight, it's actually gripping enough to keep me in my seat and watch on.

Haeundae, a 2008 disaster film from korea. The basic plot revolves around the possibility of a mega tsunami hitting korea from the coastal town of Haeundae. Although the movie is only 2hrs long, I was really quite irritated by it, mainly by the vagueness of its genre. It's supposed to be a disaster movie, yet i is loaded with pointless drama and korea slapstick comedy!! 2 hrs of the movie, only the last 20mins consisted of the tsunami and its impact. I'm disappointed, really disappointed. Special effects in this movie is rather laughable as well, they did a tremendous job making the impact and onset of the disaster feel very heavy, very devastating. But yet somehow, buildings, bridges, people, survive the impact. Oh, and the director seems to like to kill off the characters in twisted ways!! Survive one turmoil only to get killed at the next turn. Too much korean comedy here. I'm just glad I fought off the urge to watch this movie when it was in the theatres here last year. Phew...

Spikefire ratings: (Category 7)
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8 out of 10

Spikefire ratings: (Haeundae)
Story & Plot: 5 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: 5.5 out of 10

Pictures

The Lovely Bones

Watched @ Funshion

This movie revolves around the death of 14 yr old gal, little susie. shot in first person view where she views life unfolding after her death. it's nicely shot in a way we follow little susie on a journey of self-realisation, even though it's after death; to see how her family reacts, how her killer reacts.

it's an interesting story to follow.

the main character susie is a relatively new actress, but she had put in a good performance. She's also supported by great actors around her.

But this is not a movie to watch if you are tired. it's kindda slow, so if you dun have the energy, you'll probably fall asleep.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6.5  out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7.5 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Interview #1 - part 2

I have the 2nd interview. It's next friday, in a way i'm glad to get it, and yet i'm totally nervous wreck having to face it. Arggh!

The Rebound

Watched @ PPStream

A love story about a woman with 2 children who just got divorced and a younger man who just got jilted. It's a simple and straight forward love story. No huge bad guys in this story, it's all sweet and inspiring for the most of it.

Simply nice and entertaining.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Pictures

Interview #1

Just came back from my first interview. Butterflies are flying in the butterflies in my stomach!! The interview proceedings was informal, so I felt less anxious compared to the initial butterflies in butterflies in butterflies. Even though less anxious, I think I still did badly, I wasnt able to answer simple questions like "what have you done so far?" or "what was your favourite project?". I really hope they do call me back for a 2nd interview. I think I would like the job very much....

Hello Samsung Ultra-Touch!!

This is my my new phone, I like it!!!

Life aint the same without a working phone

Ever since my phone went cuckoo, i've been using my handphone with the earpiece. Without the earpiece, I could not hear anything. So basically I've been walking around today with a earpiece in my ear all the time, and with newpaper while waiting for dear. I feel so much like some uncle!! But that aint the main issue, the lost of sound from the speakers is so bad, that I would not know the phone is ringing unless I happen to stare at the screen of the phone. This totally keeps me on a nerve-wrecking stage all the time. Cos i'm concern that calls would be coming in to ask me to go for interview and such, and i might miss it.

The cool thing today, I got a call to go for an interview next week, I think it's fate that i happened to look at the phone screen when it rang. phew...

Oh yah, I wanted to get a Samsung UltraTouch, but somehow that phone is totally not availbale at and Singtel, M1, Starhub shop that I scourge thru yesterday. That sucks!! Spent most of the day look for it, IT show, Suntec, Funan, Vivo... even geylang.. NONE!! End of the day, it seems fate is making fun of me, cos in the end I found the phone on singtelshop.com. It's coming tml!!!

Bye Bye L760

Have been using my current phone for a long time, have always been pondering when to get a new phone. But that decision has been made for me today. My phone is spoilt!! No sound from it suddenly, it seems that the connection to the speaker is somehow broken. Sms still works and conversations can still be made if I used the headset.

But that's only temporary, the solution will be IT SHOW!! yeah!! hahaa...

Being Human

Watched @ GV Marina

The plot is simple, employee (Mark Lee) of a slimming company got fired. He got angry and wants to take revenge, he did so by setting up his own slimming centre and went to ridiculous lengths to outdo his former employers. And while he was doing his deeds, he often is face with his inner conscious, who magnifest himself as NoNo, rationale of the inner conscious looking different from the person? Ugly thoughts make the inner conscious look ugly.

Slapstick comedy, funny spurts here and there, overall it's still acceptable. The biggest no no lies in the ending, lame lame lame!!! this is wat happens when people run out of ideas. Oh the camera effects, very amateurish!!!

So watch it if you enjoy Jack Neo's comedic sense, but you can also watch it if you wanna see who his mistress. The character's Mark Lee's sister-in-law.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 5 out of 10
Overall: 5.5 out of 10

Pictures

Daybreakers

Watched @ Funshion

This is not the usual vampire story, vampires are immortals, but killable. They are still afraid of daylight and still feeds on human blood. The story begins in the future where most of the world's population are vampires and are facing a shortage of human blood to feed the vampires. Although the producers are the same ones as Matrix, I think the plot is kindda poor in that sense or maybe vampires are just not as smart as i thought.

Humans are captured and bleed dry for their blood, and when dried, they dispose the human. HOW DUMB IS THAT!!?? Even the Matrix from that long ago has the common sense to keep the humans alive for the extended shelf life. And the vampires in this movie simply used humans like disposables, dumb vamps!! It's probably cos the script was written so so long ago, perhaps way before the matrix and perhaps way before they heard of cloning.

Those are the worst loopholes that have left me utterly disappointed with the plot, otherwise it could have been a much better movie. oh yah, i think the producers also tried very hard to stereotype their vampires, in this movie, they are weak, they just dun age, but they can be killed quite easily.

However, I do like the twist in the vampire legends, vampires can turn back into humans, and man can return a plague of their own back onto the vampires. I liked that part.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 6.5 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Pandorum

Watched @ Funshion

2 crew of a ship wakes up from deep sleep to find themselves more or less isolated on a spaceship which mission they cant remember due to extended period in deep sleep. It's another "end of the world and we are the one survivors" story, this mission was to send them to a distant planet which is much like earth and supposedly able to support life.

Pandorum is actually a mental disorder which is described in the movie as something you get while being in space and isolation for too long. But the whole screwed up ship started off with 1 guy getting pandorum and started acting like god.

It's not a bad movie, except for the question about howdoes the guy who saves the rest of the passengers wake up?? If the crazy guy could control the ship that well, why let this guy wake up?? hmmm... let's just leave it to fate for movie's sake... Oh I like the happy ending, bad guys die, good and innocent people live on...

However it would probably be better to watch it under better conditions which I had. Blu-ray would be nice...

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 6 out of 10
Overall: out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Up in The Air

Watched @ Funshion

The story is basically about Ryan (George Clooney), a guy that flies about more than staying put; a guy who flies about just to fire people the company management are too chicken to. To me it's an interesting plot to begin with, hell I never knew you can have a job out of firing someone. Anyway, it's an interesting plot, Ryan is a loner, who is trying to deceive himself that he is alright being alone, and he even sidelines by going around teaching people how it is alright to be alone.

Natalie (Anna Kendrick), the understudy to Ryan, trying to learn the real meaning of firing someone while she tries to organise the whole process into some clockwork procedure. Ryan has a theory that firing someone is not just "firing" someone, it encompasses much more, and it's something very personal and have to be handled with care. Ain't that an irony with his "it's alright to be alone" attitude, once again, it's interesting.

A-list actors provided A-list acting, it's very believable at the end of the day. That's what makes movies good.
Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10


Favourite Lines:
Ryan Bingham: [on getting through airport security] Never get behind old people. Their bodies are littered with hidden metal and they never seem to appreciate how little time they have left. Bingo, Asians. They pack light, travel efficiently, and they have a thing for slip on shoes. Gotta love 'em.

Natalie Keener: That's racist.
Ryan Bingham: I'm like my mother, I stereotype. It's faster.
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Alex Goran: What a weasly prick.
Natalie Keener: Yeah, but what does that make me? Someone who falls for a prick.
Alex Goran: We all fall for the prick. Pricks are spontaneous, they're unpredictable and they're fun. And then we're surprised when they turn out to be pricks.
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Ryan Bingham: You know why kids love athletes?
Bob: Because they screw lingerie models.
Ryan Bingham: No, that's why we love athletes. Kids love them because they follow their dreams.
Official Website


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Job Application Bombardment

It's now exactly 2 months since my job application for LTA & Surbana. They probably found someone else, cos the job vacancies are no longer there. So I have embarked on a bombardment journey today. Here are the list of jobs I've applied for!! hehe..

1. Urban Planner (Development Control)
2. Urban Planner (Physical Planning)
3. Engineers Programme Planning (Civil)
4. Engineering Officers (Civil) Marina Coastal Expressway (I just realise this is a diploma position, I wonder if they will love me for applying.. haha..)
5. Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness
6. Cadet Pilot
7. Assistant Manager, Airline Development
8. Manager, Corporate Strategy
9. Manager, Airport Operations

I wonder who would be the first to accept/reject me... :P

Invictus

Watched @ Funshion

Based on a true historical event, and how tru is it that great stories arise from the toughest of times. The story revolves around Nelson Mandela, the first elected president of South Africa after the fall of apartheid, and how he used rugby to unite his racially torned nation.

Acting is great, no questions. Matt Damon & Morgan Freeman put it a hell of a show for me. Despite Morgan Freeman looking much taller than Nelson Mandela, he really did a wonderful portrayal of the man. They have to work the expression and accent, it's one thing to act a character, it's another to totally mimick and be the character.

The story plot is not entirely true, cause I just found out that the Invictus poem was never used in truth. Nelson Mandela gave the Springboks captain a passage from Theodore Roosevelt to inspire him instead of the Invictus poem depicted by the movie. But that's just detail, I can overlook that, I can live with the Invictus.

This movie is very strong emotionally, it's a great era, great feelings. One can only wonder what the 2 men felt during those days. Just for interest sake, this is the Invictus poem

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.


In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.


Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.


It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

And the passage that Nelson Mandela gave to the Springboks Captain, I find it just as inspiring.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 9 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8.5 out of 10


Favourite Lines:

Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman):
I thank whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul.
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
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Brenda Mazibuko (President's Aide): You're risking your political capital, you're risking your position in the party, you're risking your future as our leader.
Nelson Mandela: The day I am afraid to do that is the day I am no longer fit to lead.
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Nelson Mandela: I was thinking about a little wager.
New Zealand PM: How about, all your gold for all our sheep?
Nelson Mandela: I was thinking about a case of wine.


Official Website


Pictures

Dear John

Watched @ GV Marina

A long story about a lightning fast love at first sight between 2 individuals. The story begins pre-Sept11, and when all seems to be flowing towards a happy ending, fate steps in and brings them Sept11. But that's not the end, fate seems to like to visit this ill-fated couple more than others.

The good thing about such romance flicks, it's not difficult to act it well, you just need to have experience in love, and nowadays, who doesnt?? especially people who looked like them!!

However, it's still a touching story, and I liked the final seemingly happy ending.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 8 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10


Favourite Lines:

John Tyree: Our story has 3 parts a beginning, a middle and an end and although this is the way all stories unfold I still cant believe ours didnt go on forever.


Official Website


Pictures

Wolfman

Watched @ Cineleisure lvl 6

A gory werewolf movie, the plot is quite flat, perhaps cos I knew from the start of the movie that Anthony Hopkin's character is the villian in this movie. I suppose that was the supposed twist in the show, but nope, that did not happen for me.

The love story weaved within the movie between Lawrence & Gwen, well, is weak too!! Can anyone see why it would happen? NOPE!! not me!!

The worst part of the plot was the origin of werewolf's lycanthropy is from the hidden mountains of india!!?? WTH!?? oh well...

Just watch it for good acting and good action sequences and gory scenes... IGNORE THE PLOT!!

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 3 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 5 out of 10


Favourite Lines:

Colonel Montford: [Sir John shoots a statue next to Colonel Montford causing him to fall off his horse] Damn you Talbot!
Sir John Talbot: I'm sorry Colonel. I meant to shoot you. You see I'm not as good a shot as I used to be.

Official Website

Gut Wrenching

Yesterday, I finally understood the feeling behind the phrase "gut wrenching". My stomach felt as if it was being twisted about from the inside, SUPER PAINFUL!!!

BUT amazingly, I still managed to survive the day and got home safely at the end of everything. I feel better today, but perhaps that's cos I had nothing except water and "Po Chai" pills the whole day.

Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief

Watched @ GVMax

The movie is an adaptation from a series of storybooks of the same name written by Rick Riordan. The acting in the movie says, teen pop movie from start to the end, but i'm happy to accept that sort of entertainment.

The storyline is interesting though, the whole premises of the story is based on ancient greek mythology, which somehow manages to exist in this modern world. Modern parallels are cleverly used to depict places and characters in ancient mythology.

This movie is direct by the same guy who direct the 1st 2 installments of Harry Potter.

Watch this if you are interested in teen fantasy and greek mythology.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10


Favourite Lines:
Chiron: [from trailer] Use this to defend yourself. It's a powerful weapon.

Percy Jackson: This is a pen.
Chiron: Only use it in times of severe distress.
Percy Jackson: This is a *pen*.

Official Website

Pictures

72 Tenants

Watched @ FilmGarde Kallang Leisure Park

It's a slapstick comedy for the Chinese New Year season. It has a HUGE cast consisting of almost all the leading stars in HK's TVB station. THe comedy effects are quite powerful, but it could have been much better if we could watch it in the original cantonese version.

Acting is quite good considering it's mainly for the comedic effects.

On the whole, it's good family entertainment for the holiday season.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Official Website

Pictures

Little Big Soldier

Watched @ Cineleisure lvl 9

This is Jackie Chan's production, and the result is simply a typical Jackie Chan production. In his type of productions, the storyline doesnt matter, and pointless twists often occur.Comedy is quite effective in the show and the acting required is quite limited, hence focus lands on the action sequences. The action this time is not bad but could have been more.

So my recommendations for this movie is simple, lower expectations and you'll just enjoy the little things in the show.
Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 6 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 6.5 out of 10


Favourite Lines:
挺好的。(this is selected simply for the number of times it was used!!!)

Pictures

Hello Singapore!! Hello end of RT!!

Back in Singapore last night, super tired, slept till noon today. We went to BKK with one check in luggage of 15kg, came back with two 15kg and one 20kg, huge buys!! But i'm not the main culprit, haha!! Definitely not the biggest spender either. I just wanna bring dear to BKK together!! Asap!!

Final session of RT just now, I have finally completed the whole course!! Failed the finally IPPT and kindda did worst den before, but no matter, I'll have more time to train, I will!!

I got my first aid certification and it comes in a tiny little card!! looks unreliable if you ask me. hahaa..

From now to CNY, it's housekeeping time!! ANd also time to cycle down to TJC everyday.

Sawadee 2010 pt2

Dinner at Fuji Japanese restaurant yesterday was quite good, cheap as well. Oh the wasabi is the freshly grated type, so quality is apparent here and also gives a greater kick compared to the usualy powdered one we are used to back in singapore. & of us ate quite a lot but total was not over 5K baht!! oh, mum and keli had lunch at crystal jade which cost just as much for just the 2 of them!!!!

Spa yesterday was quite an experience, scary too. The place was nice and classy, I did mine in a private room, the masseuse was quite good, and almost every part of the body was taken care of, but i was more in need of a foot massage than full body back then. The Spa is healthland Spa located at Sathorn Road, it's quite a popular place so most tazi drivers actually roughly know where it is, and it's quite easy to recognise, just look out for a big golden bungalow.

Spent the bulk of the day so far at Platinum Mall, Fashion apparels wholesale shopping centre, it's really near our hotel and we really spent alot of time there. And after that long duration, I'm not done with it yet, there are still spots I have not covered!!  bought several tshirts from there for yanli mostly and 1 for myself. I learnt this time that platinum not only has lots of choices for fashion, it's also full of food choices.

Dinner today was at this german beer place recommended by Russel, the food there was not bad, the pork knuckles was really crispy. However, the best part of the place is that it has somehting like a cabaret show going on, a few singers, LOADs of props, cameras, lightings, the whole nine yards. The customers there are also very spontaneous to the performance, many of them are dancing wildly around their tables as the night wore on.

It's the last night in BKK already, I would say so far the purchasing has been fruitful. Good trip so far...

Sawadee 2010

It's my 2nd day in BKK, and I just got back from Chatuchak, the place is still huge, HOT, crowded, Hot, exciting and last but not least HOT! I bought only a few tshirts there, but those are nice tshirts which I had not seen anywhere else so far. So I'm happy with that simple buy.

Yesterday was a hectic day too, set off for here early in the morning and got to the hotel almost noon. bulk of yesterday was spent visiting the tailors for my shirts and suits and pants, thereafter it's shopping, while the rest went to the thai massage at Wat Pho, we stayed shopping at the aircon'd centres.

Den it was to chinatown to get "dog shit"!! Bought loads of them for my house for this cny. Yesterday's dinner was at a rather dodgy chinese seafood restaurant to chinatown, the food was actually good, if not for it's dodgy surroundings and numerous sightings of "xiao qiangs", i would actually visit the place again.

Finale of the night was visiting Suan Lum night market, din not managed to buy anything exciting there except for some small souvenirs. Keli and I did manage to do a 15min fish spa. Those fishes are SUPER hungry for my dead skin!! I seemed to be a good source of it... :P

It's time to leave and head for dinner, followed by Sky Bar, followed by SPA!!

RT Mania pt2

IPPT session today, totally burnt out after the first shuttle run station........ result.. fail...

RT Mania!!

Just finished my 4th straight day of RT. It's kindda crazy as it seems and what's crazier? That's not the end, I still have 2 more consecutive days more of RT sessions. All these cause i'll be missing next week's sessions due to my upcoming thailand trip, so i had to do makeup training sessions. After this 6 days in a row RT mania, I hope earn some leeway to eat up in bangkok. hehee.

RT has been ok so far, training's not extremely tough, but I do find their training quite lousy. The exercises that they are doing are really old school, it's older than my bmt days which was almost 10 years ago. They are doing lunges, both front and back, and squats, all these have been phased out in my bmt training cause of excessive stress on the kneecaps, and yes, my knees are definitely feeling it. OUCH!!

I can feel some stamina building up in me after the runs, especially during this past few days of daily running. Not fast, but at slow speeds I managed to keep jogging for at least 4 rounds.

4 down.. 2 more to go!!

The Blind Side

Watched @ The Cathay

This is one of my favourite movies of recent times. The movie is based on the true story of NFL star Mike Oher. Although I know very little about NFL, I know that sports is one of the channels in USA that black people there can excel in and have more often than not be the catalyst to bring them out of poverty.

The story starts off with a clip of a play in NFL, depicting the importance of the blindside, the quarterback's blindside. That was a real footage and even though we do not see the extend of the damage in the tackle, the player's reaction says it all! And this is the story of NFL's recent greatest protector of the blindside, Mike Oher.

But this is not just about the player becoming a star. It's about the family that he met and learned to love. Sandra bullock, plays the mother, Leigh Anne, of this family, the Touhys. It was a Thanksgiving eve that started the threadings of Mike and the Touhys.

The story of Mike and the Touhys was told in a very touching fashion. Even though I believe much of the facts have be dramatise and idealised, it's still an amazing story to believe in. Watch it to experience it.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 9 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 8 out of 10


Favourite Lines:
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In Mike's new room,
Michael Oher: This is mine?
Leigh Anne Touhy: Yes sir.
Michael Oher: I never had one before.
Leigh Anne Touhy: What, a room to yourself?
Michael Oher: ...A bed.
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Leigh Anne Touhy: If you so much as set foot downtown you will be sorry. I'm in a prayer group with the D.A., I'm a member of the NRA and I'm always packing.
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Michael Oher: [after pushing an opponent all the way off the field] Sorry coach, I stopped when I heard the whistle.
Coach Cotton: Where were you taking him?
Michael Oher: The bus, it was time for him to go home.
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Leigh Anne Touhy: Michael, I want you to have a good time but if you get a girl pregnant out of wedlock, I will crawl into the car, drive up to Oxford and cut off your penis.
S.J. Tuohy: She's not kidding.
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Sean Tuohy: Who would've thought we'd have a black son before we met a Democrat?
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Sean Tuohy: We were wondering if you would like to become a part of this family.
Michael Oher: I kinda thought I already was.
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Leigh Anne Touhy: You're right.
Sean Tuohy: Wow. How'd those words taste coming out of your mouth?
Leigh Anne Touhy: Like vinegar.

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Official Website


Pictures

Legion

Watched @ Cineleisure lvl 9

I was actually looking forward to watch this movie, most of the movies which have involved paul bettany so far have been not bad. sadly, this time it's not encouraging, his acting was not the issue, is the loose plot. Angels fighting angels, god losing faith in men, doesnt sound all that bad. But the way everything was put together was quite disappointing. There's too much reference that can be seen from history. worst of all was...

It's a waitress who is the target of saving cos she bears the child who would be the saviour. Think terminator. Oh the gun fights remind me of terminator too. The ending also reminds me of terminator, I wonder if they are going to have legion 2.

Notice there's no devils or demons in this movie, why? cos the minions in this movie are angels. So where did all the demons go? on holiday, since now angels are doing their job of possessing and killing. :P

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 5 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 6 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Gabriel: I would not have shown you such mercy.
Micheal: Which is why you have failed him.

Official Website

Pictures

First Aid @ SJAB

for the past 3 days I've been attending a day course at the St John's ambulance HQ at beach road. Why? cos i'm trying to get my first aid certification so that I could register myself as a coach at SSC. It took me quite a few years since my coaching cetification to come for this course, inertia I guess. But now since i'm quite free, it's time.

total cost was around S$115 inclusive of 3 days parking at the HQ. the course runs thru 3 days from 8.30am to 4.30pm. I think we were lucky to have a pretty experienced teacher. He's a volunteer at SJAB, long time volunteer. He's 83 on wednesday and he was involved in the hotel new world collapse rescue operation. That was like ancient already. But yah, along with experience also comes lots of war stories which he likes to narrate every now and then, that's when I start falling asleep.

Over the course of 3 days, I'm confident i've equipped myself with sufficient knowledge to administer at least some first aid which situation happens. But the real question here is, given the the knowledge of giving first aid, would you do so? That's a question that the teacher has subtlely ask many times (oh yah, he has a knack of give "subtle" hints.) When a situation happens, would you react immediately to help or would you rather be a "stamford raffles" to just stand there and watch instead of lending a helping hand. seriously I think in singapore, people love stamford raffles ALOT!!!

The Spy Next Door

Watched @ Cineleisure lvl 9

Just catched the show late last night, and surprisingly the cinema is a full house on a monday midnite session. Even though the cinema has nothing more than 10-12 rows, a full cinemas once again prove that there are LOADs of Jackie Chan fans in singapore. WOAH!!

The plot of the story is quite solid, cause it's simple and logical. Although I'm not sure about CIA ever loaning agents from China, especially in this currently political climate. Well, let's says it's plausible. hahaa.

The introduction into the movie was a short clip of Jackie Chan's poast movies, that was pretty cool. He has really done many movies with similar themes. Comedy is always present in his movies. In this one, the action is still quite amazing given his age.

Therefore, simple watch and enjoy.

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 7 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
Bob Ho: Family is not about blood relations, but about the people you love and the people who loves you.
Official Website

Pictures

Treasure Hunter (刺陵）

Watched @ GV Marina

Treasure hunter is a movie you really shouldnt watch if you are looking for a plot in the story. The plot is really weak, when you compare with the western movies like mummy and indiana jones, treasure hunter is really weak, pointless and broken.

As for the acting, jay chou and lin chiling are not exactly the best actors around. looks and style are their main selling point, the movie is bordering on comedy. the desert scenes offer not much value to the whole story, it's just dusty & more dust flying around.. WEAK!!

There's much hype on the visual effects, but seriously, good effects need  to be there for a purpose that supports the plot. With the weak plot, the effects are just there trying to bulk up the movie on it's substance. simply saying, the effects are not bad but falls flatly in the movie plot.. conclusion... WEAK!!!

Spikefire ratings:
Story & Plot: 4 out of 10
Audio & Visual: 5 out of 10
Overall: 4.5 out of 10

Favourite Lines:
蓝婷：我们是两个世界的人。
乔飞：虽然我们属于不同的世界，但是现在你在我的世界，我会保护你。


Official Website

Pictures

Life after NUS

Life after NUS have been good so far. Small events happen every now and then. So it's time to recollect and lay them out.

• RT have been manageable so far,
• I learnt how to arrange for Make-up training
• I have MIO Tv at home, but there's nothing interesting to watch. It's for the soccer which will start next season anyway.
• I've arranged for my first aid course and it will be start next tues to thurs, 3 full days of course. After which I'll make myself available on GeBiz as a volleyball coach.
• I went to Body Worlds to look at plastinated human bodies!! I missed it the last time it was here. They really looked cool. Some how the more I look that those bodies, the more i'm reminded of "bak gua"!! BUT I personally find the exhibit not as "WOAH" as it was promoted to be. Interesting, yes. Cool, yes. Woah?? NOPE...
• Haven been to any movies in more than a week!! Kindda sad abt that, cos my dear is so busy last week. Hopefully it will be better from now on.
• Went to Xiaowen's place for gathering, Potluck. I made Cheese Baked Rice. It was well received. I think I can replicated what I did if needed, but the flavours might change though. Anyway, her house was HUGE, it was the old type of mansionette. They got it for a very very good deal! Good for them.
• Tenghui & Fuliang are getting married too, looks like my cchs gang is getting tied down pretty fast. It all started with jimmy. hahaa..
• Planning to make a short trip to BKK before CNY to buy clothes for work and CNY.  
• Spent a night at Down Town East chalet after dear's event there. I was totally reminded why we have not gone to a chalet for so so so long!! It's small, dark, dirty & noisy....

RT aka Remedial Training

Remedial Training is sort of like a punishment implemented to make NSmen like myself, who failed ippt, to get some physical training. Going for RT made me feel like returning to BMT once again. The anxiety, the fear, the pain and the aches all returning to me at once.

I find that I am now much less fit than the time I was first enlisted. Physical training is straining my every muscle group. After the warm-ups, i'm already drained!!

RT is a good thing for me, I'm using this chance to lose some weigh and get some momentum going for exercise. I'm taking it slow though, physically my body cant take extreme, i've enrolled myself with the obese gang and go for a less strenuous training regime. But i'll up the ante as soon as I can, cycling to Bedok camp for future trainings and extra day of self training is in the pipeline.

Bye 2009 & Hello 2010!!

2009 has bee a pretty good school year for me. At times I really struggled, but somehow I survived. I did not do exceptionally well, but enough for me to scrape trhu with a passable degree. That's simply my biggest and ultimate goal for 2009, I guess have achieved it to some extent.

physically, it's still a pretty bad year for me. injuries and physical inertia are frequently popping up on my schedule to do anything. maybe it's just in my mind, mind of matter people say, easier said than done I say.

With this new year, I simply do not know if i'll love it or hate it. Love it cos it's a new beginning and options are wide open for me to do almost anything. yet anything doesnt really seem possible. while living in singapore gives me a planned out and lazy life if I chose it, which I have been choosing all my life. It now ends, and I have to choose a path.

look for work? a somewhat permanent one to get my income steady.

or spent the years I have left in this "energetic" body for some adventure?

volleyball is something i've been shunning in the past year. not committed to it at all in the past year. perhaps it's also time to pick it back up again.

so many choices, so many possibilities, so little in my head moving to make a decision.

So i'm going to do things the way I always do. Take things in my stride, when they fall in front of me, then it's time to do them.