Today during bible study discussions, we started talking about names, and we found out that to our surprise, the name Simon (Peter's original name) actually means unloved, or hated. And Peter, of course, means rock.
And then we started saying how people should not call kids Simon, and people started sharing funny names. Like
A Nigerian football player called "Oh dear" or something that sounds like that
An American soccer player whose last name is Demerit :P
And a Singapore Prof who is called Chew Shit Fun!!!
Oh my gosh, that is a classic....
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Movies!!!
Hi!!! Firstly, what am I doing watching movies when I should be busy working on the upcoming Energy Challenge Fair which has lots to do and settle, I don't know. Maybe it's precisely that stress which is driving me to relieve some of it in the big screen! And relieve it it did!!
I watched Robin Hood on a whim last Wed, and it turned out to be a totally enjoyable, immersive experience! I totally enjoyed this movie from start to finish. I am not a fan of Russell Crowe, but I am now! Although he is not what I would call good-looking at all, he just seems to command so much on-screen presence, and portray that battle-weary, understated, yet morally good, fight-for-justice hero that you find yourself totally sympathising with and rooting for him. I found the take on the storyline refreshing, and the historical background on a king taxing the poor too much, peasant revolt and the war between England and France lends a nice realistic feel to the whole movie, not to mention the stunning natural scenery at that time (do we still have such beautiful, idyllic places on earth?), a detailed, beautiful portrayal of the simplicity of life back then, and not to mention the strong characters and understated chemistry between Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchette. I love it! The love that blossoms between a guarded, strong and curt, no-nonsense lady and an strong, capable, righteous and responsible fighter.
I thought the kings were poorly cast though, as was Mark Strong, who didn't look very much like the bad guy. I was thinking he could easily be a good guy! But the French princess was perfect. She couldn't look more nubile and wilful. Besides Marion, the story also had other cute characters like the bee-keeping friar, and wonderful lines. All in all, I liked the entire movie as it had something to offer of everything. Some social justice elements, a budding romance, a weak king, a traitor, a tense battle etc etc.
I also rewatched gladiator last night (stayed up until 130am!) after I watched robin hood, and it's seriously awesome! I loved the wounded, intense look that Russell Crowe has. Makes you completely root for him as a believeable hero, and he has the build and the walk of a soldier, and wields the sword very convincingly too.
Let's see, my favourite scenes in Robin Hood: His interactions with Marion are all pretty funny and tense, the tension and dialogue between the two keeps you sitting at the edge of your seats wondering how it will pan out.
The funny scene when he sees his friends the next morning, and he tells them he is Marion's husband, and one guy who is drinking soup looks up in awe and goes, "Well played!"
Gladiator: The scene right after the battle, when he enters the tent still in his battle armour, dirty, grimy, and goes to wash his hands of blood in the basin. He casts a look at the celebrations ongoing. You get the feeling of a great battle won, the victory is sure, and the hero, the leader, when you expect him to be euphoric, lapping up the attention, is however looking weary, relaxed, glad it is all over, and yet kinda alone. You just feel for him!
The scene when after the war, he walks around the soldiers' tents on the outside, and goes up to stroke the nose of a horse. Again, the leader who is out walking the fields, taking care of business, instead of schnoozing and enjoying himself with the higher-uppers.
I watched Robin Hood on a whim last Wed, and it turned out to be a totally enjoyable, immersive experience! I totally enjoyed this movie from start to finish. I am not a fan of Russell Crowe, but I am now! Although he is not what I would call good-looking at all, he just seems to command so much on-screen presence, and portray that battle-weary, understated, yet morally good, fight-for-justice hero that you find yourself totally sympathising with and rooting for him. I found the take on the storyline refreshing, and the historical background on a king taxing the poor too much, peasant revolt and the war between England and France lends a nice realistic feel to the whole movie, not to mention the stunning natural scenery at that time (do we still have such beautiful, idyllic places on earth?), a detailed, beautiful portrayal of the simplicity of life back then, and not to mention the strong characters and understated chemistry between Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchette. I love it! The love that blossoms between a guarded, strong and curt, no-nonsense lady and an strong, capable, righteous and responsible fighter.
I thought the kings were poorly cast though, as was Mark Strong, who didn't look very much like the bad guy. I was thinking he could easily be a good guy! But the French princess was perfect. She couldn't look more nubile and wilful. Besides Marion, the story also had other cute characters like the bee-keeping friar, and wonderful lines. All in all, I liked the entire movie as it had something to offer of everything. Some social justice elements, a budding romance, a weak king, a traitor, a tense battle etc etc.
I also rewatched gladiator last night (stayed up until 130am!) after I watched robin hood, and it's seriously awesome! I loved the wounded, intense look that Russell Crowe has. Makes you completely root for him as a believeable hero, and he has the build and the walk of a soldier, and wields the sword very convincingly too.
Let's see, my favourite scenes in Robin Hood: His interactions with Marion are all pretty funny and tense, the tension and dialogue between the two keeps you sitting at the edge of your seats wondering how it will pan out.
The funny scene when he sees his friends the next morning, and he tells them he is Marion's husband, and one guy who is drinking soup looks up in awe and goes, "Well played!"
Gladiator: The scene right after the battle, when he enters the tent still in his battle armour, dirty, grimy, and goes to wash his hands of blood in the basin. He casts a look at the celebrations ongoing. You get the feeling of a great battle won, the victory is sure, and the hero, the leader, when you expect him to be euphoric, lapping up the attention, is however looking weary, relaxed, glad it is all over, and yet kinda alone. You just feel for him!
The scene when after the war, he walks around the soldiers' tents on the outside, and goes up to stroke the nose of a horse. Again, the leader who is out walking the fields, taking care of business, instead of schnoozing and enjoying himself with the higher-uppers.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Books I've Read
Hello!
I have finished reading 2 books - The Time Travellor's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis. These were books I borrowed recently from the Tampines Library. My verdict is: Time Travellor's Wife was a pointless book. I shouldn't have wasted my time on it, except for the fact that a well-respected friend of mine highly recommended it, together with his wife. Both said they cried at the end, and this friend of mine was a guy's guy. In the end, the book was so repetitive, the plot was so thin, and the characters so unmemorable and so myopically into each other and noone else (yuck), that I do not empathise at all with the characters and wonder how this book ever made it to the bestseller's list. The only redeeming point was that the 2 characters ended up waiting for each other their whole lives, even though one died. So, it's kinda touching, although as i said, I can't see what they see in each other. Both characters are very one-dimensional. THe only trait I can tell is their inloved-ness in each other. Bleah...
The other book, Till We Have Faces, is so much more promising. The plot is a Greek classical story, and has elements of the Arthurian age - sword fights, wars, sacrifices of pretty women to the gods to alleviate bad weather, falling in love with someone who is noble and true and honest, but the really interesting twist to this whole story is that it explores the fate of someone who is an ugly girl. In fact, the whole story is narrated from the point of view of this girl, who is sister to 2 really pretty sisters. It is an interesting situation, and how she is treated by all the men, even her own father. And how her love for her sister eventually drives her to do a crazy thing, and how she buried all these hurts and tormented doubts deep in her heart, but learnt a lot of skills and eventually became a ruler of the country, and how she is loveless all her life. It is bittersweet.
I have finished reading 2 books - The Time Travellor's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis. These were books I borrowed recently from the Tampines Library. My verdict is: Time Travellor's Wife was a pointless book. I shouldn't have wasted my time on it, except for the fact that a well-respected friend of mine highly recommended it, together with his wife. Both said they cried at the end, and this friend of mine was a guy's guy. In the end, the book was so repetitive, the plot was so thin, and the characters so unmemorable and so myopically into each other and noone else (yuck), that I do not empathise at all with the characters and wonder how this book ever made it to the bestseller's list. The only redeeming point was that the 2 characters ended up waiting for each other their whole lives, even though one died. So, it's kinda touching, although as i said, I can't see what they see in each other. Both characters are very one-dimensional. THe only trait I can tell is their inloved-ness in each other. Bleah...
The other book, Till We Have Faces, is so much more promising. The plot is a Greek classical story, and has elements of the Arthurian age - sword fights, wars, sacrifices of pretty women to the gods to alleviate bad weather, falling in love with someone who is noble and true and honest, but the really interesting twist to this whole story is that it explores the fate of someone who is an ugly girl. In fact, the whole story is narrated from the point of view of this girl, who is sister to 2 really pretty sisters. It is an interesting situation, and how she is treated by all the men, even her own father. And how her love for her sister eventually drives her to do a crazy thing, and how she buried all these hurts and tormented doubts deep in her heart, but learnt a lot of skills and eventually became a ruler of the country, and how she is loveless all her life. It is bittersweet.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Capitalism and the rising cost of living
Today as I was riding in the car on my way home with my hubby, he said his life wasn't fun enough, and I mused that I never felt that way. He asked me how I had fun, and I said I have fun thinking about my day, reflecting on perhaps the sermon that was preached on Sunday, and the friends I met, the conversations we had, what went wrong at work and how I can solve it... and all these things are fun to me.
I started talking about how I really am annoyed by capitalism, which causes the widening income-gap divide, and the rising cost of living in Singapore now (people now find it hard to afford HDB flats, cars, and I am sure the price of food, transport, movies, everything is just more steep now). A colleague in his late 40s/early 50s told me life used to be so much slower in the past, and people with a civil service job could afford a lot of things. I guess it's still true today. But even more so in the past. People could buy more with their meagre paycheck and lead more relaxed lives. Things just didn't move so fast and there weren't so many things to have to settle.
Then I was musing today that today it is unthinkable for a couple to share a laptop. You MUST have 2 laptops, one for each. Then I thought, it wasn't that long ago that a family would only have 1 computer! And if you needed to check your email, it was once in a while, and it was a big deal, and you logged on just for a while and then logged off cos there was nothing left to check and you had better things to do. What a different world this is from now! I am sure with iPhone, soon everyone will need their own computer and iPhone! And be online all the time...
This girl I have been mentoring just blogged that she realised upon reflection that she has been leading a rather mindless, escapist life and not been giving 100% because she did before and failed, and it was fear of failure.... What a shocking revelation, and you know, it's kind of true. I have noticed that she is tend of... mediocre when she could be fabulous! It's like, she's afraid to try and give it a heroic attempt. I wonder how to get her to do so... to encourage her to be serious about something and go for it! I have no such problems. In fact, I almost give everything my best. If I gave a half-hearted effort... unless it was something i really didn't care about (even then), it just would feel too weird.
I was counselling someone not to worry about money and the future, because our security should be in God all the time, and not only when we have a huge nest egg stored away (especially not then, as money can vanish anytime), when this was one of those bizarre right-back-at-you moments, and I realised what I was mouthing applied right to me too, in terms of putting my security in God. I realised I do feel insecure sometimes, because I compare subconsciously with others, and with my own expectations of what I thought I ought to have achieved by now... but all that is just illusions and transient stuff. What matters is what God wants for me, and what God has planned for me. And I know I can count on this verse "'I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you..." and "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Cor 2:9.
I started talking about how I really am annoyed by capitalism, which causes the widening income-gap divide, and the rising cost of living in Singapore now (people now find it hard to afford HDB flats, cars, and I am sure the price of food, transport, movies, everything is just more steep now). A colleague in his late 40s/early 50s told me life used to be so much slower in the past, and people with a civil service job could afford a lot of things. I guess it's still true today. But even more so in the past. People could buy more with their meagre paycheck and lead more relaxed lives. Things just didn't move so fast and there weren't so many things to have to settle.
Then I was musing today that today it is unthinkable for a couple to share a laptop. You MUST have 2 laptops, one for each. Then I thought, it wasn't that long ago that a family would only have 1 computer! And if you needed to check your email, it was once in a while, and it was a big deal, and you logged on just for a while and then logged off cos there was nothing left to check and you had better things to do. What a different world this is from now! I am sure with iPhone, soon everyone will need their own computer and iPhone! And be online all the time...
This girl I have been mentoring just blogged that she realised upon reflection that she has been leading a rather mindless, escapist life and not been giving 100% because she did before and failed, and it was fear of failure.... What a shocking revelation, and you know, it's kind of true. I have noticed that she is tend of... mediocre when she could be fabulous! It's like, she's afraid to try and give it a heroic attempt. I wonder how to get her to do so... to encourage her to be serious about something and go for it! I have no such problems. In fact, I almost give everything my best. If I gave a half-hearted effort... unless it was something i really didn't care about (even then), it just would feel too weird.
I was counselling someone not to worry about money and the future, because our security should be in God all the time, and not only when we have a huge nest egg stored away (especially not then, as money can vanish anytime), when this was one of those bizarre right-back-at-you moments, and I realised what I was mouthing applied right to me too, in terms of putting my security in God. I realised I do feel insecure sometimes, because I compare subconsciously with others, and with my own expectations of what I thought I ought to have achieved by now... but all that is just illusions and transient stuff. What matters is what God wants for me, and what God has planned for me. And I know I can count on this verse "'I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you..." and "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Cor 2:9.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Mandy Moore!
Hello!
Have just watched a lovely Mandy Moore movie - Because I Said So. It is now one of my FAVOURITE MOVIES, because she looks so fresh and beautiful in every scene with her in it. She is utterly loveable in that movie, and yes, I can totally identify with the overprotective-mother and daughter-struggling-to-retain-some-control-over-her-life storyline. She is also so talented as a singer! I love her songs "Only Hope" and "Extraordinary". And I recall her movie "A Walk to Remember" brought tears to my eyes.. so I'm gonna go back and watch it when I get the chance. She is like, Winona Ryder or, Lindsey Lohan but better. She is like another Taylor Swift - a wholesome Hollywood image with some nice singalong songs :)
Have just watched a lovely Mandy Moore movie - Because I Said So. It is now one of my FAVOURITE MOVIES, because she looks so fresh and beautiful in every scene with her in it. She is utterly loveable in that movie, and yes, I can totally identify with the overprotective-mother and daughter-struggling-to-retain-some-control-over-her-life storyline. She is also so talented as a singer! I love her songs "Only Hope" and "Extraordinary". And I recall her movie "A Walk to Remember" brought tears to my eyes.. so I'm gonna go back and watch it when I get the chance. She is like, Winona Ryder or, Lindsey Lohan but better. She is like another Taylor Swift - a wholesome Hollywood image with some nice singalong songs :)
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