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14/01/2006
Who’s the worse driver?
Remember the age-old accusation of cursing at a road hogger as Auntie, Uncle, Woman driver? Well, apparently, the world has changed so much that the automatic accusations we’re so accustomed to before…no longer applies. I remember when I first got my driving license, I drove so slow that a child on a tricycle overtook me. I refused to press the horn and think that everyone (THE REST OF THE WORLD) should patiently snail along behind me. I give them a nice little finger gesture if they dare honk their horn. Road hogging was, not yet, an offence. I am not particularly sure whether road hogging is an offense today or not – I am not interested to find out, anyway.
Things took a slight change when my mother learnt how to drive. Say, if I had my mother in the passenger seat and I was driving, if I dare shout, “Oy, Auntie, drive faster lah!”, my mother will turn around and glare at me. “Why you got no patience and no consideration one?”
“Er….mom, that was like 20KMP? Not slow meh?”
“Be nice, just wait lah. We’re not in a hurry. And don’t honk”
So, out the window went the accusation.
My driving slowed down ever since I got my kids, as with many other mothers out there. Once you have kids in the car, the brakes are used more often than the accelerator. And today, I was driving to a popular mall at around 60KMP and rounding a mighty tough bend when I heard a honk from behind. I frowned….”What in the world was that for?”
I looked into the rear view mirror and there was thing young lady with tudung sitting behind the wheel thumping her steering wheel impatiently! Oh gee! 60KMP is not to slow, young lady and mind your manners!
I continued the pace and kept the car from swerving. My kids have this tendency of telling me when I am driving too fast – they’re busy pretending to be Power Rangers or Ultramans in the backseat and if I turn a corner too fast, they won’t be able to FIGHT nicely. And angry or injured kids in a car is a death wish.
So, I kept my eye on the rear view mirror noticing that the lady was trying to overtake me but the consistent flow of cars from the right kept her from doing so. As soon as the last car on the right went past, she literally bucked out of the left lane, sped up to my right, glared at me, gave me her middle finger and mouthed the word that looked a lot like “Auntie!”
Boy, was I shocked. Auntie? Oh wait, yes, I am probably auntie by her standards, huh? But hey, this Auntie is not a road hogger. I think even a decent driver can tell you that 60 is not too slow a speed to take when rounding a bend! What in the world has happened to polite young ladies who drive at the speed of snail? From the look of the lady, she was no more than 23, dressed in traditional clothing – but boy, looks can be deceiving.
The speed limit by which we use to gauge an ‘auntie’, ‘uncle’ or ‘woman’ driver last decade no longer applies. It seems that the limit has been raised and we all need to be in a rush just to avoid being honked at. And last but not least, there’s no such thing as a ‘woman’ driver anymore. Decently dressed woman drivers are now as fast (and impatient) as their male counterparts.
That leaves us the auntie and uncle drivers.
19:55 Posted in Ramblings | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: drive, driving, drives, driver, bad driving, people, blog, human
12/01/2006
Book review published on Friday the 13th!!!
I am not a very superstitious person and sometimes can be quite aloof when it comes to things like stepping over cracks and under ladders….but still!
My book review for “The Star” on the book ‘It’s called a breakup because it’s broken” is published on FRIDAY the 13th (hear the Twilight Zone song yet?)
So far, nothing untoward has happened to me today…yet...partly due to the fact I've been sleeping the whole day because of late night working on client’s website and is still kind of groggy right now. Touch wood, touch wood.
But sometimes I think the famous Friday the 13th is all fiction and no fact. Why would it be bad luck day only on Friday the 13th? Fear of Friday the 13th has a scientific name, by the way, and it’s called paraskevidekatriaphobia. (I dare you to try to pronounce that!)
Points to ponder:-
- If Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, the whole world will suffer at the same time and nobody will win lottery on this day.
- Friday the 13th is really all fiction because it’s a complete national (International?) unfounded trepidation
- The stock market will crash on Friday the 13th
- It’s all in the mind. Ever heard of THAT one? If you think Friday the 13th is going to be a bad day…by golly, you’ll get nothing but bad luck all day. But if you snub your nose at the notion, you will have none of the ill fortune
- Nobody should go to work on Friday the 13th because nothing will go right. The printer will not work, the coffee machine will explode, virus will penetrate the intranet, files will be corrupted, clients will leave, documents and legal agreements will be lost…etc
- Nobody gets married on Friday the 13th
- Nobody will ever give birth on Friday the 13th
- Nobody will go to the doctor or dentist on Friday the 13th
- Nobody will start a new job on Friday the 13th, lest they get fired on the spot for no apparent reason.
- Nobody will buy insurance or shares on Friday the 13th
Imagine, the world would have complete stopped spinning because…it’s black Friday.
11:35 Posted in Blog , Books , Web | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this | Tags: friday, 13th, bad luck, lucky, unlucky, fortune, fiction, fear
10/01/2006
Raymond Lam Fung’s well deserved win
Anyone watched Astro Wah Lai Toi’s award-giving ceremony on Saturday? I did! I couldn’t not watch since some of my favorite young stars were present and were being nominated. Among them, my faves were Raymond Lam and Myolie Wu. Well, Christine Ng and Chilam (Julian Cheung) rocks too.
<picture of Raymond Lam Fung>
Unlike people my age who shy away and restrain themselves from admiring younger stars, I have no qualms about it. In fact, me and my mother (who is also a TVB fan) share faves – Raymond Lam Fung.
For those who didn’t watch, Raymond Lam won the favorite leading actor and Charmaine Seh won the favorite female leading actress award.
Others
Favorite Drama – War and Beauty
Favorite Theme Song – Point of no Return
Favorite couple – Charmaine & Chilam
Favorite Dad – Damien Lau (Point of no return)
Favorite Mom – Christine Ng (Twin of Brothers)
Favorite Lethal Beauty – Gigi Lai (War and Beauty)
Favorite Shot – Wong Hee (Net Deception)
Most memorable moment – War and Beauty
Favorite Actress
Charmaine Seh Si Man won the award as Yee Sun in War and Beauty. I had it all planned – if Gigi Lai won the award, I would throw myself off the KL Twin Towers in protest!! No lah, I like Gigi Lai but I think Charm deserves recognition as well. Considering the fact that she’s got a huge following here, her win was expected. She did an extremely good job as well. Read on to the Favorite Lethal Beauty where I write why she deserves to win. Her portrayal of evil is superior to Gigi’s.
<Charmaine Seh & Raymond Lam>
Favorite Actor
I was in a limbo as to this award….Chilam or Raymond? Raymond or Chilam? If Ron NG Cheok Hei won, I would, once again, throw myself off of KL Twin Towers in protest. Raymond, Ron and Chilam are big here so it was really a toss. Roger Kwok did well too and he’s got lots of fans here too but his role in To Get unstuck in Time just wasn’t good enough. So, to me, it was between Chilam and Raymond.
And deep inside, I wanted Raymond to win and yet I knew Chilam was going to win. There they were sitting all in a row, Raymond with his arms crossed, Ron leans forward and Chilam staring straight ahead like in a trance. Miss Lok (the presenter) announces “Twin of Brothers” and the hordes of female fans SCREAMED. ChiLam is out – there’s only two left…Raymond Lam Fung and Ron Ng Cheok Hei. I was thinking….God, NNNNOOOOOO, NOT RON NG…..PPPPPLLLLLLEEEEEAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEEE!!!”.
<poster of Twin of Brothers>
Ray and Ron sat there glued to their seats, expressions remained the same. And then “Khow Chung” (Ray’s character) – no one moved – not even me, just in case it was a mistake. Then “Lam Fung” – it took several nanoseconds to register. Then, YES! Raymond beat other bigger stars to find his footing in Malaysia. Well-deserved, well-deserved. I don’t care what others have to say about Twin of Brothers (some people say that it was boring and too lengthy) but to me Raymond’s portrayal of Khow Chung was remarkable. It was one of the best portrayals ever – his one-screen chemistry with his long-time friend, Tavia Yeung Yi is expected – BEYOND EXCELLENT. But his chemistry with mainland China actress, Li Qian, was even better which goes to show that he has chemistry with just about anyone he acts with.
<pix of Ramond Lam & Li Qian in Twin of Brothers>
From a young and innocent (penniless) bloke to someone in love, from someone with ambition to someone with power, from someone with evil thoughts to someone who sacrificed his life (whoops, DEAD giveaway here) for the country – Raymond Lam Fung’s portrayal was formidable. There was depth and diversity on his side. Although Chilam did a good job too but we’ve seen Chilam do it before…but for Ray, this is the first time and it left a very big impression on me.
Good on you, Raymond Lam Fung!
Favorite Drama
War and Beauty took the award. What can I say? I secretly wanted Twin of Brothers to win but this result is totally predictable. We all expected it to win but considering the popularity of Raymond Lam and Ron Ng has here, I was cheering on their behalf anyway. And besides, I think it’s a really good ancient drama despite what others have to say about it. The shots were really good and revolutionary. It had many great scenes and fighting sequences that some people don’t take notice of. If you watched ‘the making’ of Twin of Brothers, you’ll agree with me. But not everyone is as fanatical as me, so, I forgive everyone who voted for War and Beauty.
Favorite Theme Song
I wanted, once again, Raymond Lam to win with his Twin of Brothers theme song but…my conscience comes a-calling. I like Chilam too and if I pitched Raymond Lam and Chilam together in a one-to-one singing competition, I would choose….Chilam. Not only is his singing slightly better (more experience) but the song is very difficult to sing with extremely off-the-beat kind of way. Most of the time, you’ll find Chilam chasing after the beat but it’s supposed to be that way – make no mistake about it. Even I have problems knowing where to come in and when to go off when I try to sing the song with him (AS IF I KNOW HOW TO SING A SINGLE WORD IN THE SONG).
Favorite Couple
Chilam and Charmaine deserved to win – period. They were formidable in other partnerships and in Point of no Return, they really rocked. No contest.
(pix of Charmaine & Raymond Lam with their awards on Saturday)
Favorite Dad
Personally felt that Ben Hui played a better father in To get unstuck in time. Ben Hui literally had no contact with Roger Kwok except for the end of the series. And the tears we see him cry in the show were all done over the phone. And yet, there was so much emotion there – it was simply brilliant. But Damien Lau won for his fatherly role in Point of no Return as a father to Chilam. Damien Lau did an exceptional job as the rotan-yielding rich man who had a hard time taming his son. A lot of times, I feel like picking up the rotan myself and whacking Chilam’s character too and his portrayal was intense and exceptional.
Favorite Mom
Despite her image as a sexy lady, Christine Ng won the favorite mom award. Although I feel that Gigi Chiu deserved to win this award more, I like Christine Ng, so…… J It was during the filming of Twin of Brothers that she built a very close relationship to her ‘sons’ in the show, Raymond Lam Fung and Ron Ng Cheok Hei. In real life, they got along so well that they become God mother and sons off the screen.
Favorite Lethal Beauty
Gigi Lai won the role – but I think Charmaine was more evil. Gigi’s character was out rightly evil, maybe too much so. There’s something about the way she blinks away that totally irks me. She’s pretty and very, very talented but in terms of being evil, I thought Charmaine was more so. Because? Well, Charm’s subtlety had something to do with it. Very quiet, very smooth, very evil. Some people think that in order to be evil, you have to SHOW that you are evil but Charm’s portrayal was better because her movements were very slight, a single look, a pause, a blink, a soft smile, a lingering glare, a slight raise of the eyebrow….bbbrrrrrr!!!!
<pix of Kevin Cheng Kaw Wing....yum yum)
Favorite Shot
Wong Hei won this award. The shot was him yielding two guns, Chow Yun Fatt, style shooting off at bad guys. No fight, no fight! Sure win, sure win. I would have wanted Kevin Cheng Kar Wing to win this award because he looks damn good in a suit with a gun in his hand too. But no one can compare to Wong Hei when he has guns in his hands. His upturned face, arrogant look, that smirk and that grin that totally speaks of confidence. He’s like saying, “Come on, you b******s! Shoot me, shoot me. Otherwise, if I pull the trigger, I won’t miss! Come on!”
The attitude, to me, is incomparable. Not even Chow Yun Fatt has his attitude. The only person I can think of who has mastered the GANSTA attitude is Simon Yam. The arrogance is despicable yet so loveable.
Most memorable moment
War and Beauty. The moment was when Yu Fei (Sheren Tang Sui Man) cried to the ‘sky’ (God) with her baby in her arms. I felt that Point of no Return should win. The scene that I chose was where Chow Ming Hin announces to his family that he was going to marry Yuk Heng (Gigi Chiu). His first wife objected, he’s married, but he shunned her and told her that if she didn’t like it, she can just pack up and leave. Otherwise, she’d better be contented with her position in the family. His wife begged and cried and asked Meng Hin not to be so cruel to her but Meng Hin has already given up on his first wife.
Oh, the shame. Oh, the embarrassment. Oh, the humiliation. By the way, she stayed on.
03:55 Posted in TVB | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email this | Tags: tvb, raymond lam fung, hong kong stars, award, astro awards, celebrity, chinese stars