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Movie Buzz – Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen

Adrenaline rush for fans of action sequels, spectacular effects with the transformations and hugeass explosive scenes. Apart from that, I really don’t understand what’s the hype of Transformer all about !

While the CGI was honestly quite fantastic and having Megan Fox pouting throughout the entire film, the plot is quite thin and by the time the film reached midpoint, I was getting bored.  There were emotionally tense moments, like the fatherly love seen between Sam and his dad as well as hilarious comical moments by the various characters with stronger personality traits. Take for instance, the decpticon who humps on the “goddess’s” legs and acting like a wimp unlike the big boys.

This is definitely one of the highly anticipated summer blockbusters, I guess audience can enjoy the all out war between the decepticons and autobots, without paying much attention to the plot and “reality”.  It almost felt like Michael Bay is a big boy with big toys – explosions/blowing up routine anyone ? Though Sam’s mother was rather funny with her brilliant acting as a bimbo, I really thought the dialogues (of the entire film even) were rather immature/lame.

Even though it’s just a movie but I’d still prefer some sort of reality check to it – which college is actually made up of 100% hot babes (find an ugly chick for me in the movie) ?! Sure, Megan Fox is probably the sex icon in the film but okay, I get your point. With her boobs running towards me 80% of the time, I couldn’t really tell if she’s really *that* hot or not. (haha) And what’s with the sex reference throughout the movie ?! The dogs, the decpticon and college life ? I get it, sex sells.

The film is undeniably pro-American with the “we will save the world” ideals and shooting bullets in any country as they wish (with locals miraculously flee for cover by disappearing into thin air). And this is almost like watching the old school “Power Rangers” because nobody dies, the right always wins while evil ones get punished and banished forever. Shoving these ideals down the audience’s throat (and thinking that they are dumb) was alil too much for me. Perhaps I’m just over sensitive over this, afterall I’m a Social Sciences student ! (HAHA)

But I do like the soundtrack (despite the boyfriend complaining it has been overplayed during the movie) and Josh Duhamel !

With a “just-as-lame” ending : “I am Ingrid Mak, and I send this message so that my movie review will always be remembered. For in this review, godknowswhoisthewe live on with a 2 out of 5 stars for a movie but a 4 for the CGI !” HAHA !

** Just had to do something with these photos..HAHA..sorry,we transformed into the awesomest couple ever..-not shy-**

Tags: action sequels, adrenaline rush, autobots, CGI, decpticon, explosions, josh duhamel, megan fox, michael bay, power rangers, pro-american, reality, revenge of the fallen, social sciences, soundtrack, summer blockbusters, transformers

BlackBerry Storm – The Aftermath.

Thanks to Ripplevox/Starhub and BlackBerry, I had a chance to play with the BlackBerry Storm here’s what I think about it after being in a storm for a month. Despite the fact that I refused to join the iPhone craze (or rather, because Starhub refuses to bring iPhone in), the BlackBerry Storm is no iPhone…not even close.

Just like every other BlackBerry, the Storm is no wannabe for business clients. You have the usual BlackBerry highlights such as email-on-the-go, BlackBerry IM and its own app store. It looks smart and professional (though the Storm looks alil too fat, I almost thought it was a flip phone). Don’t get me wrong, fabulous features but most of the time I feel like it’s taking a long while to load. Quite laggy responses as compared to how I “abuse” my N82 or iPod Touch.

With the feature of accelerometer like iPhone, it was much easier to type on the touchscreen with the SureType keyboard than when the phone was in horizontal, full Qwerty keyboard mode since the buttons are bigger. I really could not get used to “punching hard” on the touchscreen instead of the usual “clicking” of the keypads or just “gliding” my fingers over the iPhone touchscreen.

Instead of comparing  Storm to the iPhone or even other smartphones (and getting whiney and providing solely negtive feedbacks), consumers should compare it to other BlackBerries. In which they may like what the BlackBerry team has put together for them: A big touchscreen, a 3.2MP camera that takes video with a proper flash, a respectable Web browser and a touchscreen typing system that is uniquely BlackBerry. (Although personally I think the trade-off is Big Screen vs “proper” typing system aka keypad between the BlackBerries)

Personally I liked the screen as well and the camera is definitely better than iPhone’s, I thought the apps were rather limited but I believe the BlackBerry team is building on it. I like the twitter app most (duh) and if not for the lagginess, the maps feature is rather useful for direction blind people like me. I have to admit that holding the Storm makes you look “professional” and you have envy eyes stealing glances at you while you type on your BlackBerry (with much struggles).

More on the Blackberry Storm and starhub’s data plan soon !

Tags: 3.2MP camera, accelerometer, blackberry, blackberry IM, iphone, ipod touch, N82, professional, qwerty keyboard, ripplevox, smartphone, starhub, storm, suretype keyboard, touchscreen, twitter

AOTW [4] : Yiruma

My family focus on the arts and music education alot while we’re growing up as kids. My sister had organ lessons (which she still plays with only her right hand) and drawing lessons. I’m probably jack of all trades,master of none – I was in the Keyboard Ensemble, Guitar club in secondary school and Guzheng lessons since the age of 9. Not forgetting those here and there flute,monochord zither,recorder,drums lessons I had as well.

I really admire those who had piano lessons since young (somehow I just can’t play the piano as well as I can with the Guzheng), I think the music coming from the instrument is just…romantic. I remember how I struggled with a song (Marriage D’ Amor) just to impress someone I used to like. (HAHA) Sadly, that’s the one and only song I can still play with my stiff fingers.

I came across Yiruma and his solo pieces, totally smitten ! I think a good instrumental piece is one that really brings out the emotions in you and reflecting on things that are happening around you. Alot of good pianist out there, but his music really attracted me.

Here’s one that I really like, “River Flows in You”

P.S : Since it’s all about Yiruma AND music today, tributes to Michael Jackson aka King of Pop as well. (Featuring Yiruma’s “Kiss the Rain”.  RIP MJ.

Tags: aotw, drums, flute, guitar, guzheng, instrumental, keyboard, king of pop, Kiss the rain, marriage d amor, michael jackson, monochord zither, myspace, pianist, piano, rip, river flows in you, solo, tributes, yiruma

Stayin’ Alive : Grooveshark Attack !

The boyfriend told me about Grooveshark some days ago and I was hesitating about signing up for “another social networking site” but no regrets at all ! In fact, I would have stabbed myself (just kidding) for not checking Grooveshark out !

Yet another internet radio site but one of the main draws of Grooveshark is the breadth of their library, which covers almost everything from indies to your usual A-songs. Unlike blip.fm which certainly has its flaws on streaming, you can stream songs from the web interface easily and so far I have yet to come across any broken links. It’s like having an iTunes online, free of charge !

It is evident that the Grooveshark team spent a lot of time creating an interface that users would find intuitive even though new users will probably take awhile to figure it out. I love how sleek the design looks and the 3-col layout is easy to navigate. It is even easier to conduct search in Grooveshark as compared to other internet radio sites. Just type in the name of a song in the interface and you’re provided with a small url that you can paste into any of your favourite social media services, like twitter and facebook. You can do a user search to add your friends and share your playlists too ! I like the fact that I can create several playlist to suits my mood, that’s probably something that blip.fm doesn’t offer.

I have been using Grooveshark almost a week now, and I am loving it ! Grooveshark proves to be a formidable player with its user-friendly interface and much lesser downtime/broken links. Its library and social media-friendly elements are probably the key factor why I’d switch from blip.fm to them. If you can’t tell, Grooveshark has already totally win my heart ! It’s keeping me alive at work everyday without fail.

you can add me @iammyy to check out my playlist (will be adding more)

P.S : The boyfriend just told me that Grooveshark is facing lawsuit from EMI, I hope they will survive it and continue their service. C’mon record labels, *this* is the new way to promote your music and artistes…learn to embrace technology and live with it already !

Tags: a-songs, blip.fm, EMI, grooveshark, indie, interface, itunes, lawsuit, library, mood, playlist, search, social media, songs, stayin' alive

Making a Commitment in Love

The boyfriend invited me along to one of his best buddy’s wedding last Saturday, this is the first time I’ve attended a wedding without my parents around *and* it’s a friend’s wedding. It makes me happy to see how deeply in love the couple is and how blissful the whole wedding ended off with wonderful blessings from friends and family. Weddings are such fun and *aww moments , I’m guessing all the girls must be secretly wondering if they’ll be the next bride that night ! Congratulations to the couple and best wishes for the two of them =)

It makes me wonder how much it takes to make a commitment in love. I used to have huge commitment phobia, especially in terms of relationships. Now, I believe that such commitment is an on-going effort in which the couple think of one another as “us”, rather than just “you” and “me” as individuals. You experience decisions and setbacks together, learn to communicate, develop a sense of mutual trust and gain intimate knowledge of each other’s lives. Sounds easy but it is probably more complicated than it seems. It really is an effort that both parties have to agree and commit to.

What do I mean by that ?  Take for example, I had a really good weekend because of little “efforts” that both the bf and I made. I never quite liked attending his social gatherings with friends as I find it awkward (well, we’re still relatively “young” couple afterall), but I decided that this wedding is not to be missed since it means alot to him. I’m glad I attended it with him because I got to know his life and friends alot better. Similarly,  I spent the sunday with my family at Sentosa resort. The boyfriend didn’t mind entertaining my lil niece or my parents over dinner and even made an effort to communicate with them. (fyi,language barrier.haha) It certainly means alot to me as it is really a warm fuzzy feeling to see your bf getting along with your family. I guess it’s all these little things that you do for each other (without announcing that you’re going to do it *for* the person) that makes a difference. It makes you appreciate your partner more and treasure the relationship because you know that both of you are in it together.

Being terrible in mathematics myself, I think I have come up with a perfect equation for my belief in love/commitment : One plus One equals to Three: “you”, “me”, and us.

Tags: blessings, boyfriend, commitment, commitment phobia, communicate, complicated, decisions, equation, intimate knowledge, Love, makes a difference, mathematics, mutual trust, on-going effort, one plus one equals to three, relationship, resort, sentosa, setbacks, wedding, you and me and us

AOTW [3]: Elbow

Will keep this one short since it is another crazy weekend for me.

Not a new myspace band but Elbow has been around for quite sometime.

Pretty big name in fact in the UK,especially after winning the mercury music award last year.

I think their music is quite spectacular and I like how I won’t get sick of their songs after listening to them on loop.

One of my personal favourite is “One Day Like This”, I really liked how they composed the song into such a musical piece, playing with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Really simple  lyrics with soulful music, just really amazing stuff ! Love the Strings !

Take a listen and perhaps you’ll find yourselves getting goosebumps like I do.

I hope I’ll get to see them live during their Europe tour next year (*IF* I get to go on exchange,that is).

Elbow – One Day Like This

Drinking in the morning sun
Blinking in the morning sun
Shaking off the heavy one
Heavy like a loaded gun

What made me behave that way?
Using words I never say
I can only think it must be love
Oh, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day

Someone tell me how I feel
It’s silly wrong but vivid right
Oh, kiss me like the final meal
Yeah, kiss me like we die tonight

Cause holy cow, I love your eyes
And only now I see the light
Yeah, lying with me half-awake
Oh, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day

When my face is chamois-creased
If you think I’ll wink, I did
Laugh politely at repeats
Yeah, kiss me when my lips are thin

Cause holy cow, I love your eyes
And only now I see you like
Yeah, lying with me half-awake
Stumbling over what to say
Well, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day

So throw those curtains wide!
One day like this a year’d see me right!

Tags: bbc concert orchestra, elbow, europe, goosebumps, lyrics, mercury music award, myspace, one day like this, soulful, strings, uk

Movie Buzz : Monsters vs Aliens in 3D

I *finally* caught this movie with the boyfriend last week after talking about it for the longest time, I guess one thing we have in common is our liking for anything that’s related to monsters/aliens/zombies. We decided to catch the movie in 3D as recommended by our friends on plurk and oh boy, it sure was a visual treat !

When I first came across the title, I imagined a movie that’s similar to AVP with scary looking creatures having this “end-of-the-world” smackdown. Rather thankful for something that’s totally different with adorable characters crafted with different personalities, my personal favourite gotta be Bob and Insectosaurus !

Quite a tickling comedy that’s suitable for all ages, crude humor between those clever dialogues. Bob provides all the comical blunders that you’ll probably need in a movie. Loves how he tried to hook up with the Jello !

The 3D effects were awesome ! The depth of field and random stuff flying towards you was a great experience, but more importantly, the clarity of animation was astounding. Even though it was not the kind of 3D effects that will keep you on the edge of your seats, I had a good time and really enjoyed having those ugly 3D glasses on.

Great voice talents as well, I think one important criteria for a good animation film is having engaging voice talents who can really portray your characters in a more “lively” manner. Although this time round, the talents used are unusally high-caliber for such an animation film ? Guess they are really trying to make it a big success.

If you’re going to the theatres to check this out, do remember to watch it in 3D !

P.S : I’m collecting the MvA Happy Meal Toys in my office ! I WANT BOB ! (any kind souls want to donate the other 5 4 i’m missing? lol) [update : the boyfriend got me bob today...hur hur]

what can they do ?

left to right :

squeaks when you press the tummy

shoots out the 3 mini spaceships when u click the center button

head glows when you pull the legs

Tags: 3D, adorable, AVP, bob, clarity of animation, comedy, comical blunders, end of the world, happy meal, high caliber, insectosaurus, jello, mcdonalds, monsters vs aliens, personalities, plurk, scary looking creatures, smackdown, toys, visual treat, voice talents

PC Show 2009 Hype

Despite the economic downturn AND H1N1 saga, PC Show 2009 at Suntec was flooded by people. You practically have to squeeze and push (or in my case,being pushed) your way through the human jam. I guess the fact that I went there on the last day explains the crowd as well. However it didn’t take me long to notice that the down-escalators were packed with quite an amount of people who left empty-handed.

Question for all consumers out there : Why do you go down for PC Show ?

If you wanted to do market research, online is probably the best place to do so I believe. The entire price list is being uploaded and the leaflets were even scanned by kind souls out there. The price won’t be much of a huge difference on the spot as well, so isn’t it easier to find your “potential” buys before heading down for an aimless stroll with the smelly crowd in that stuffy hall ?

Another thing worth mentioning is the amount of leaflet littered on the floor – do these companies even need to print these leaflet outs ? I appreciate the people who shared the information online and taking the trouble to scan them in. I did my own research with those digital leaflets before heading down, that saves me alot of time and the hassle to go through the papers on the spot. Eventually these leaflets are of no use and it just contributes to the big hoohaa about “recycling” and “global warming” issues.

IF employment is the key factor here, then why not hire those part timers and train them properly to promote your products instead of getting them to stand around to hand out paper that are to be thrown on the floor after a few steps ? Kudos to this promoter at the S-brand booth for sharing his insights about the ext.hdd that I was planning to get. He was so sincere and honest about how their competitor ext.hdd is probably a more suitable choice for my usage instead of desperately trying to con me into buying their item. I actually felt like I’ll buy the ext.hdd from him instead if I’m less practical/logical ! I almost had a sorethroat from the “yelling” conversations because of the various sound setups. (haha)

My dad was complaining about how they should hold the PC Show at EXPO instead of Suntec after enduring the not-enough-parking-issue,the human traffic madness and poor air ventilation of the halls. From an event organizer’s point of view, I guess a centralized location matters most. However, I do agree on the poor air ventilation issue especially with the H1N1 paranoia, I was actually surprised to see no signs of any mask-wearers !

I guess it just annoys me alil when there are people who are there just for the sake for “yes,i’ve been to the PC show” or er…”experience the PC show hype” when they are not there to buy anything or without the intention to ? It causes people who really wanted to buy things alot of inconvenience and the crowd may not be necessary if not for these random aunties/kids/window-shoppers. In addition, after comparing prices online, I believe that Simlim or Funan provides the same offer etc. In fact, we got our webcam at the creative shop itself instead of PC Show which was pretty empty and better service provided.

Can you imagine if just 1 or 2 people were H1N1 carriers ? Sheesh. PANIC SINGAPORE, PANIC !!!

but of course I didn’t go there just for a “site visit” and I didn’t do my online research for nothing. (hur)

Loots : Seagate 1TB ext.hdd xtreme , creative live webcam , 2 HP printer ink

picture source : square75@blogspot

Tags: 2009, consumers, creative, economic downturn, employment, expo, funan, H1N1, HP, human jam, leaflet, litter, market research, mask, part timers, PC Show, poor air ventilation, price list, seagate, simlim, suntec, webcam, window-shoppers

AOTW [2] : Johnta Austin

The week has been rather busy for me, sorry about the delay….here’s the second artiste of the week !

I came across the song some weeks ago while surfing youtube. I’m not a huge fan of R&B but I found the lyrics really sweet, no matter how cheesy it is.

So I went to google on Johnta Austin and found that he’s actually a four-time Grammy Award-winning upcoming artist ! Not only that, he was also the co-writer of Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” as well as Mary J Blige’s “Be Without You” ! Talented artist/writer I must agree, at least I could feel the emotions in his songs/lyrics.

This gotta be one of my recent favourite on my playlist. Really sweet song =) Enjoy !

Johnta Austin – This Love

here we are, you and me
love is sealed can’t you see
just for us, no one else
at least that’s the way it feels
and i’m grateful to be in your arms this evening
i was unsure, but now you got me believing
that time is what you make of it
and love comes first
and i’ve waited for so long just to say these words

i want this life, i want this love
i want this kiss, i want this hug
i want this time, i want this night
i want you here by my side
i want every little thing that makes my heart sing
and everything you try just to make it right
if i’m being honest baby you got all that i need
it’s true you got a hold on me

there’s no other place that i would rather be right now
and the look on my face is what happiness is all about
feelings come, feelings go
but what we have lasts forever
there’s a lot that i don’t know
but i know when we’re together
that time is what we make of it
and love comes first
and i’ve waited for so long just to say these words

i want this life, i want this love
i want this kiss, i want this hug
i want this time, i want this night
i want you here by my side
i want every little thing that makes my heart sing
and everything you try just to make it right
if i’m being honest baby you got all that i need
it’s true you got a hold on me

i’ll be around no matter what my baby
and if i let you down i’ll pick you up my baby
i wanna be your everything
and if you ever doubt my baby
then let this kiss be your evident
that this was me

i want this life, i want this love
i want this kiss, i want this hug
i want this time, i want this night
i want you here by my side
i want every little thing that makes my heart sing
and everything you try just to make it right
if i’m being honest baby you got all that i need
it’s true you got a hold on me

i want this life, i want this love
i want this kiss, i want this hug
i want this time, i want this night
i want you here by my side
i want every little thing that makes my heart sing
and everything you try just to make it right
if i’m being honest baby you got all that i need
it’s true you got a hold on me

Tags: aotw, artiste of the week, award winning, be without you, grammy, johnta austin, mariah carey, mary j blige, playlist, r&b, this love, we belong together, writer, you and me, youtube

What They didn’t Teach – From Intern to Interns

I have just started my second internship not long ago (first internship was during my polytechnic days). It is indeed nerve-wrecking each time you step into a whole new environment. What’s more ? You start to imagine what’s the worst case scenario that can happen during your internship or how the whole office is going to treat you like a coffee-boy/girl.

Thankfully, I have yet to come across such scenarios or being “ill-treated”. In fact, both my internships have been/is really an enriching learning experience to me. Things that are taught in school are not practiced in the workplace (maybe just some but too much theory-based instead of hands-on), things that are practiced in the workplace are not taught anywhere, you have to observe and learn on your own.

What I have learnt (so far) based on my own experience :

• Don’t be afraid to ask. The worst answer you can get is a “no”.
• Don’t be on-time, be early ! It’s better than getting “Damn! I’m late!”-induced nervous breakdowns.
• Don’t stick to your own friends (if you have any in the same company), mix around because that’s how you get to know the people AND the workplace better.
• Be humble. Even if you *already* know the topic by heart, learn to listen to what others have to say. Kill the smart alec in you.
• Be productive. If no work is given to you, find something to do..like go through the company’s projects and case studies.
• Be honest. Don’t lie about what you don’t really know but don’t shy away if contribution is needed.

Probably more to come when my internship ends in August !I think it is always good for interns to blog about their internships (of course, names are optional.)

How’s my internship so far, you ask?

One word to describe it (just like how I’d describe myself all the time) : Awesome !

Fellow interns, how are you experiences so far ? =)

Tags: afraid to ask, awesome, classroom, coffee-boy, hands-on, honest, humble, ill-treated, internship, learning experience, new environment, observe, polytechnic, productive, theory-based, workplace, worst case scenario