Tag Archives: fun

The Age of Clone

Please, oh please, dear lord, make Abrams stop.
I sat through six seasons of ‘Lost’, expecting a massive pay-off in the final episodes but was left thinking – really? I mean really?
This was followed by one of the biggest hypes in recent movie history – Cloverfield, and again I was left wondering what had happened in those two hours I will never get back. (Now there is going to be a sequel – but why?)
Clearly too stupid to learn from my mistakes I then went on to watch the rebooted Star Trek franchise, which did not upset me too much. Except they were the same storylines only with a Bizzaro world twist. Everything was mirror reversed. Spock shouting ‘Khan’, instead of Kirk and the like.
Ok, I can deal with that, especially after Scott Bakula destroyed the TV Star Trek franchise – one Quantum Leap too far?
But now that I have seen Star Wars VII I know – to some extent – how audiences felt in 1977, at least as far as the story goes. Because it was the SAME movie!!! Only with a bigger death star and better special effects – really? I mean – really?
There was nothing else in all the worlds of imagination that they could put to paper and then onto the silver screen but the same story? I guess Disney is to blame as well  – Avatar was just Pocahontas in space with cool special effects – same formula.
I predict that this our age will become known as the age of the reboot and clone flicks, with Disney the grand temple of profit and Abrams its supreme priest.
Please, oh please, give me a few more original pictures like ‘They live’, ‘The man from Earth’, ‘The game’ (with Michael Douglas – how about that ending?), ‘Casablanca’ (there is no cooler final scene) or even ‘Spirited away’. You notice something here? No sequels. No franchise. Just great self-contained stories that will leave an impression.
I know the gods of profit reign supreme, but one can hope.

Woohoo! …and a bonus Limmerick

101 posts.

I hope you guys have enjoyed the last 101 posts. I intend to share more ‘stuff’ to put it inelegantly – controversial, amusing, informative and hopefully engaging.

Thank you for reading and blogging.

 

On a Thursday in Maine

there halted a man named Shane

he commanded respect

and walked mostly erect

but fell victim to overborn strain

Live long and prosper! (Spoiler alert – do not read if you have not watched Into Darkness)

Yes (surprise, surprise), I am a Trekker, not the derisive and belittling Trekkie, but a dyed-in-the-wool, self-proclaimed, die hard Trekker.

Starfleet, come and sign me up.

On that note, the much dreaded reboot of the franchise did not suck, nor did the sequel – the lovingly crafted Into Darkness, with many a nod to people like me, referencing constantly the almost infinite Star Trek Universe.

My brother astutely observed that the new Trek movies are following the pattern of the old ones. So, this installment really was the Wrath of Khan – and what a Khan we now have!

(In case you were wondering, the actor portraying Khan is also portraying Sherlock Holmes in the British modernisation of Doyle’s classic.)

My favourite scene in the movie was Spock crying out:” KHAAAAAAAN!” Much like Kirk did in the original Wrath of Khan, and then having Kirk expire. After all, it is new timeline.

What is next then? The search for Kirk? Well, no, as Kirk was not jettisoned into a planet that was just about to undergo Genesis. Hmmm, maybe Khan’s blood alters Kirk and it will be -> The search for Kirk, the Freudian vector, with our protagonist spending hours on the couch searching for his true self.

Probably not though.

One thing is for certain, I am enjoying the new franchise and look forward to the next installment of a future I hope humanity will have.

Singapore – afters

After breakfast it was time for a snack. J Co doughnuts, crispy golden nuggets of sweet indulgence.

Simply delicious and the espresso was excellent. Funny thing with an espresso, the Barista has nowhere to hide. No foamy milk, cocoa powder or cinnamon dust. Just pure java. The essence of the bean, the nectar.

The next snack were crab balls – fried little morsels of savory goodness, smothered in thick sweet soy and mayonnaise. Highly recommended and ridiculously cheap.

Dinner we took in Chinatown. It was packed, noisy, turbulent and beautiful.

We had Chilli Crab, of course, it was my brother in laws first Chilli Crab, so naturally we gave him the claws. The fried little breads dipped in the chilli sauce were delectable. One must have those little fried breads otherwise it just isn’t Chilli Crab.

We also feasted on crunchy oat prawns, salted egg yolk prawn (also crispy, and a revelation for me as I had not sampled them before – my goodness – what a flavour sensation. Salty, eggy, crunchy, savory and then the freshness of the prawn) and honey roasted chicken.

Naturally, we had copious amounts of Tiger.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Food

Some of my posts mention that I like food. That is an understatement.

I love good food.

One of the most outstanding cities (countries – as Singapore is that rarest of things – a successful and thriving city-state) to eat in, in the world is Singapore. I agree with Anthony Bourdain’s assessment that, if one loves food, then, quite possibly Singapore may be the best place on Earth.

From local Peranaken cuisine to Malay, Indian, Chinese, Western and all manner of fusions thereof one is left breathless and giddy with excitement by the sheer choice, variety and complexity of flavours, smells and aromas to be sampled.

I recommend the Chicken rice (at Maxwell), Chicken Briyani (at Lau Pa Sat – also has great Satay at night), check out Little India for awesome Indian cuisine, or the famous Singapore Chilli Crab – personally I prefer the Pepper Crab for its intense heat.

You can eat anywhere at anytime. Grazing is probably the best way to experience Singapore, which means you will eat every 30 minutes or so. There are tasty treats and tidbits everywhere.

There is even a German Bratwurst stand in the middle of Chinatown (run by a grumpy German) – it was quite surreal when I saw it for the first time.

The foodhall below Takashimaya is brilliant, and quite upmarket. If you get the chance check out Food Republic. They are dotted all around Singapore, but I like the one on the roof of Vivo City.

It truly is a culinary paradise.

Stay tuned as I will be in Singapore in April, and will delight you with Food pics and accompanying commentary.

Bon appetite!