| Hannah Montana the Movie |
[Nov. 23rd, 2009|11:37 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  impressed | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Miley Cyrus - The Climb | ] |
This is going to sound weird but I can't believe that the Hannah Montana movie has prompted me to write an entry, something I haven't done in over a year. I am just thinking of how I arrived at loving this movie.
It all started with the E! website where I read a story that Taylor Swift was on Saturday Night Live, which led me to Youtube and the hilarious Firelight trailer. A related video led me to her song Crazier which I instantly adored. I then found out that this was featured in the Hannah Montana movie, so I thought I would go and buy it (on Blu-ray naturally) and watch the scene in the film. I didn't have high expectations but the unexpected was yet to come, in the form of the final concert scene where Miley Cyrus performed the Climb, which I just fell in love with. I think it also has to do with the fact that the music sounded great on my home theatre - I have actually compared the Blu-ray with the DVD and I can honestly say that almost for the first time, the difference is truly noticeable. I have gone through those scenes over and over - it is like watching your favourite music video on MTV over and over. It reminded me of say something like the final Dirty Dancing scene! I have now also seen the movie a few times, including the director's commentary, in which one of the most interesting things he said was that the difference between film and TV is that you do not have to be so "big" in the film. And that is the main difference between the TV series and the film - the show is too "sit-com" and way over the top. In contrast, the film (backed by a beautiful score and music) is fun and romantic. Seriously the Hoedown Throwdown is so contagious. Sure, there are silly moments (not least the bit where everyone tells Miley how she has to remain Hannah), but the positives far outweigh the negatives. I am so glad I have found this film (and not looked down upon it). |
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| Not much new |
[Oct. 7th, 2008|03:17 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Missy Higgins - Nightminds | ] |
It's been a while since my last update. My living room is pretty much there now. I have bought a 5.1 home cinema system and my DVD cabinets have arrived and my collection fits perfectly in it. There is still room for lots more. I have purchased Rock Band which is awesome but quite difficult to get into. I have also preordered a new Singstar game. That's pretty much it, I'm afraid. A couple of my school friends came over to visit me which gave me a chance to figure out what touristy things there are to do. Pictures on Facebook. |
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| House photos |
[Jun. 24th, 2008|11:53 pm] |
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I have finally put some pictures of my house up on Facebook. Plus my favourite piece of furniture and my TV. It's missing some proper speakers. |
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| Housewarming |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|09:35 pm] |
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I have officially moved into my new place now and my housewarming party is this weekend. My place is still not completely sorted but I have my 46" TV and broadband. My new Xbox360 has been brought back so the entertainment is beginning to take shape. I ought to have more to say but I can't think of anything yet. |
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| Shopping update |
[Apr. 20th, 2008|10:01 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | excited | ] |
| [ | music |
| | "Once" soundtrack | ] |
My second wardrobe and tv cabinet arrived this weekend amidst a storm! I am so pleased with my tv cabinet - I like it even more than when I first saw it. I have also found my sofa which comprise a 3 seater and a 1 seater. The 3 seater has a longer seat at one end (so you can put your feet up) and a recliner at the other end. The 1 seater is a recliner seat with swivel. I am pretty pleased with it as this was the combination I wanted but it would have been even better if the seats were deeper.
I have also finally decided on my TV after much browsing and debate. Actually I am a bit annoyed I didn't get it today when I saw it - the Sony KLV-46W300A which is a 46" LCD TV. There is a newer version just launched so the price for the old version (which was on my shortlist anyway) has been reduced by 20%. The new version is not necessarily better though - while it has a higher contrast ratio and other picture enhancements, it has removed some previous features, plus it's made in Malaysia rather than Japan. I just have to make sure I can get it before the final stock runs out. I will be so pissed if I don't manage to buy it.
I think the last high tech thing I need to get now is a new laptop which I am narrowing down today. I am looking at an HP laptop with Blu-ray drive - there aren't many choices so it may turn out to be an easier purchase. But then again, I have to remind myself whether I really need a Blu-ray drive on my laptop. |
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| Unpacking |
[Apr. 5th, 2008|09:20 pm] |
My container arrived earlier in the week and I have just started unpacking the boxes. I spent half an hour just restacking my CD shelf! But it was so good to see my DVDs again. I have tested out my old TV and DVD player, both of which works fine. At least, my house is starting to look like a home now which is great.
Next on the shopping list is the fridge and washing machine which I should be ordering tomorrow. I have also started hunting for a new laptop, while lulling over which TV I should get. I now know how much space I have for my sofa so I should be browsing for that soon as well. |
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| Easter update |
[Mar. 25th, 2008|10:00 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Still listening to Kate Voegele - Kindly Unspoken | ] |
So, it was going to be a four day easter break. It would be if there was nothing to do. Friday, I had lunch with my uncle and then I ordered some pine wardrobes for my bedroom. Saturday poured with rain and I had to wait for the guy to come round to install my ground floor lights. I haven't decided what to do with the room lights though. Sunday, I had to attend a confined spaces course, which I was quite nervous about as it was all done in Chinese. Fortunately the test is multiple choice and I made it through ok. Monday, I spent pretty much the whole day supervising and installing the curtains - all three floors of it! So it's back to work again but thankfully it's another four day week.
Love the Kate Voegele song.
Bought Gold Lightan robots - they are awesome. (check out bandai asia). |
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| Karaoke madness |
[Feb. 10th, 2008|12:26 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | pleased | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Kelly Sweet - We are one | ] |
So this was the day when I fulfilled my promise to take my office colleagues out to dim sum and karaoke. I'd recommend dim sum at Harbour City in Chinatown. I find the service to be less rude than other places and the food is okay as well.
After a few drinks to get sufficiently hammered to even contemplate karaoke, we headed off to Karaoke Box near Smithfield market, which turns out to be quite nice and by that I mean the hostesses :) We didn't have any trouble with the booking or service and the machine did not break down so all in all, it was a pretty good experience. For three and a half hours and accounting for drinks (cocktails included), it worked out at £50 per person which sounds a lot but that is also partly because we hired a bigger room. And it was a good thing we did because the smaller rooms are quite cramped.
As for the actual singing, the sound is probably better than at home and the song choice is fairly good. However, the display is nowhere near the quality of Singstar as you only sing along to words. But if you are with a large group (you really need 8 or more people), and you are sufficiently drunk, it is quite fun. It's scary how some of my friends know songs like Ice Ice baby, Big Spender and Push It really really well.
I am sure there will be some Facebook pictures soon. |
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| Model railway |
[Nov. 30th, 2007|12:42 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | excited | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Rosie Thomas - It don't matter to the sun | ] |
I think this is going to be my new hobby / obsession, especially now that I know I will have room for a decent sized model railway. I have been stocking up for it with 4 train sets and tracks etc. I am extremely happy with the Virgin Pendolino set that I recently bought. I have been testing it out on a simple oval track but when I can build my planned layout, that will be so exciting. I just need to figure out the scenery to finalise it and I hope that I don't lose anything when I ship the stuff back to HK. Incidentally, if anyone knows of any reputable overseas shipping company, please let me know. I think I will need a small container type shipment rather than a few boxes. |
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| BIrthday treat |
[Oct. 28th, 2007|10:50 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Brenda Weiler - Pretty Face | ] |
My birthday treat was in the form of seeing the Mary Poppins musical on Saturday followed by dinner (photos here).
It took me a while to get into the musical - the second half was much more exciting.
I have handed my notice in at work as well. Two more full weeks and then five 4 day weeks :) It feels great |
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| Upload of convention photos. |
[Sep. 22nd, 2007|11:32 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  exhausted | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Frou Frou - The dumbing down of love | ] |
Following on from the meet this afternoon, I have uploaded my old convention photographs on to Facebook.
It was great to catch up again. See you all at christmas. |
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| I HATE iPods |
[Sep. 8th, 2007|11:23 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  pissed off | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Patty Griffin - Rain | ] |
It really pisses me off when people talk crap about a subject that they think they know about. It would be okay if what they are saying is actually fact but most of the time, that is not the case.
One such example is (some) iPod owners. And it is due to these people that other people get sucked into the whole iPod world. Take the reviewer of the new 16gb iPod touch from the Amazon site (who amazingly had a 30/30 helpful rating when I read it).
This person (Mo) begins with "Not that I'm being nasty, but some people here really don't have a clue what they're taking about, so I'd thought I should give an educated insight into the iPod Touch." But it is a total load of crap with my favourite bit being: "The idea of flicking your finger to scroll quickly through large lists of music and photos is pure genius, something only Apple could dream up. The other touchscreen tricks such as the pinching on photos to enlarge them is brilliant and really sets the iPod Touch apart from inferior, almost generic devices such as those made by Archos... such as the Archos AV700!" That in itself is a contradiction. If the Archos uses touchscreen, then iPod did not dream it up did they?
Here is the concluding remark "It might not have the most amount of storage, it might not have built in radio or connect to a TV directly, but it plays music and movies, views photos and surfs the web like no other player out there!" That's because it has no expandable memory slots like the Creative Zen and the range of music and movie file support of an iPod is not exactly vast. Funnily enough the Cowon D2 already uses touchscreen technology, has inbuilt (DAB) radio and has TV out.
Having said that, one of the main advantages of the iPod touch is its web surfing ability. No doubt it will also be very user friendly. Nonetheless it still does not mean that pod people can't come up with crap "educated insight". |
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| Strike |
[Sep. 3rd, 2007|10:53 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | pissed off | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Anna Nalick - Wreck of the day | ] |
Strikes are one the those things that I will not miss when I leave the country. What I find immensely annoying, to an extent hypocritical and borderline ironic is the fact that the demands for safeguards of jobs actually jeapardise the jobs of many others whom these people have disrupted with their strikes.
One a happier note, I have finished Bones season 1 and just ordered several CDs, the first of which to arrive is Brenda Weiler's End the Rain. I am also enjoying Anna Nalick's Wreck of the Day CD as well. |
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| Dream |
[Aug. 10th, 2007|08:22 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  weird | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Melissa Tallon - Wintry Feeling | ] |
I am writing this down before I forget as things are already becoming blurry. I had a dream about Jessica Alba last night but not in a dirty way (sadly?). I was leaving at the end of a play and was just about to sit at a round table with one of the stars when I noticed Jessica. Knowing she does not do autographs and such, I still approached her and while she was reluctant, she decided to sit with us to sign something. Of course I didn't have anything to sign on but somehow I managed to pull out an SFX magazine (which is bizarre because I don't buy that magazine) and asked her to sign on the cover. She didn't want to ruin the cover and opted a random page instead. By this time, other people were noticing her but she was adamant she was not going to sign anymore. I started asking about if she was enjoying her role in the play and it drifted to a gig in Peru to which she invited me to. She even gave me her notebook to put my contact details. It was sort of a blank after that ... not sure if I ever ended up in Peru. |
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| The visual medium |
[Jul. 23rd, 2007|08:10 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Anna Nalick - Breathe (2AM) | ] |
It has been a productive weekend, with reading HP, watching the film and sneaked in Transformers as well. Out of those three, the one I was most interested in turned out to be not as cool as I'd hoped (that would be Transformers). Didn't really think too much about the book - just wanted to find out what happens but I didn't particularly liked the epilogue. The interesting thing about this are the people who on the one hand criticise those who think adults are barmy to read HP (poor literature and all that) and on the other hand still criticise people who prefer watching television (reading is better). Pot kettle. Why can't people understand there are numerous mediums for people to enjoy and gain whatever pleasure and intelligence they want?
PS Getting into Grey's Anatomy; love Katherine Heigl.; waiting for Knocked Up. |
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| Grey's |
[Jun. 30th, 2007|03:26 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | pissed off | ] |
So I started watching Grey's Anatomy, finished season 1 and put the first disc of season 2 into my DVD player. It starts off on episode 5! It turns out that my R1 season 1 have 9 episodes but the R2 season 1 has the first four episodes of season 2 and hence they are missed off on the R2 season 2 release. That is just bizarre and incredibly annoying. I hate DVD variation. That's kind of ruined my weekend television viewing. |
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| Holiday |
[Jun. 26th, 2007|11:47 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | chipper | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Missy Higgins - Don't ever | ] |
So I am back from Munster (photos can be found on my Facebook). Just been to see the Sound of Music with my mum who enjoyed it. I want to go and see Dirty Dancing the musical but at the moment, tickets are generally weekdays and I am not sure who I can go with.
Anyway I am really enjoying my holidays this time round. I volunteered for a schools workshop thing on Thursday which sounded great at the time but it means I have to get up super early so that's a bit of a downer.
Finished all of Gilmore Girls and started to watch the first season of Supernatural and will move on to Grey's Anatomy. I don't think it's really my thing but Katherine Heigl is in it. |
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| My first english wedding |
[Jun. 18th, 2007|08:39 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | chipper | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Holly Brook - What I wouldn't give | ] |
So I attended my first english wedding this weekend. (I did see at my headmaster's wedding when I was at prep school but that doesn't really count). I did have some ushering duties and dressing up in morning suit reminded me a little bit of going to Sunday service at Westminster.
Despite everyone worrying about all the details, the wedding turned out to be rather fabulous I thought. We were in a side chapel in Westminster cathedral and while we were delayed by the afternoon's ordination of a priest, I thought it was amazing when the bride and groom walked down the main aisle of the cathedral at the end of the ceremony.
The reception, the dinner and the speeches (with english/polish translation at your fingertips) went down very well and it was a good day all round. |
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| Facebook |
[Jun. 14th, 2007|08:10 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Hayley Westenra - What you never know (won't hurt you) | ] |
I have to be a bit more careful about what I write now given I have linked this to Facebook where there is a much wider audience of people I know. And for today, I am not letting any of my work colleagues upset my happy mood (camera on its way, 2 weeks leave).
If any of you are on Facebook, let me know. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) chiarah is there already. |
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| New camera |
[Jun. 9th, 2007|09:29 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Missy Higgins - Sugarcane | ] |
Now I have a portable digital camera that my brother gave me, but I never really thought it as my own. Plus the batteries would run out if I ever use the screen for more than 10 seconds, so I had to take pictures normally. So I have always wanted to get a digital camera of my own and as I am going to Munster in a couple of weeks, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.
After much browsing, I have ended up on the Fuji S6500FD which turned out to be extremely reasonably priced. It's not compact but I thought I would try something different. I just hope it arrives before I go.
What's next on the gadget list? ... I know next year when I go back to HK, I will be getting a new TV (currently looking at the Samsung 47" M88 with full 1080p HD) and a new computer. I may upgrade my mp3 player and phone as well. |
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