Current update - 30/1/06

Read: Nicholas Nickelby by Charles Dickens (yes! I finally finished it) and The Chi'Lin Purse by Linda Fang
Reading: American Indian Myths and Legends, Chronicles of the Chinese Emperors
CD: Hot Fuss by The Killers, Demon Days by Gorillaz
Favorite song: Check On It by Beyonce
Playing: Luxor
Watching: The Drew Carey Show, The 4400, Apprentice 4, American Idol 5, Monk, West Wing, Arrested Development and.... jengjejeng.... America's Next Top Model 4! (God, am I hooked on this show)

No. of times asked if I have a boyfriend: 7
No. of times asked when I will get married: 23 (approx)
No. of times asked when I will have kids: 2

Other news:
Got my confirmation this month. What do I get after 6 months of boiling and toiling, bowing and kow-towing, and holding my tongue? A RM100 salary increment, my pro-rated bonus, three medical cards and a new name tag.

Let's shake some dust

Working as a part time translator really took up a lot of my time, just as the friend that introduced me to the job said it would. It will eat up a whole day if I have to do two 1/2-hour shows. But I got a break a few days ago when I found out that I don't have anything due and I have 2 days off back to back.


And the timing couldn't have been better because I recently bought 5 games and the complete second season of Carnivale. I know I said that HBO will show the second season shortly after the marathon but after months of waiting I'm guessin' it ain't gonna happen. So I went and bought the dvd.

It's a good thing I did because I finally realized that there may be some stuffs that I will never get to see if I wait for HBO to show it. You see, in US the censorship rules applies differently to different media. For national television i.e. free tv, the basic censorship applies- no cursing, no lewd acts, no nudity etc etc etc. But for cable tv i.e. pay tv like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, you get to show, do or say anything you please. So series produced by these pay tv have free reign to shape their shows however they want it to be. In actuality, those shows that we have been watching all these years like Six Feet Under and Sex in the City were not really in their full version. Unless you're watching the dvds of course.

To date, I've only watched 8 episodes out of the 12 episodes season and it is such a riveting, out-of-this world mystifying experience. I can't wait to get to the end. But yet the 12th episode is also something that I'm dreading to see because it is the absolute last episode for the show. That damn HBO cancelled it after its 2nd season.


I don't know why HBO canned it. I guess the ratings were not high enough for their standard or they were not getting enough awards for it or the actors are not pretty and thus not worth their air time. I don't know. But fans all over the world (including me) were outraged. I must admit the show may not appeal to the general mass and I guess the number of viewers were not up to par, but it has the most compelling story I have ever seen.

Not pretty enough?
From left: Ruthie the Snake Lady who danced with snakes, one of the hottest acts in town. Samson is a midget who managed the whole act under the watchful eye of 'Management'. Nex is his ex-wife Sabina. Hot huh? Not sure what her act was but she was known as the Scorpion Lady. Oh, did I mention she didn't have any fingers?

I've mentioned before how I love to watch/read stories about the fight between angels and demons, good and evil and thing like that which was the reason why I love Constantine so much, it's the same with Carnivale just stretched a few more hours with more twists, turns and puzzles than the biggest book of sudoku that you can find. It was never clear who was good and who was evil. Who's holding the reigns? What's at stake? What do they stand to gain?

Dan Knauf, the creator did express his wishes to finish the series one day. Picking up the series again would be really nice but since HBO owned the rights, the chance might be pretty slim. Some suggest making a tv movie. But he said that 2 hours is not enough to wrap such a complex story, which I agree. There are hints of making a novel or graphic novel which would be really nice too. At this point, I'll take anything. I just want to know the ending.

Nobody told me

To buy The Killers.

I rarely buy cds nowadays. I spent most of my spare money on books every month because I would rather spend RM40 on a book rather than a cd. It's hard to find good albums anyway. But once in a while I'll have one of those cd shopping spree. I'll just buy two at once. I think this has become a pattern for me. The last time it was Keane and Seal. And now it was The Killers and Gorillaz.

I bought Gorillaz because I loved their first album. I'm not into techno that much, but their sound is quite different and it was on offer. RM36 for a cd is the best price you can get nowadays. After a few rounds in the player I still liked the first one but maybe it needed a few more rounds, which is not going to happen soon because I've been spinning The Killers all day and all night now. I love them! They're just awesome!


To tell you the truth, I still have doubts even when the lady was ringing up my purchases. I was hoping it was also sold for RM36 but alas no luck. I was not sure if it was worth buying. I find that a cd that I don't enjoy is such a waste (I don't feel a book that I don't enjoy is such a waste however. I'm just a freak that way). But it flew away as soon as I hit the play button.

Their singles that's been playing in the radio lately have a retro sound. When I hear the whole cd they do sound like an 80s British band, even though they are very recent and very Texan. They even sound like U2 in the old days at times, especially in Jenny Was a Friend of Mine and the drums in Somebody Told Me which was great. I missed that old U2 sound.

Have you ever skipped the well-known songs because you've had too much of it from the radio that you can't take it anymore? Well, it was not the case with The Killers. I enjoy discovering new songs that I could like and still singing away to the old ones. After 4 days of listening, I still like Somebody Told Me, Mr Brightside and All These Things That I've Done. And I've grown to love Jenny was a Friend of Mine, Smile Like You Mean It, Andy You're a Star, On Top, Believe Me Natalie, Change Your Mind, Midnight Show, Glamorous Indie Rock 'n Roll.... almost everything la... Andy You're a Star is very interesting melodically. If you get a chance to download it, give it a try. It's not a song that you would normally sing to but yet every morning I woke up I'll be singing...

Cause Andy, you're a star!!!!!


Loving this album prove my own personal theory that if you like 3 songs from that album, and you never get tired of it even though it's played over and over again on the radio, then it's worth buying. This theory worked when I bought Keane and Jamiroquai.

I heard The Killers got a few nods from the Grammys this year. I wish them all the best and they deserve to get big wins. Heck, I wouldn't mind if they beat U2 (but I don't think they can beat Foo Fighters' Best of You). In the midst of all the rock bands rapping away and rap artist rocking away, they are such a joy to hear. Can't believe they didn't get best new artist nod. Who the hell is Fallout Boy and Sugarland? So not fair.

Another revelation?

After the Xmas high comes the inevitable let-down, plus your annual pre-New Year self-examination. Don't be too hard on yourself. Some divine discontent is quite healthy - just don't overdo it!

Hahaha... I came acroos this horoscope for 30th December a few days after I wrote my last post. I don't want to say it but this time around it's quite dead on.

I was kind of analyzing myself on that day which was expressed in my last post. I was being a bit hard on myself. I felt that I didn't achieve much this past year. But I decided that I'm just going to suck it up and just live this year. Whatever this year's going to throw at me I'll take it like a woman.

And like any other year I won't list down some wishful new year's resolution because, come on, let us all face the facts here... no one ever abide by them anyway, especially me.