Perk it up with an update!

The thing about blogging abt life is that it never reflects how busy you are actually living it. Here, to give it a new breath of fresh air is Fi. Soon, Fi will be blogging about the recent anime she's watched (Ao no Exorcist) and the recent game she's played (Disgaea 3 etc.) simply because the holidays are here! And there's a new member of the family in the house!

So, look out for it!

(found @ http://sorachicken.deviantart.com/art/Hope-Estheim-in-FFXIII-2-258809509)

Love,
Fi.

[game] Dragon Age: the game(s) that established as scientific fact that men evolved from darkspawn

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"Dragon Age III: Bloodlust". Ftw, anyone? Or is it just Lust?"

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Look at the time... What? It's 3 am in the morning of June the 24th and I've only sat down in front of the PS to start playing Dragon Age I: Origins all the way through Dragon Age II, in, oh... when was that again?... ah, that's right... ONE whole month ago.

By the way, this is all M's fault.

Dragon Age Origins could be fatal if avoided, poisonously fatal if indulged, and all because of one character named Alistair: accidentally romantic, clumsy, tragically vengeful if faulted and irresistably *hawt* ... that is, until, he turned 26+ in Dragon Age II. Yeah, in a cameo appearance in Dragon Age II (in which he becomes royalty if played to that ending, or a mad drunk if played to a different, more tragic conclusion) Alistair became a lazy programmer's late-night-party-drinking-morning-after-hangover version of Alister, King of Fereldan, btw, and if you must know, kick-ass tanker and sword-and-shield warrior who eats darkspawn ogres for breakfast... and I mean that... literally.

"Hmm... That's a switch."

What did that programmer decide to feed him these past 6 years in Dragon Age's Ferelden? Did they run out of stew? It caused some sort of genetic deformation in him. At least, they kept his hair intact.

"Swooping is bad..."

Of course, then, there's Fenris: the grumpy dwarf, i mean, elf, who gave brooding, angsty emo a whole new set of tight, black and shiny wardrobe. Sexy, in his feisty 'i hate all bleeding mages' mode (especially with another tight-pants Balthier's voice-acting) but a little exhausting to romance. Could I venture to say that conversation in Dragon Age II took psychological stress to a whole new level?



Indeed, Fenris is best when he is brooding, moping or whatever Varric can come up with, in a solitary corner and reading a book, or at least, trying to. Heh!

Anyhow, this is just a short post to reassure you that I'm alive and not drowned in darkspawn. But I DID wish Dragon Age II had a better ending... the whole world ending in chaos just seems a bit... depressing. The Champion, after all, worked her way up in society from nothing all the way to.... nothing again? Hm... What's up with that, I wonder?

Dragon Age III: Qunari War against the Tevinter Mages, anyone? Or shall it be Ferelden vs. the Orlais Empire? Hah! We'll see!

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Dragon Age I: Origins (my choice of Human Female Noble Rogue, later, Warden-Commander Queen)




Dragon Age II (my choice of Human Female Rogue, later, Ex-Smuggler, Templar-Killer, Mage-Supporter War Renegade)



...and her bed warmer, I mean, partner, Fenris...




Mimi, the Noble Feline Beast, who warmed the PS3 for the entire month and stood by me through darkspawn and poltergeists (I was scared in Varric's brother's haunted house!!!)



and finally, a, er, rather funny situation in Dragon Age II with Anders in the Deep Roads...
(Note: Look at the red dots in the map at the top right hand corner)


Anders: "As a Grey Warden,
I can sense other Wardens even in the Deep Roads...
(glances behind me)...
Or, of course, it could just be Darkspawn..."

Hawke: (silent thought) "Mistaking Darkspawn for a Grey Warden, yeah...
...but an ENTIRE horde of them????
Come on!"

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If you notice, I like the hairstyle and the white/silver/platinum-blonde hair on my characters! They could be lost sisters, who knows?!! They're both from Ferelden, anyway... Haha!

Keep it cool & Love all,
W.

[food] Nakhon Kitchen

I have been hearing rave reviews about Nakhon's notorious long queues but absolutely-to-die-for authentic Thai food. Having nothing else to do, me (and the rest of my family) went to Nakhon's Hougang Branch for an early dinner. I was there at 5.20pm, but had no idea it only opens at 5.30pm. Already, there was a queue.

They opened at 5.30pm sharp, distributed menus and I placed my order for 4.

My iced lemongrass drink. (A must-have for me whenever I hit a Thai cuisine restaurant. That or iced Thai Coffee.)

First came the Clear Tom Yam Seafood Soup. First sip of this and I sputtered. Me, M, sputtered. To put this in perspective, I can eat chili padi without batting an eyelid and I slather wasabi on my sashimi. So yeah, this is spicy. But OH-SO-GOOD! Although it is a clear soup, the both sour and spicy taste beats any Tom Yam soup I have ever drank hands down. A MUST TRY!

Pandan Leaf Chicken. The other versions I have eaten were not spicy. But this is HOT! You can even see chili seeds in the meat. It is a tad oily for my taste but my parents loved it, so give it a try!

Thai-style fried minced pork. As you can see in this picture, it has chili padi, so it was hot, but the sauce was also yum. The long beans mixed in it gave it an interesting crunch. Very nice!

Thai-style fried Kang Kong. Local style tends to fry stir-fry this vegetable with Sambal (or Chili paste). This version fries it with both chili and garlic, which is a nice change. Very very yummy!

Thai-style fish cake. I hate hate HATE fish cakes and fish balls so I won't comment on this. But parents adored it, so, give it a try.

The dip the fish cakes came with. Chili sauce with cucumber bits and ground peanuts. NICE!

And to polish it all off, Red Ruby for dessert!
Water Chestnut cubes covered in tapioca flour with red food coloring, topped off with shaved ice and coconut milk, garnished with slices of jackfruit. The shaved ice was a little coarse for me, but the coconut milk was nice!

And so, in conclusion, you have never tasted Thai food unless you have been to this little shop. (excluding going to Thailand of course!)

Nakhon Kitchen - 212 Hougang St 21 #01-341

136 Bedok North Ave 3 #01-166

Someone has told me that the Bedok branch is cooked by the original chef himself so it's even more authentic-tasting. But locals might not like it due to it being too spicy and/or sour for their local tastebuds. You have been warned.

K, you MUST go and try it sometime!

W, avoid this shop at all costs. Unless you are feeling particularly masochistic :D

Have fun peeps!

Battlestar Galactica Rollercoaster (Singapore)

M dropped into Universal Studios Singapore today and went straight for Battlestar Galactica. (In fact, she refused to fall into the tourist trap by going to the Park before this ride opened.)




Doesn't look too scary right? It's split into 2 different but simultaneous duelling rides, Human (or simply the RED ONE)...

And Cylon (AKA the BLUE ONE).

Seeing as the Human ride has a slightly shorter queue and it has the reputation of being less scary than the Cylon ride, I tried that first. It is a simple seated thing, with the restraint only over the lap. (Your upper body is completely free.)

No worries, no need for upper body restraints since there are no loops right?

WRONG.

The first two seconds as the car moves out of the boarding area, it's a normal speed, as most rollercoasters inch up the first uphill pretty slowly. Not this one. It immediately accelerates (and when I mean accelerates, you could almost see the "crap" speech bubble I left behind). Before I can inhale after that first scream, I was experiencing the scariest drop on a rollercoaster. Talk about my heart flying out of my mouth, I think mine flew straight into outerspace. After some high speed twisting, screaming, another drop, screaming, several turns and close shaves against Cylon and more screaming, I climbed off the ride. Legs completely turned to jelly but the adrenaline was making me laugh like a maniac.

Without a pause, I hit the Cylon next. This one is a suspended rollercoaster with plenty of loops, so I prepared myself for hanging upside down and the initial acceleration by screaming before the speeding up began. As it turns out, it was a wasted effort. There is nothing scarier then experiencing a zero-G loop with your feet dangling in the air. The rolls, corkscrew and loops were perfectly spaced apart.

My thoughts on this ride?

Bloody, friggin', insanely super duper awesome!

And the most important question: Which is scarier?

Personally, I cannot find a difference. The Human one has a fantastic drop, so you HAVE to go on it at least once, just so you can send your heart to the moon. The Cylon one is just extreme fun from the beginning to the end. Endless loops, whirls and turns.

Vekoma, the maker for this coaster is pretty notorious for jarring and rough rides. While this one was not particularly rough, there IS a crick in my neck now, but that might have been caused by me carrying both my bag and heavyass camera. Anyhows, you have been warned.

Other noteworthy rides in USS is the Revenge of the Mummy ride. It is a enclosed seated coaster. It's not scary per se, as it only contains one teeny tiny drop that hardly provides any zero-G, but the complete darkness during the ride is an absolute thrill. Oh, and yes, you are suddenly accelerated backwards. Fun!

And so in conclusion, W, K, go try Battlestar Galactica!


Went gaga over potion bottles at the Fairy Godmother's shop and bought one. I completely fell into the tourist trap didn't I?

Shh... don't tell W and K!

Cheerios and plenty of screams peeps!

~~a new blog face~~

Introducing our new blog face, it's rather blue but it's because dear M didn't manage to get to scan the 'gold bkgd' that we wanted! silly mac!


Anyhow, hope everyone likes it. Adding html coding, adjustments, Adobe hang-ups and colour matching [text, Cbox etc], it officially took me under 6 hours.

Work, tomorrow! Dammit... :p

Cheers to all! :p

[game] Eternal Sonata (PS3) 2008

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"Eternal Sonata" or "Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream" (Japanese title-- a dodgy title, at best)
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Famitsu: 35/40=87.5%
GameRatings: 82.39%
Metacritic: 80%
GameSpot: 83%
IGN: 87%
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History
As Gustav Mahler once said, "If a composer could say what he wanted to say in words, he wouldn't bother trying to say it in music." Thus, Eternal Sonata was born in the mind of director Hiroya Hatsushiba to celebrate his love for classical music and for the Romantic work and life of 'the poet of the piano' Polish-born Frederic Francois Chopin (1810-1849). At an age when Bach (1685-1750), Beethoven (1770-1827) and Mozart (1756-1791) would have still been apprentices, Chopin was already recognised as a master of his art and started composing piano solos at the tender age of 7. He died at age 39, however, of tuberculosis and left in his place a legacy of Romantic piano solos that still enamours listeners even to this day.

Background to 'Eternal Sonata' (some spoilers and lotsa grousing, M!)
The premise of the game takes place just a few hours before 39 year-old, tuberculosis-ridden Chopin passed away in the night in the company of his doctor and (what seems to be) his close confidante, mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot. Without their knowledge, Chopin had entered into his own dream world and is battling life-and-death, reality-and-illusion in his mind alone.

Frederic 'emo' Chopin

Polka

In this dream world divided by the countries of Forte (led by evil Count Waltz--an allusion to his illness and most famous works) and Baroque (led by heroic Prince Crescendo--an allusion to the age of Baroque music that came before the Romantic era), Chopin meets the 14-year old Floral Powder seller named Polka, who also appears to be terminally ill. Due to her predestined death and incurable illness, she is (through the reality of this game) able to use magic. Needless to say, while Chopin is in this dream, he too is able to use magic.

Prince 'noble badass' Crescendo

Additionally, Count Waltz is the lead manufacturer and promoter of the use of Mineral Powder to cure illnesses. Unknown to many residents of Forte, however, is the fact that a certain percentage of Mineral Powder users become even more sick, and inevitably, turn into monstrous, magic-wielding, mindless monsters. Duh.

Princess 'kickass' Serenade

On the one hand, a rebel group in Forte aims to topple Waltz's malevolent government. Led by buster sword-wielder and womaniser, Jazz, and his lady minions, I mean, er, lady companions (read: weak, spineless, hopelessly romantic, I-wanna-be-a-house-wife-in-the-Scottish-Highlands characters) named Claves and Falsetto, their story is one of intrigue, betrayal, suspense and even comic relief (if a death monologue lasting an entire night doesn't make you laugh, nothing else will). The Baroque Prince Crescendo and Princess Serenade, on the other hand, lend their support to these rebels from across the sea but prefer to offer themselves up as prisoners-of-war to Waltz rather than go down in a fight. Hey, there are stranger things than fiction in the world, but this one really takes the cake. These two are, imho, hopelessly romantic but kickass nonetheless and POWs just doesn't make a lick of sense in the general framework of the story...?

Claves

Jazz

Falsetto

What makes them think that a Count who allows his own citizens to consume Mineral Powder and turn into bloodthirsty monsters is in the right frame of mind to negotiate?

Allegretto

Beat

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the political spectrum, Allegretto and Beat are stealing bread on the streets of Forte to feed the hungry, orphaned children of the sewers. Upset by their poverty, they leave their home to see Waltz and their chance meeting with Polka and Chopin (who were on the way to see Waltz as well so as to change the lives of the Forte citizens before they die) thus lead them on a journey to save the world, and at one point, even the time-space continuum! Although, this only happened, I think, because what is a RPG without a wormhole threatening to destroy not only mankind but also existence itself?!

Other characters include, sheepherder girl, Viola,


the fast, adorable and POWERful Guardians of Agogo Forest, quiet March,


and garrulous Salsa.


On a more practical side of the story, the game itself is divided into several chapters with befitting titles that relate to Chopin's music, art and life; such as 'Raindrops', 'Nocturne' and 'Revolution'. Each chapter introduces a 'history chapter' about Chopin and about the various, innumerable number of women in his life (apparently, Chopin was quite the looker and while diminutive and pale, was quite the catch in society). They also showcase some watercolour paintings or images of Chopin's beloved homeland, Poland, his life aboard Europe, mostly France, and the various places he lived. Not too brief, not too long, these little snippets are a welcomed rest from button-bashing, especially that every chapter ends with a big, bad boss––don't say I didn't warn ya!

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REVIEW
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All in all, Eternal Sonata seemed to promise an epic journey with an unbeatable battle system, that while mildly annoying and remotely liable for a series of head bashing, thumb bandaging, and Panadol overdosing incidents, keeps its battles lively and dynamic throughout the grinding hours of gameplay.

Fugue

This game is, after all, for lack of better terms, one of those games in which you sleep, you die. 'Tactical Time' at the beginning of every action your character partakes goes to 'zero' by the end of the game, and the 'Action Gauge' your character gets to kill off his/her chosen enemy is always, always counting down to 'zero'. For sure, there are 'Harmony Chains' and 'Special Attacks' to counteract these limitations but... well... it's not just button-mashing here, it's button-mashing with a vengeance. And when you come across this character, Fugue, in Chapter 3 of the game, you'd be crying in your bed to sleep and throwing pillows at the thing we call 'fate'. But game on, my friends, and persevere, because Fugue is voiced by none other than Johnny Young Bosch, who also voices Nero in 'Devil May Cry 4' and Ichigo in the English-dubbed Bleach.

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Battle System: 8/10
For its innovativeness, challenges and evolutionary tactics at every game level.
However, it could improve on its EXP acquisition and a more transparent Skills learning curve.
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Its character designs are cute and interesting, if not typical. However, its character histories and stories will make Tolkien roll over in his grave and Shakespeare grieve at his own headstone. The life of a spy, especially female and prone to falling in love with their targets (where did they get their damned training!!?) is miserable but does it have to make me miserable too?

Certainly, Polka, seems to bear some sort of resemblance to Chopin's own real-life little sister, Emilia, who too died of tuberculosis at age 14. In fact, I seem to recall Chopin (character) calling Polka 'Emilia' in the final few minutes (or hours, if you include the ending movie sequence) of the game. Despite how it sounds, however, the game is more about Polka and the rest of the dream characters rather than Chopin, himself. Isn't this game inspired by Chopin? Chopin as a character doesn't involve himself much in the story/plotline of the game and seems to me rather like calefare (not even a cameo).

Sure, I understand that Hatsushiba might have desired to 'preserve the memory' of Chopin, but... but... but it made Chopin the most distant main character in the history of RPG!

At the same time, it's dungeons are... Well, is 'boring' politically correct, I wonder. Why do I miss those days traipsing down to the temple puzzle dungeons of FFX with Tidus? Perhaps, this is because the only 'Chopin-inspired' dungeon was the final one involving a tower, a piano floor-board, and a music sheet (in my head), and that was only to test my memory retention skills (which isn't much, btw).

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Character & Dungeon Design: 7/10
For its adorable design, smooth, flowing garments and crisp 3D images.
May have to re-innovate the relationship between Chopin's art and RPG game landscapes.
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Unfortunately, plot holes, plot loops and plot huh-s? abound and the most interesting one about the strange, alien-looking rock that Polka throws off a cliff and then has it returned to her the very next moment by Allegretto simply set me on a wild goose chase. (The whole reason I continued playing this game was because of this!) There is a reason why House MD had so many writers working on its drama and if you aren't DA's resident staff writer like Patrick Weekes, Tolkien, Tolstoy, or Shakespeare, it's okay to ask for help, Hiroya Hatsushiba!

And so there goes an (almost) epic tale mired in its own weak plots such as the gawd-get-me-the-hangman's-noose-the-sturdy-tree-branch-and-the-grease-already tragic love lives of female spies and the ONE man who loves them all. And don't even get me started on the near-death monologues!

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Story: 7/10
For its thrilling premise, its creative use of a classical music legend in a PS3 game.
Yet, needs massive improvements in its overarching story framework, its minor characters and even its major ones!
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The saving grace of Eternal Sonata, of course, is it's amazing OST. A game imbued with the richest, most delicious sounds ever made for a game; Motoi Sakuraba's Chopin-inspired music direction created powerfully evocative background music that brings the player (that's me) to a Romantic/fantasy world. Stanislav Bunin's piano playing was light, refreshing and melodic, just as Chopin's music (especially the waltzes) should be. It also didn't hurt, of course, that he won the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1985.

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OST: 9/10
For its brilliant renditions of Chopin's most gorgeous pieces. Need I say more?
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Overall Score for 'Eternal Sonata'
31/40 or 77.5%
(I would replay it only to get screenshots, i.e. if I needed them).





Cheers!

5 movies and nicknames for 3 mistresses

Just rented 5 movies that were in the cinemas sometime ago but was too darned lazy to step out of the house to watch.

-Piranha

-The Social Network

-Secretariat

-Legend of the Guardians, The Owls of Ga'Hoole

-Takers

Let's start with the first one, Piranha (3D).

On Rotten Tomatoes, it garnered a rating of 74%, but while I didn't detest this movie, I'll probably never watch it again, so I'm giving it a 60%. I've never been a fan of american humor so although it's highly popular, with critics praising the balance of gore and jokes, I liked the gore, hated the jokes. And seriously, someone should smack the writers. If they are going to come up with an ancient fish that somehow did not evolve with the rest of the world and survived via cannibalism, at least come up with a new scientific name. The movie called these 'the first piranhas' as Pygocentrus nattereri or also known as Red-Bellied Piranha. WHAAATTT?! RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!

Conclusion: Watch it, but don't expect too much. Oh, and watch it when your parents and kids are not around. Naked Boobies alert!

Next up, The Social Network

Oh, I really really liked this movie. R.T (Rotten Tomatoes) gave it a 94% and I have to agree. I'm tempted to give it 95% myself but Justin Timberlake's take as Napster creator Sean Parker just completely fell flat. Jesse Eisenberg as facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was awesome. He carried off the perfect amount of social misfit and genius. Of course, since it is a movie, many events were a dramatization, but it was still engaging stuff. The flashbacks to and fro can be a little disconcerting, especially in the first half of the movie when we are introduced to several characters and have just a name to peg them to. I give them 90%!

Conclusion: If you use facebook, watch it. If you don't, you should also watch it.

And now, Secretariat.

Hmm, it will be biased for me to review this one, as I have an irrational penchant for horse related movies and novels. Seabiscuit, Hildago, the Black Stallion. (etc, etc, etc). I'll try to be as unbiased as possible. Secretariat is a movie based on a real horse back in 1970s who won the Triple Crown Races, set 2 new records that still hasn't yet been broken. The movie focuses a lot on the trials the owner of the farm (a housewife) faced. I liked this movie for the horse, and Diane Lane's take as Penny Chenery, the owner. R.T says it deserves 64%, I'm giving it a 75%.

Conclusion: Watch it but I think Seabiscuit is still the king of horse-drama movies.

Legend of the Guardians - The Owls of Ga'Hoole

When I saw the poster advertising this movie, I was like 'meh, owls this time?' While I am a fan of anime/CG movies (Miyazaki FTW!) a movie on talking, fighting owls didn't appeal to me. Still, I picked up the movie, thinking 'what the heck'. Boy, I have never been this happy to be proven so wrong. Based on a book, yes, it has talking, and fighting owls but it is also absolutely awesome. While the plot is a typical fantasy-children's-book on the epic battle of good-versus-evil, I adored the crazier owls (Lyze and Digger). The CG is stunning and the battle scenes have sequences that I know I cannot blink. R.T says 51%, I say 75%! I'm definitely watching it again for the CG!

Conclusion: Watch it! And if you were thinking of using Avatar as a justification to get that new 3D TV for your home, consider using this movie instead.

Last but not least, Takers.

R.T pegged it to 28%, I think it only deserves 20%. Basically, it's a movie about a group of men planning and pulling off robbery. Complete snoozefest, ending was lame. Don't waste your time, go and rewatch Ocean's Eleven instead.

Conclusion: Don't watch it. I already warned you.

And to end this long post, I have come up with nicknames for the mistresses. (The need for nicknames are built in my genes, can't help it.) I'm calling whirlpooled, whirlie and obsidian-k is sidi. (see?! easier to type!) I wanted to call myself moonie but since J.K Rowling stole my nickname, I am reduced to calling myself nienie, or ninny.

Ninny reporting. Cheerios Peepies!

[ost] Eternal Sonata

Quick post: I just had to post this so you guys could listen!

Moon, you MUST play this game. It's the background music in one of the dungeons, Aria Temple. I'll review the gameplay as soon as I hit a lull in the gaming process (levelling up, sidequests, you ~know~ what I'm talking about!)



Cheers!

P.S. Congrats on the first post, Obs! :p

Introducing... blood and gore...

It would defo seem that i’m way behind many, many, posts after whirlpooled and moonstone..

My turn to reign in this department…

Blood and gore….ah such Gothic sweet ‘tranquility’…even the sound of the words calms me temper…at any point….

Fresh off my mind, i remember watching an episode of Bones Season 6 last night…oooh…even i had to press Pause, finish up my Pizza Toast first before continuing to watch the episode…

It begins with a Bone’s version of Willy Wonker unveiling their biggest and yummiest chocolate bar ever made; an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of Records.

The chocolatier was cutting the chocolate bar in half….and…

…inside the chocolate bar were the putrid remains of a 24-year old woman horridly decayed.

The decaying flesh and the gooey innards oozed out of the chocolate bar onto the stage on live broadcast.

Oooh…totally GROSS….urghhh…yuck…

hahhahhaah….How’s that my yaoi-lovies; moonstone and whirlpooled?? emmm…hmmm…??

dinner anyone?? chocolate fondue?? my treat??? Come ON, dun be shy now….

*evil smirk*

oh and by the way, dearest whirlpooled…whatever happened to the ‘snippets’ for your story again….??

hhhmmmm??

HMMMM>>>??