Back on stage, the last thing you might now expect to see is some of the most jaw-droppingly brilliant breakdancing this side of a Jason Nevins video. Teamed with a spot of stripping. "Eess so hot in here, I have to take off my pantelone!" announces Miguel. The others follow suit and suddenly Archerio is vigorously spinning on his head in a tiny pair of 1970s swimming trunks and knee-high socks, while Kengo windmills about the stage at high speed, wearing just baggy Y-fronts and a huge smile. Somehow they manage to sing in between too. Miguel, meanwhile, has stripped to a shiny, silver thong and feigns backache, bending over gratuitously to reveal, well, a lot more than it'd be lady-like to take too close a look at. Though that's not always possible: Miguel has been known to strip completely - and then stage-dive. Whether it's the unusual combination of laughing violently while dancing, the joyously cheesy tunes, or just the energy and huge smiles emanating from the stage, there's something euphoric in the air. Welcome to the wonderful, weird and totally brilliant world of the Cuban Brothers.

Tonight. Heineken Green Room Sessions. Zouk. 10 pm.

Am I going to be there? Hell ya. If they're even half as good as what I've read, then it'll be entirely worth it.

If you had any doubts as to whether Snakes on a Plane was a real movie or if it would ever be released, doubt no further. The official web site is up.

Is nothing sacred? Apparently, Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management, rules he came up with during his 33 years at Raytheon, were written down, after all. An observant engineer, Carl Durrenberger, noticed the similarities between Swanson's rules and W.J. King's The Unwritten Laws of Engineering published in 1944. He subsequently posted the accusation,"Bill Swanson of Raytheon is a plagiarist!" on his blog.

What happens next? Swanson apologises for the misunderstanding and not attributing the rules to the correct sources, the Board of Raytheon dock his pay and his little manuals are no longer being distributed.

Bah. And I was so inspired too.

I've just been so incredibly tired for the last few weeks... and even though I got quite a lot of sleep last night, I'm feeling exhausted today. I don't want to talk to go out, I don't want to waste energy talking to anyone, I just want to lie in my air-conditioned room and sleep.

And on a completely unrelated note, I've purchased a fair number of dresses over the last few months. I bought some of them online (meaning I didn't have a chance to try them on prior to buying them) and they fit when they arrived. However, the ones I bought from regular shops after trying them on and which fit at the time of purchase are now a little too big and I have to get them altered before I can wear them. Ugh. They're going to be b*****es to alter.

I caught X-Men: The Last Stand yesterday night. I wasn't really impressed with the first two installments of the trilogy, but having grown up on the X-Men comics, I wasn't ready to give up on the franchise just yet. After all, this was the episode in which we get to see Dark Phoenix!

Much to my disappointment, the movie wasn't at all faithful to the comic. Instead, we get some storyline involving someone discovering and manufacturing a "cure" for the mutant gene. That in itself wasn't that lame, but the resultant exposition was. If Brett Ratner seriously meant this as a metaphor for say, homosexuality, then his treatment of the different mutants' reactions to this revelation sadly dumbed down any noble intentions he might have had.

Another complaint - and I'm not sure whether anyone else could have done a better job with this - is that there were too many characters. There simply wasn't enough time to focus on all of them. On top of the cast from X2, now, we have Colossus, Shadowcat, Iceman, Angel and Beast sharing the limelight as well... and that's just the good guys! There just wasn't enough time to develop any of them adequately. I swear, Colossus didn't even say a word during the entire movie. I feel so sorry for the actor.

On the acting front, Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Kelsey Grammer (Beast) did rather well. And of course, Sir Ian McKellan as Magneto simply kicked ass.

And while Halle Berry (Storm) did get to do a lot more (spin around in a tornado, create storms, etc.), her acting... well, I know she's supposed to be the leader of the X-Men and all (it's mentioned as the reason why she reprised the role) but she certainly didn't act like it. She didn't act like the goddess that Storm in the comics was. She seemed rather on the wimpy side. Famke Janssen (Jean/Dark Phoenix) didn't do much either, other than stand in really nice looking costumes and look menacing. And don't even get me started on Vinnie Jones (Juggernaut)! His face and his accent just made me laugh whenever I saw him onscreen.

That being said, I did enjoy the movie. I felt the special effects were awesome. I'd go see it again just for that.

Oh dear. Cafe Cosmo is closing down. This weekend will be their final weekend.

Serenaide will be performing tomorrow at 9 pm, with We:Union taking over at 10 pm, while the Cosmo All-Stars will be playing on Saturday night from 8 pm onwards.

Another day at the office:

A (referring to takeaway lunch): What should I get for X?
B: A sense of humour, basic human courtesy...
A: I've only got $10!

Before this morning, the only thing I knew was that I'd be going into work and having a meeting regarding the regional council which is being set up to help develop and guide the junior resources in my division in Asia (of which I am one). I had volunteered to be on the committee and today, we were meeting for the first time and would have to choose a chairperson.

Given my newness in the company, as well as my natural fear of public speaking - my face turns red and my legs start to tremble in the more extreme cases (which is why I tend to be wearing a pants suit whenever I have to give a presentation) - I didn't think I wanted to put myself through this, having usually been content with following and assisting, rather than leading and inspiring. However, as I got into the office, I thought, heck it! I've been a leader before - in secondary school, in university, heck, even in my previous job - and I damn well can do this too. I've always liked a challenge and this seemed to me an ideal time to finally get over my natural fear of public speaking and senior managers. And yes, it'd do wonders for my career development if I get it right.

So, in the afternoon, and starting to exhibit the symptoms of over-caffeination, I stepped up to the plate, and went head to head with the other candidate (who was pretty strong and would probably have made a good chairman since his location has a larger number of junior resources than mine does) and tried to persuade the others on the committee to vote for me. And I succeeded.

I'm thrilled, excited and scared. But I've done this before. I've been thrown into the deep end and done more than just survive. And I sure as heck can ace this too.

After two consecutive days of Indian food and a dinner of Chakey's Serangoon salt-baked chicken (available from Tang's food basement at reasonable prices of S$14 to S$16 depending on the size), you'd think I'd be craving for far healthier dishes.

Instead, I feel like having a cheese fondue. There're only two places in Singapore I know of which sell that: Swiss Culture at Suntec and The Tavern on River Valley Road.

Failing that, I just might dig up my mum's fondue making thingy one of these days.

Classic Cheese Fondue
8 ounces Emmentaler cheese
8 ounces Gruyere cheese
3 tablespoons kirsch, brandy or other preferred liqueur
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 cups dry white wine
Pinch of ground nutmeg
8 cups of 2-inch bread cubes or flat bread, cut into large pieces

Shred cheese coarsely and set aside. Mix kirsch or liqueur with cornstarch in small bowl and set aside. In pot, heat wine over medium-high heat until it simmers gently. Add cheese in batches, stirring until melted. Lower heat to medium. When cheese begins to thicken slightly, add kirsch mixture, stirring vigorously until well incorporated and fully thickened. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve in warming bowl with bread or flatbread. Makes 6 servings.

Baybeats is back! And the full schedule can be found here.

I'm not sure yet which day(s) I'll be done, but Sunday's line-up looks interesting. If only they'd stop holding Baybeats on the same weekend as my father's birthday dinner.

Oh, and *does the Happy Dance* I've got Coldplay tickets!

Mark Gilbert writes, "if banks were musicians, Citigroup would be Ozzy." He then goes on to liken nine other large banks to musicians, comparing Merrill Lynch to Madonna (oh, come on!) and HSBC to "any boyband." Ha ha! Burn!

8) HSBC = any boyband

Guns N' Roses has been poised to release "Chinese Democracy'' for a decade. While some tracks have been performed live or been leaked in rough form, the album itself still isn't available. HSBC Holdings Plc has been poised to use its platform in Asian investment banking as the springboard to become a fully fledged global investment bank for at least as long.

HSBC, though, could be any manufactured boyband. The true performers earn peanuts, while the management reaps the financial rewards. And, if there is a genius Robbie Williams lurking in the line-up, there's too much dead wood for the talent to shine through.

An interesting article on the economic value of variety. Though it was written in 2004, it's still relevant. It explains why I'm willing to fork out six times more to eat at Straits Kitchen even though realistically, all I can finish is usually a plate of duck rice, some roti prata and a couple of pieces of goreng pisang. I like having many options to choose from, even if I end up taking only two out of the multitudes available.

Still, I know I've definitely felt the negative impact of having too many choices, but ultimately, isn't variety the spice of life?

In a recent working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Professor Weinstein and Christian Broda, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, estimate how much international trade has benefited consumers simply by increasing variety. (The paper is available here.)

The results are striking. Consumers, they estimate, would be willing to pay $280 billion a year, or about 3 percent of gross domestic product, to have access to the variety of goods that were available in 2001, rather than what they could have bought in 1972. That represents a huge, previously uncounted rise in the standard of living. It also suggests that measurements of real price increases, like the Consumer Price Index, are overstated.

Heaven please send to all mankind,
Understanding and peace of mind.
But, if it's not asking too much
Please send me someone to love.

Show all the world how to get along,
Peace will enter when hate is gone.
But, if it's not asking too much,
Please send me someone to love.

- Sade - Please Send Me Someone To Love

Some of the more quirky photos I took when I was in Rome in December.

This was such a cute sign although the cause of it is a little sad. This was take along Via Cola di Rienzo.


This was found while walking around the Jewish Ghetto. It'll be a miracle if they don't get sued.


(Warning: a little on the R-rated side) And yet another McD's-related photo... It looks as if someone tried to clean it up... though not very hard!

Knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying.
- Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy - Episode 1.06: If Tomorrow Never Comes)

I'm glad to say that in my personal life, I've always tried. I've encountered some fairly spectacular failures which have all left their mark on me, but at least I can stand tall, knowing that in spite of the fear of failure, I always gave it a shot.

Some of the more outrageous things I've done included:

• Going out with a bunch of marines I met on my first night in Berlin to grab a couple of beers even though I was incredibly jet-lagged and exhausted from three incredibly rigorous weeks of work-related training.
• Walking around deserted Ljubljana from 11.30 pm to 3 am with an American who I had just met about an hour before.
• Walking up to a stud I saw in a bar in front of all of his friends and asking for his phone number.
• Telling a friend of mine that I'd been having the biggest crush on him for the longest time and that even though he was going overseas to work, I wanted him to know that. As it turned out, he didn't feel the same way about me, but as the saying goes, knowing is better than wondering.
  
• Turning up at the same place where a person I was deeply enamoured with was at and giving him a Time Out chocolate bar because, as I told him, "I know you've had a rough week and I thought you'd like some time out." This was about a few weeks after we had first met, after he had called me five days in a row just to chat about anything and everything and after he had dropped by my office at 10 pm to bring me out for a cup of coffee when I was working late. On the same occasion as the Time Out incident, I met the girl he was attending the event with. She turned out to be his ex-ex-ex-ex-(etc.) girlfriend and subsequently, his girlfriend.

Some of them, quite obviously, hurt, while others didn't. And of course I cringe whenever I think about some of the stuff I've done. I mean, come on! The very last item listed? It's like one of the things you see on American "dramedies" like Ally McBeal or Grey's Anatomy. Almost humiliating yourself by doing something really sweet and quirky for someone you've decided you're going to go out on a limb for and risk being thought of as someone who's a little too earnest, a little too sweet and a little too silly? And then right after that, meeting "the other woman" and then wondering, "wait a second, what if I'm the other woman and not her?"

Oh well.

At least, I can say that I tried. And no, I don't regret what I did. It made one heck of a story to tell the girlfriends.

I wish I could say the same thing about my professional life though.

(P.S. If you're wondering why I've got so many Grey's Anatomy quotes, it's because I watch them twice a week, once on Monday at 11 pm on Channel 5 (Season 2) and another on Wednesday at 9 pm on Starworld (Season 1).)

I lied... We're not just friends. I mean, I'm not. He's still McDreamy.
- Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy - Episode 2.15: Tell Me Sweet Little Lies)

Let's see this at Mambo Jambo!

Seriously. I'd admire that guy for the rest of my life for being that brave.

(via Boing Boing)

Underworld play live on the Internet on Saturday, 13 May 2006, from 2204 h (British Standard Time).

Tune in live via UnderworldLive.

The Emperor strikes back.

Looks like the bak chor mee seller called in a favour from his pai kia friends to well and truly 'fix' his errant customer.

I don't know if there'll be an Episode VI: Return of the James in this case though...

Intimacy is a four syllable word for "Here are my heart and soul - please grind them into hamburger and enjoy.
- Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy - Episode 1.04: No Man's Land)

It's like at first sight for me with Grey's Anatomy. I just caught my first glimpse of it yesterday (Ep 5 Shake Your Groove Thing) and enjoyed the cast (Katherine Heigl, Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington are very easy on the eyes), the storyline and the music. And unlike some other shows (*coughs* second season of The O.C. *coughs*), there is most definitely chemistry between Meredith and Derek (the smile on Meredith's face when she spotted Derek as she was dancing drunkenly outside of her house was incredibly sweet and very much the smile of a woman in love), as well as Preston and Cristina (their embrace at the end of Ep 1.05 was hot). I also like the scriptwriting. It's safe to say I'll be doing my best to catch the rest of the season.

Have you ever thought that even if I am an adulterous bitch and Satan, that I still might be the love of your life?
- Addison Shepherd (Grey's Anatomy - Episode 2.04: Deny, Deny, Deny)

"Better to sell a dream than to cut it down to size," a friend of mine writes.

It got me wondering - whatever happened to my dreams? For that matter, what were the dreams I had? I remember half-baked goals and ambitions which were stated in jest, but other than aiming to work in London or New York one day, I can't seem to recall any one serious dream I had. And that's rather bewildering.

I don't know if it's because I didn't have any in the first place or if I've allowed myself to become the kind of person I said I would never want to be when I graduated - the kind of person who's rationalised her current situation even if it's not the ideal she hoped it would be, the kind of person who's grown rooted to where she is because "things could be worse."

These days, I feel rather lost, still searching for the kind of person I want to be, for the kind of things I want to do. At the same time, I acknowledge that I'm almost comfortable where I am. I make a decent living, I have great friends and family. Singapore ain't so bad, I think to myself at times. Not to mention the fact that in spite of my rather angsty writing, I usually choose the most pragmatic course of action. I mean, to give up everything I have here, and go to another city and start over... it's a scary thought. And life here, as I stated earlier, is not that bad.

Have I allowed my dreams to be cut down to size? For that matter, was I the one who did the cutting?

This is rather amusing. Cologne isn't that big a city but I don't recall there being a red light district when I visited the city in 2003. I guess it wasn't mentioned in my guidebook. Heh.

Media banned from red light district

The German city of Cologne has banned foreign press from its red light district in the run-up to the football World Cup, after prostitutes complained about journalists chasing away their customers since British media reports raised global interest in local "drive-in brothels".

My friend was telling me yesterday that another person had told her that there are really only three men in your life:

• the one you love the most,
• the one who loves you the most,
• and the one you end up marrying.

Only the lucky ones get to meet one that combines all three.

As for me, it feels as if I've met only one of the three... and I just don't feel quite capable of "loving as if I've never been hurt before" any more. And right now,if I had to choose, I'd rather that the guy I marry - whoever and wherever he is - ends up loving me more than I love him. I'd rather that because I know having it the other way round sucks big-time.

For all of you who played video games in the '80s and '90s (and I was so one of them despite being a girl), here's a little nostalgia: live action Super Mario Bros from a talent show at Gordon College.

I'm also looking forward to catching Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children if it ever comes out in Singapore. Final Fantasy VII is one of my favourite computer games of all time, and though I never completed it (got caught up in one of the bonus games trying to kill the Ruby Monster), to this day, I still harbour thoughts of returning to it and trying to get through it once and for all. That, and I had the hugest crush on Cloud when I was playing the game. Japanese anime guys are out of this world.