Movie: Experiencing the Hangover...

I have finally watched the 3 sequel to the movie 'The Hangover'. However, rather than watching it in a numerical order, I'm watching it in the sequence of 2, 3 followed by 1. However, out of the 3, I still find the 2nd to be the best. Anyway...

The main idea behind the first 2 sequel is pretty straight forward. A group of friends calls for a big celebration and they ended up drinking. As they woke up the following day, one of them has gone missing and none of them has a clue and memories of the events that have happened the previous day. Hence, the search of their important memories and their missing companion begins... As for the last sequel, it's interconnected to the first 2 sequel. However, it's not as hilarious as the first 2 sequel, especially when they have dropped the 'Hangover' idea in the sequel. Either ways, this comedy trilogy is worth giving it a shot and it's one of the better comedies over the last few years. :D

* Click here for the official website of 'The Hangover 3'.

Movie: Shield Of Straw

In order to protect a criminal, are you willing to go against the whole nation?

Poster of the movie 'Shield Of Straw' This movie is based on the novel titled 'Shield of Straw'. In order to seek revenge, an important person of the political circle has put up a death notice which is worth one billion yen. Therefore for the sake of the appealing prize money, the whole nation has gone all out trying to track down and murder the criminal. Therefore, it ended up to be a group of policemen going against the entire country sorta situation. Furthermore, even the people around you, can turn against you within the next second... Therefore at the end of the day, who do you think has committed the most unforgivable mistake at the end of the day? Is it the criminal? Or is it the Policemen that have been protecting the criminal? Or is it the civilians that are trying to kill the criminal for the sake of one billion dollars? Or is it the important person of the political circle, who is trying to seek revenge. Well, this would be a good question that is worth giving a thought. :)

* Click here to find out more about the movie 'Shield Of Straw'. (Japanese website)

Movie: Now You See Me....

and Now You Don't. Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not a magician. In fact, I have seen this interesting movie a few weeks back and I suddenly realised that I haven't written about this movie.

Image taken from the official site of 'Now You See Me'. As for this movie, it's like a mixture of a few movies. There's a bit of the magical elements of 'The Prestige' mixed with the 'Police and Thief' sort of story from a typical 'Police' film. The plot is very interesting. Just when I thought that the movie has come to an end, it continued and ended up to be a far more bigger conspiracy than one could have expected. By the way, although it's supposed to be a film revolving around 'Magic tricks', but I personally find the overall plot of this movie to be far more entertaining. :)

* Click here to find out more about the movie 'Now You See Me'.

Movie: Super Hero of the 21th Century...

In the 21th century, what would be the characteristic of a superhero? Does he needs to be a gentleman or does he needs to be a guy with a strong sense of justice? In fact, I have watched a superhero movie a few days ago. And in the movie itself, it has mentioned that one needs to be a pervert in order to fight for justice. And does it really apply in the 21th century? By the way, the name of the movie would be...

'HK FOrbidden Super Hero'. This is a rip-off of a Japanese Manga in the 90s. Being the child of a Police detective and a SM Queen, High School Student, 'Kyousuke Shikijou', has a hidden Identity and that would be 'HK'. He has unintentionally awaken his special capabilities when he has mistaken a mask with a used ladies panties, which marks the starting point of his perverted superhero life. For the sake of love and justice, a new superhero is born... In fact, most of the superheroes movie out there are mostly movies with a serious plot. As for this movie, it's more of a pretty hilarious superhero movie than a serious movie. The way the hero performs his attack, the conversations that all the characters are making, can be pretty stupid and hilarious too.

Anyway, here's an interesting video that teaches us the various movie theatre etiquette by the unlikely type of superhero, 'HK'.

* Click here to find out more about movie 'HK Forbidden Super Hero'. (In Japanese)
^ Click here to find out more about the movie 'HK Forbidden Super Hero' on
  'Filmgarde Cineplex' website.

The real mask

Just in case anyone is having the thought of getting a mask to protect yourself from the haze, here is my personal view about getting a facial mask.

First of all, you should only be wearing a mask outdoors in order to protect yourself from the haze. It should not be brought inside an air-conditioner room because it might be damaged by the air-conditioning. Pretty much similar to a pair of spectacle. If you have brought a mask from a cold to a warm environment, water can gather around it and eventually spoilt it and defeats the purpose of buying and wearing it. Similarly, if you are thinking of wearing it throughout the whole day, that will work if you are staying in the outdoors for a very long period of time. However, if you are going to step in and out of an air conditioner room, you will eventually spoil it. Therefore logically speaking, in order to protect yourself from the haze, you should be using & changing 2 or more masks per day. And in case you have been speaking behind the mask for a very long period of time, you could also moist the mask and eventually spoil it. That goes for sneezing too. Since you are breathing behind the mask, you are going to inhale all the harmful bacteria. In other words, the moment when you have moist the mask, you should throw it again, as it might deteriorate your health even much more further.

Basically, I'm not against the idea of wearing a mask to protect yourself from the haze. But, if you are going to protect yourself from the haze, I would rather you go all out to protect yourself completely.

I don't believe in shoemaker elves...

Probably most of you out there have heard or read the story of 'The elves and the shoemaker' before. However...

By the way, this article might be a bit too 'dark', therefore are you sure you want to continue reading?

That is merely a fairy tale written by the Grimm Brothers. I don't believe that the shoemaker elves exist in this world and I believe that tasks that was assigned to an individual, he should try to complete the task himself. And at the same time, do not believe that help will be given. Back then, probably I was too native, therefore I will still trust the words of others, but eventually things doesn't really work out that way. After putting too much trust in others hoping that they will help me out, I finally fully understands how meaningful the following 2 liners are.

It might take a long period of time to build a tower of trust, but at the same time, it might take a short instance to ruin it. Words are cheap and actions are everything.

Eventually, at the end of the day, your best source for help will be yourself. Always believe in yourself and at the end of the day, you will be pretty amaze with the amount of things that you can achieve. :D

Anyway, speaking of trust, always ask yourself this question. If a task was given to you and a friend has offer his help, how much help are you going to get at the end of the day? Similarly if a task was given to him, how much help are you willing to offer him? At the end of the day, will the amount of help that you are getting and you are willing to offer going to be the same? If it's different, why would it be different? This would be something interesting for one to really think about. :D

* Click here for the fairy tale 'The elves and the shoemaker' by the 'Grimm Brothers'.

2 more days to...

If you have seen the move 'The DaVinci Code' and/or 'Angels & Demons' before, and if you have developed an interest for it, you probably wouldn't want to miss the following too.

Dan's Brown 'Inferno' (Picture taken from 'The Official Website of Dan Brown'.) After I have pick up the Chinese translated version of Dan Brown's 'The DaVinci Code', I have become a fan of his novels ever since. I have read through all the novels that was written by him and at the same time, watch all the films that were based on his works. Basically, I find the contents of his works pretty interesting. Although it's mostly fictional(?) contents, but to a certain extent, the way that he's remaking it into something far more entertaining and realistic simply makes it even much more irresistible. Therefore I'm looking forward to the release of the new novel 'Inferno'. By the way, there's a timer on 'The Official Website of Dan Brown', that's counting down to the official date of release of the new novel. And you can also get a head start by downloading and reading the excerpt of 'Inferno', which is available on his website.

* Click here for 'The Official Website of Dan Brown'.
^ Click here for the website of the upcoming Dan Brown's Novel 'Inferno'.

Zhī Yīn(知音)

We might be spending over entire life looking for a '知音'. So what's a '知音'? And why is he/she important to us?

In our entire life, we might get to know/meet a lot of people. Regardless how long or short your friendship might be, what are the chances that he/she will be the special one that might ended up to be your '知音'?

So what's a '知音'?

Basically, '知音' is that special someone who understand you pretty well. He/she might might not be blood-related to you but he's the one that can provide you emotional support. For example: if you are stuck in a difficult situation, he's the one that can provide you all the help that you need and he will also be the one that will give you a helping hand when you need it the most. In other words, he's the one that can help you to fill up the missing piece of puzzle inside you. On the other end, he's the same individual that you can share all you laughter, all your worries and all your troubles. Therefore, although life is short, but with the help of a '知音' or two, it will definitely make it much more comfortable and better. :P However, a '知音' is pretty hard to come by but if you have managed to meet such a person, do cherish him.

Singapore: Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum(新加坡佛牙寺龍華院)

Being a Singaporean Chinese, chances where you will step inside a temple and pray are pretty high. Although I'm not the super religious guy but all the Chinese myth and legend have played a pretty role in my life. And at the same time, through those stories, you can really learn quite a lot too. For example, retribution. :P

Located in the outskirts of 'Chinatown' Singapore, would be the 'Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum'.

As I step into the main hall the X number of times, it's like 'Whaoooo'. The view in here is majestic. All the shinning looking Buddha statues that was situated around the main hall was simply breath taking. And seriously, with the number of statues placed inside this hall, I wonder how much time and effort was needed in maintaining/polishing all of them. By the way the name of this main hall is also known as 'Hundred Dragons Hall'(百龙宝殿). I wonder why did they named it 'Hundred Dragons Hall', when there is actually more than a hundred Buddha statues than dragons.

As you walk pass the main hall, you will come across the 'Universal Wisdom Hall'(圆通殿). There's an interesting point about this hall. Pretty much to the western countries, the Chinese have their own set of Zodiacs too. However rather than mapping the zodiac against the month that you are born in, the Chinese Zodiac is map against the year you are born in. As for myself, I was born in the year of the Rat. So what's so special about that? It is believed that behind every Chinese Zodiac, there will be a Buddha watching over you. The Buddha that is watching over those that are born in the year of the Rat would be 'Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva'(千手千眼观世音菩萨). It was believed that this Buddha has a thousand hands and there's an eye on each palm. Pretty Cool huh. Therefore, if you are interested, you can make a trip down here to find out which Chinese Zodiac belongs to you and which Buddha will be watching over you. :)

By the way, as I was making my way towards the rear entrance of the temple, I saw this cool looking stone statue of 2 dragons. This is one of the moments that I seriously hope that I was much more taller so that I can have a better view of the dragons. (By the way, I think that the Chinese dragons look much more better and cooler than the Western dragons. :P)

As for the other levels in the temple, there's a few storeys that is used for displaying the impressive collection of Buddhist artefacts. There's also a small library and a culture shop. I thought that the main hall was already grand enough. However the 4th level of the structure has proven me wrong. The display on this level were far more spectacular than the main hall. All the striking gold stuff were simply too magnificent. Although you can only take photos on the 1st level and the rooftop, but I think that it's a must for you to visit the 4th level even if you are running out of time.

As for the rooftop, the most interesting over here would be the 'Vairocana Buddha Prayer Wheel'(毗卢遮那大光明经咒转经轮藏). The contents of a scripture will be imprint on the gigantic wheel and you just need to spin the wheel slowly in order to read through the contents of the scripture. An innovative and smart move from our great ancestors. (However, rather than reading the contents of the prayer wheel, it ended up being a humongous toy for the kids. :P)

Notes:

• Opening Hours:
  7am - 7pm Daily

* Click here to find out more about 'Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum'
  (新加坡佛牙寺龍華院).
^ Click here for the location of 'Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum'
  (新加坡佛牙寺龍華院)on Google Maps.

Story of the 3 farmers

In the countryside, there's a guy with a very big piece of land. He wanted to grow watermelon in this piece of land. Therefore, he has decided to employ 3 farmers to take care of the land. Farmer no. 1 will be watering the plantation. Farmer no.2 will be getting rid of all the pests. Farmer no.3 will be fertilizing the plantation. At the end of the first year, 100 watermelons were produced. And a big fat bonus was shared among the 3 farmers. However on the second year, as one of the farmers has become a little bit lazy, therefore the number of watermelons produced have halved. And a small bonus was shared among the 3 farmers. Therefore, for the third year, what should the farmers be doing?

1. do nothing.
2. cover all the workload of the lazy farmer.
3. should become lazy too.
4. talk to the lazy farmer.
5. tell the owner to find another farmer to replace the lazy farmer.
6. others?

As for the owner, what should he do?

1. do nothing.
2. find another farmer to replace the lazy farmer, but which 1?
3. others?

As for you, if you are the farmer/ the owner, what are you going to do? (Throughout our life, you will come across with situations like this once in a while. However, how do you handle it and what are the actions that you end up doing?)

A bit about life

This is an interesting passage about life and I find it pretty interesting.

============================== どんなに白い白も、ほんとうの白であったためしはない。一点の翳もない白の中に、目に見えぬ微小な黒がかくれていて、それは常に白の構造そのものである。白は黒を敵視せぬどころか、むしろ白は白ゆえに黒を生み、黒をはぐくむと理解される。存在のその瞬間から白はすでに黒へと生き始めているのだ。 だが黒への長い過程に、どれだけの灰の階調を経過するとしても、白は全い黒に化するその瞬間まで白であることをやめはしない。たとえ白の属性とは考えられていないもの、たとえば影、たとえば鈍さ、たとえば光の吸収等によって冒されているとしても、白は灰の影で輝いている。 白の死ぬ時は一瞬だ。その一瞬に白は跡形もなく霧消し、全い黒が立ち現れる。だが---- どんなに黒い黒も、ほんとうの黒であったためしはない。一点の輝きもない黒の中に目に見えぬ微小な白は遺伝子のようにかくれていて、それは常に黒の構造そのものである。存在のその瞬間から黒はすでに白へと生き始めている…… 谷川俊太郎「灰についての私見」（詩集『定義』）

(My bad translation) Things started off to be white in colour. However, no matter how pure that colour would be, it will still contain small particles of impure(black). Gradually, these particles will grow bigger and bigger and sooner or later, patches of black will ought to appear. Throughout this process, grey colour will be formed and from this moment onwards the colour will gradually darken and it will be impossible to revert back to the same old white colour again. As time goes by, when all the white colour disappear, you will be end up with a pure black colour. However, pure black doesn't exist too. It will also contain small particles of white, and white colour will be formed eventually. And the cycle will go on and on forever... ==============================

After giving the passage up there some thought, the same theory can be applied into our daily life. The environment, trust, love, etc... Everything in this world works the exact same way as the content of the poem. For example, we started off with a clean and healthy environment. After a few years time, the air gets more and more polluted and there's no solution to the problem. Gradually, the air will get too polluted that... Looking from a different perspective, in order to prevent the 'impure' from accumulating, I think that sometimes we should really put ourself in other's shoes. Actions speak better than words. Sometimes by doing/by not doing something, you have unintentionally have made one unhappy/disappointed. In other words, stop making empty promises. However, if you have break your promise, try to find ways to amend it before the 'impure' take over the 'pure' colour. To some extent, it might be a small minor issue to you but it's always those small minor stuff that gets accumulated and burst at one go. :D

New Year

After participating in the event of striking the Night-watch bell for 108 times, it's time to welcome the year 2013. Despite of the crazy cold weather, I still decided to proceed to pay my respect at 'Yasaka Shrine'. In Japan, the first visit to a shrine each and every year is also known as 'Hatsumoode'. The locals will pray for their well-being for the upcoming year on this visit.

Despite of the cold weather, the shrine still managed to attract the attention of a lot of visitors. (In fact, on that very night, there might be more than 100,000 visitors paying their respect at the 'Yasaka Shrine'.)

After paying their respect at the shrine, most people will either buy a lucky amulet, known as 'Omamori', or paper fortune lots, known as 'Omikuji'. (I, myself have went ahead with the 'Omikuji'. O.OV)

After that, I decided to give some of the food stalls located within the shrine compound a try. (What amazed me the most, was the fact that there was this Indian selling spicy Indian food within the shrine compound. And trust me, by eating spicy food during a cold weather can really help you a lot.)

After filling up my stomach with lots of food, it's time for me to return to my hotel. By the time I reached the hotel, it's like 4am in the morning and there's a big surprise waiting for me when I woke up... to be continued.

* Click here to find out more about 'Yasaka Shrine'.

New Year's Eve

Though this is slightly a bit too late, but how did you spend your 2013 New Year's Eve? In fact...

for a start, I went to my favourite Buckwheat Noodles restaurant in Kyoto, Japan on the New Year's Eve of 2013. The name of this restaurant would be 'Honke Owariya'. (In fact, I was eating a rectangular shaped tidbit, also known as 'Soba Ita', which is made from Buckwheat Noodles right now. I was so madly in love with it that I could easily finish a box of it within an hour. By the way, each box contains 50 pieces of 'Soba Ita'.)

'Nishin Soba' This is indeed an infamous Buckwheat Noodles restaurant. The Buckwheat Noodles over here are pretty soft and relatively cheap. And the ingredients are pretty fresh and deliciously good. In fact, after giving this restaurant a try, it have greatly increased my passion for Buckwheat Noodles. However, why did the Japanese have the custom of eating Buckwheat Noodles on New Year's Eve? There's a Japanese saying that states that by eating the Buckwheat Noodles that are pretty thin and long on New Year's Eve symbolises longevity.

After having a delicious meal, I decided to
do a bit of window shopping follow up with...

the task of queueing up outside 'Kodai-Ji' temple. This queue is actually meant for the first 108 people to get a chance to strike the Night-watch bell of the temple on New Year's Eve.

From 11pm onwards, those that were selected one after the other will step forward and strike the Night-watch bell once. Why did they struck the Night-watch bell 108 times? According to Buddhism, 108 symbolises the number of desires that trouble the body and soul of a person. Therefore by striking the bell 108 times symbolise the process of removing all your desires and cleanse your body and soul.

A serious looking me...?

Some other photos that were taken in 'Kodai-Ji'.

After paying a visit to 'Kodai-ji'...to be continued

* Click here to find out more about the Buckwheat Noodles restaurant 'Honke Owariya'.
^ Click here to find out more about 'Kodai-Ji' temple.

2012～2013 Japan Trip - Man V.S. Monkey

I have seen the infamous hot spring Monkeys during my trip this/last year. Let the journey begin.

Before you enter the Monkey park, I would strongly suggest that you do not bring a plastic bag.

Why?

The following shows the outcome of my plastic bag...

One of the hot spring monkeys have snatched my plastic bag away. (There goes my fruit-flavoured sweets~~~)

Besides for the rule of not to carry a plastic bag, here are some other rules that one would have to take note.


Here are some photos of the hot spring Monkeys.

(Click the following image for more photos.)

* Click here to find out more about 'Jigokudani Yaen-koen'.

2012～2013 Japan Trip - Sightseeing

I went on a trip to Japan last December. Throughout my trip to Japan, I have been to numerous places, seen numerous sights and most importantly, learn more about the Japanese Culture. The following are the photos for my recent trip.

(Click the following images for more photos.)

Kyoto
Arashiyama Togetsukyo	Arashiyama Sagano Romantic Train	Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
Arashiyama Kurumazaki Jinja	Yasaka Shrine	Ebisu Jinja
Fushimi Inari Taisha	Kamigamo Jinja	Kiyomizudera
Kyoto Station	New Year Eve and New Year	Nishiki Market
Takimoto	Udon Museum	Ichijoji

Kameoka

Kanazawa
Noh Museum		Kenrokuen

Wakayama

Nagoya
Nagoya Castle	Kakuozan Nittaiji	Oasis 21
Midland Square	Asahi Beer Factory	Atsuta Jinja

Inuyama
Urakuen	Inuyama Castle

Aichi
Oogata Jinja	Tagata Jinja

Matsumoto
	Matsumoto Castle (Crow Castle)

Nagano
Zenkoji Kyojuin Youth Hotel	Zenkoji

Yudanaka
Jigokudani Yaen-koen		Uotoshi-Ryokan

Hiroshima
	Hiroshima Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum + Atomic Bomb Dome

Miyajima
Itsukushima Shrine	>Mt. Misan

Okayama
Okayama Castle(Crow Castle)	Korakuen

Takayama
Hida no Sato	Showakan	Shiroyama Park + Teramachi
Daisyonyudo	Hanasato no Yu	Zenkoji

Hirayu
	Bus Terminal

Shinhotaka
Ropeway	Shinzansou

Shirakawa-Go
	TOYOTA Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute

Mt. Fuji

Others