Monday, September 24, 2007

Hairspray - the movie musical

Link Larkin (Zac Efron) singing Ladies' choice

I have been a fanatic of musical movies since The Sound of Music, the first musical movie I watched. To me, musical movies are full of energy and bring so much joy when I watch them. So, when I had a chance to watch Hairspray - the musical movie, I quickly ran to the cinema and bought a ticket to watch this movie alone.

The cinema was only half full because it was a matinée show, and mostly are ladies who watch this movie. Accompanied by small cup of 100 plus and popcorn, I sat right in the middle of the cinema that gave me a very good angle view to the big screen. This movie is great and is so fun. I think it has so much more fun compared to Chicago. I love Chicago-the movie musical too, by the way.

Hairspray is full of high-spirited songs and dance moves. It's so colorful. The story is touchy. It's about how you can accept differences among you; the issue between black and white people, between the skinny, popular, and the fat, not so popular, people.

Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnbald, opened the show singing Good morning Baltimore (I love this song so much. Another song I like from this movie is also sang by Nikki, I can hear the bells.). Although the over sized-Nikki Blonsky is a newcomer in the movie industry, she has done a fantastic job as Tracy Turnbald. She and her character, Tracy, have proven to the world that you don't have to be skinny to be a great dancer. I love Nikki Blonsky. Her face is very pleasant and very pretty. She really can act, sing, and dance.

John Travolta as Edna Turnbald, Tracy's super sized-mom, is hilarious. He is a diva alright...:D John is a terrific actor. He can dance even as a fat woman on heeled shoes. His dance is marvelous. I love to watch him singing and dancing in this movie especially when Edna sang (You're) Timeless to me together with Christopher Walken as her comical husband. That scene is so romantic.

Michelle Pfeiffer is brilliant as the villain-Velma Von Tussle. I could never imagine that she could act as a 'pretty' villain perfectly. Her face is too soft to be a bitch...:) But in this movie, she delivered it brilliantly.

Amanda Bynes, as Penny Pingleton, is very cute. I have just watched her in She's the man, at first I couldn't recognize her. The ugly hairstyle of Penny Pingleton made Amanda looked so cute and innocent...:D It's pretty much the opposite of her characters in She's the man.

Other actors and actresses also delivered each character perfectly. And of course, the handsome blue eyes-Zac Efron, is so great to be Link Larkin. I love to see him singing and dancing and I want to see him more. I wonder if he will ever be casted together with my other lovely blue-eyes favorite actor, Daniel Radcliffe. Oh my God! Just the thought has made me go crazy... :D (BTW, I did watch them being in the same show, the Rove live show. If I were there sitting in the audience seat, I'd probably be fainted.. :D Luckily I only watched it on youtube..he..he..he).

Anyway, back to Hairspray..:)
This movie is a must watch if you want to feel happy. I found myself smiling all the way until the end of the movie. I just felt so good after watching this movie. Why would I want to watch movies with so many brutal murder and killing scenes. To me, life is already harsh enough with many people killing the innocent people brutally. When I watch movie, I want to be entertained. I want to feel good about life so yeah...Watch Hairspray - the movie musical, you'll feel great and happy after you get out of cinema. I found myself humming Good morning Baltimore as I walked out of cinema...:D

Friday, September 14, 2007

How to prepare yourself for an earthquake

Visit this website to find out (in bahasa Indonesia):
http://www.bmg.go.id/antisipasi.asp

Stay alert and be safe always!

What a nightmare! - Sumatera earthquake

This morning, I received an email from my best friend whose family lives in Padang closed to the sea. Her family has evacuated to a safer place because the ground in Padang just keeps on shaking. There were 30 aftershocks following the 8.4 Richter scale-earthquake that struck Bengkulu and Padang in Sumatera, Indonesia, last Wednesday, 12 September 2007.

Talking about earthquake, I can imagine how bad it feels to live in Padang when every now and then the ground shakes and the walls crack here and there. You pray hard that your house will be spared from collapsing while you are on guard 24/7 for the tsunami that may come like a thief in the middle of the night rampaging through your beautiful coastal area along its way. You feel intense every minute of your life. The intensity is higher if you live close to the sea. While trying to stand still on the shaking ground, you've got to prepare for evacuation of your whole family to a higher ground or to somewhere you think is safer. An earthquake which is tagged along with a tsunami warning does bring trauma and sad memories to everyone who has survived the 2004 incident in Aceh.

In Malaysia, we are also on guard of any movement of the ground. In Ipoh, there are 3 reported incidents of huge sinkholes that swallowed part of houses and trees. It's not certain yet if this has a connection with the earthquake that struck Sumatera but the incidents happened before and even at the same time with the earthquake.

As I live in a high building, I am on guard all the time to make sure that I am prepared to evacuate the building a.s.a.p. I feel so intense all the time until I get headache and bit of chest pain. My concern is always my son. I don't dare to leave him alone at home only with my maid. I can't sleep at night and keep on waking up just to check and recheck the situation again and again and I don't even live in Padang or live near the coastal area.

I'm telling you...it's a nightmare living in this kind of situation. So, I can understand how the people in Padang and Bengkulu must be feeling at the moment. All I can do is just to pray for everyone. Be strong! God never leaves you. Have a strong faith in Him.

You know what I really wish at the moment, my dear friend? I wish I was there with you in NZ though I know NZ is also an earthquake prone area. I think Borneo island is quite safe from earthquake but I'm not sure either because the adjacent island, Sulawesi, is prone to an earthquake. So, just be alert all the time.

Check this website to find out where the ground has shook in Indonesia: http://www.bmg.go.id/gempaterkini.asp

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

My IQ test result

While waiting for my son to get ready for grocery shopping, I took this Classic IQ test by Tickle just to tease my brain a little bit because I think it's a bit rotten... :D
So, after completing a 14 pages questionaires, here is the result:

Your IQ score is 120

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.

Your Intellectual Type is Word Warrior. This means you have exceptional verbal skills. You can easily make sense of complex issues and take an unusually creative approach to solving problems. Your strengths also make you a visionary. Even without trying you're able to come up with lots of new and creative ideas. And that's just a small part of what we know about you from your test results.

I don't know whether this result is good or not but at least now I know why I always have loads of crazy ideas inside my head..:D..:D

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

High School Musical 2


I had marked my calendar long time ago to make sure that I wouldn't miss High School Musical 2 (click this link and you'll get addicted :P) shown on Disney Channel (Astro Ch. 61). So last Sunday at 7.30pm local time, I was glued to my couch to watch this great Disney original movie.

I think this show is marvelous. I love this show very much because this show has successfully brought me back to the time when I was in my high school. This is what teenagers' life is about; bright, colorful, energetic, full of great memories of friendship and puppy love affairs.

HSM2 has high quality casts that really can dance, sing, and act beautifully. They sang and danced with high energy. The love story is so sweet and so cute. The friendship story very much represents what a teen friendship all about. HSM2 also has great songs and dance moves it made me speechless and breathless watching that show (because if I sang and danced together with them, I would shake the whole building and my neighbors would send a police patrol to catch me for creating a local earthquake..he..he..he..The fat woman danced!!..wha..ha..ha..).

Oh how I miss those times when I was so young, so innocent, so full of energy, so skinny, so busy, and had so many friends tailing me in what ever I did. I love to sing and dance since I was very small. During my teen time, I was a member of my school dance team. I always performed during every school celebration and I even performed outside my school events. I performed traditional and hip hop dances. I was also a member of my school choir.
As a teenager, my day would start at 5am and I would return home at around 7pm. Even during my 1 day weekend (which was only Sunday because my high school day was from Monday to Saturday), I would leave the house so early in the morning because by 6am, I had to be in my school for Paskibra training. Honestly, I have no idea how to translate Paskibra in English. What I know is that Paskibra stands for Pasukan pengibar bendera. I usually had my dance training in the afternoon.
In between my busy schedule at school, I still had to go for French language course twice a week and to go for my modeling show to earn some pocket money to help my parents.
As a teenager, I also followed the trend of going to the party (usually my friends' sweet 17 birthday parties) and going to a dance club and would return home at 3 o'clock in the morning! Oh well, to think about it now, as a mother, I am not sure if I will be able to let my son go to the dance club 'till 3am... :-|
But the good thing is that I have never ever touched, gone near or had anything to do with drugs and such. I didn't even smoke. So, my parents trusted me. I just wanted to dance and to have fun with my friends. Sometimes, my dad would follow me to the dance club. My dad would be my dance partner and my bodyguard. I really didn't mind this at all. I felt safe because I knew no one would dare to touch me... :D

Now things have been so different to me. I am not as energetic as before. My body is out of shape. I am not as good looking as before and my schedule is focused on raising my beloved son.
I still love to dance though and I am a member of Jazzercise.com Malaysia. Now I dance to keep fit and to loose some weight. At home I sing and dance with my beloved son. So, while watching HSM2, I kept on telling my son that teenage time is the best period of your life time.


Friday, September 07, 2007

Matta Fair in Kuala Lumpur

The great travel exhibition, Matta (Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents) fair, is back for 3 days starting today, 7th September 2007. It is held in Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur.

This is great opportunity for you to plan your next vacation to all domestic destinations or international destinations. There will be many great travel packages for you to choose and each travel agents will be delighted to help you to make your traveling time as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

Go visit Matta fair now. Make sure you don't miss this great exhibition.