More celebrity doodles

It's a conspiracy, I tells ya

Last night, I received an sms from a friend asking me out for a movie next week with her husband and a 'friend'. My spidey senses tell me something is adrift.

I must have the sign "Single" plastered on my forehead or something.

Not that I'm complaining or anything, this makes it a lot easier for me, I don't have to go out to meet men, people are bringing them to me! Sweet!

Is this a sign?

Today I had two calls from my auntie and cousin, both wanting to introduce me to "very nice and sweet boys". My aunt passed along my number and email address, while cousin wants to set up a casual walk on Sunday. Hmm...

Teriyaki wha?

m-flo and Rip Slyme to team up to record US debut

Whee, m-flo and Rip Slyme are my two favouritest Japanese groups. I can't wait to hear what sort of songs they will come up with, but the name the name - Teriyaki Boyz? What is with the cutesy Japanesey names? And the misspelling? That misspelling of 'Boys' particularly irks me. Ugh.

- via Little Yellow Different

Friday doodle

ShooStories: Burn, baby, burn

#24

The Shoo: Sienna, but not Miller
When: sometime late 2003
Where: Zara, Liat Towers

The Story: When I was a little girl, I had a pair of red patent shoes. My mum tells me they were one of my favourites, no doubt because of their colour (deep blood red, and it's the closest to pink), and the little bow in front. Apparently I always clamoured to wear them, I suspect because I wanted to be Dorothy in her sparkly mary-janes in the Wizard of Oz, and also the dance-crazy girl in that old, old ballet The Red Shoes.

Red says passion, power, with a certain I'm not afraid to take on the world dash to it. And also, they tend to spice up an all-black outfit terribly well. So that's why I'm on a hunt for a pair of red shoos. So far, the search is not so good, and the closest I've come to it is these pair of Zara heels. When in the shop, I tried to fool myself into thinking they were red, but after trying to match it with various outfits, I couldn't fool myself any longer. They're burnt orange, not fire-engine red. Back to the shopping board, it is.

Bonus!

I'm wearing them today!

Social Monday

It's not often I go out on a Monday after work, since it's so close to the wrong side of the weekend and is generally for spending the evening at home, moping the long days ahead to the next weekend. But my mother decided to treat me to tickets to catch Bar at Buena Vista, knowing that I like the Buena Vista Social Club.

I'm so glad we went. It was a fantastic performance, and it tickled me to see despite the age of some of the performers, they still had so much life and gusto in them. I was especially awed by piano genius Rubalcaba, as he effortlessly danced off tunes like Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and other familiar songs with such jazzy improvisations. My mother said if ever she could wish for just one skill in life, it would be to able to play like that anytime. And I agree. I'd love to be able to sit down to at a piano and turn jangly chords into pure music off the top of my head.

The oldest performer, 87 year old singer Reynaldo Creagh, despite his wizened and small performance still had such a powerful voice. After each song, he would retire to a rocking chair in the middle of the stage and doze off, while the Cuban dancers and sound of the bongos swirled around him. And as for the dancers, we were totally wowed by a male performer who seemed to have liquid for legs, as he glided from one side of the stage to the other and did all sorts of cool tricks with his partner. At the end, the group made everyone get up on their feet and dance to the music. And that's when you could see all the salsa lovers in the crowd dancing away (or showing off). I think concerts like these are best suited to bars with nice big dance floors, then you can sit down in a nice dark corner, sip a drink and get and boogie anytime you feel like it.

Now I wish I could go to Havana, and feel the whole Cuban vibe. But it looks like I'll have to settle for my Buena Vista Social Club CDs.

Great moments in Movie history

Sure there’s the Oscars and the Golden Globes, but their awards are all Best Actor, Best Cinematography etc, but is there a single award for Studliness? I think not! I therefore think it is my duty to rectify this glaring omission by hereby conferring my own Studliness awards – great moments which I feel should not be forgotten in the hallowed annals of film. Here, I capture, in freeze-frame moments, that one single orgasmic moment in various movies:

Hugh Jackman in Kate & Leopold

Yes, I admit Kate & Leopold was an abysmal movie. Meg Ryan looked old and wrinkly, the story was quite lame and full of holes, and the fashion wasn’t exactly very inspiring either. But before you dismiss this movie entirely, please try to recall that one scene where Hugh Jackman leapt onto a horse and pursued a mugger who dared to steal Meg Ryan’s purse. The grandest moment was when Leopold drew himself up in his full splendour atop the horse, with reins in hand, and said to the hapless mugger, “I warn you scoundrel, I was trained at the King's Academy and schooled in weaponry by the palace guard. You stand no chance. When you run, I shall ride, when you stop, the steel of this strap shall be lodged in your brain.” Yes, that is when I gasped, aloud, in the cinema hall in sight of this amazing display of manliness.

Jonathan Rhys-Meyer in Bend It Like Beckham

So, all along in this movie, all you saw was Johnny in his trackies. Not very exciting, you know. A little skinny, rather ordinary. But then, he had to go to Jess’s house to convince her about something or other. Her dad goes to open the door, and there you see Johnny, backlit in the sunlight in a white shirt. And at that exact moment, I swear every single woman in the audience gasped, when he did the ‘hero’ spin-around, like a casual ‘oh I was just looking elsewhere while waiting for you to open the door.’ Just that one moment alone was enough for me to forgive his little poncy swagger while playing cricket at the end of the movie. (I was quite tortured after the movie about his orientation, but thankfully thanks to the magic of google, I have found out that he is reassuringly straight.)

Viggo Mortensern in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

I have to admit when I first watched Lord of the Rings, I was rather taken with pretty boy Orlando ‘Legolas’ Bloom, then an unknown. And I thought little Frodo was quite cute too. But as I followed the trilogy, I discovered that pretty boys didn’t quite do it for me, it was the manly types that had true studliness and staying power. So this is the man who would be King. He has to go and discover himself, and prepare himself for his destiny, so this makes for lots of brooding, knitting of eyebrows, eye piercing looks and waving of big swords. I cannot pinpoint any one great moment in this trilogy, but be assured there were many, many great moments. Viggo is one man who makes dirty straggly hair look sexy. However, one must note that his sexiness quotient went down once he prettied up as king, with newly-shampooed locks and braided hair (nancy boy!). Give me prefer rugged stubble any day.

James Franco in The Company

Yes, the dancing was fabulous in this movie, but what made this movie fabulouser was James Franco as Neve Campbell’s cheffy boyfriend. Let’s go back to the night when he stayed over her place. She wakes up to find him making her breakfast. Isn’t that just so sweet? But wait, there’s more, not only is he making breakfast, he is making breakfast SHIRTLESS. Yes please, I too want to wake up to a hunky chef boyfriend cutting tomatoes shirtless at my kitchen. Talk about food porn.

Where to shop for shoos

*Updated!*

Hello Anonymous, thank you for your comment a couple of posts back. It's a little hard to respond to you since you didn't leave a name and email address, so I've decided to do it directly on my blog. You've mentioned a great idea though, to start a thread on where to buy the best shoos in Asia. I'm really flattered you asked me, so I shall do my best!

Let's start with Singapore. We do indeedy have lots and lots of shoe shops here on our tiny little island that stock lots of small sizes, but as far as I'm aware, a lot of them don't have a web presence. Here are a couple which I know have a website, a product catalogue and ship to international addresses:

Online Shopping

Charles & Keith
If you've visited S'pore recently, I'm sure you've come across this brand. My Canadian friend who lived here for a while adored this shop, and could buy up to 4 pairs at one go. I have to admit I've never bought a pair from the store before, but I do love their pretty summery designs.

VNC
This is actually a Malaysian brand, and is known as Vincci in Malaysia. The website prices are listed in Malaysian ringgit, but they have prices in US$ as well, so I guess it's safe to assume they ship overseas.

Product Catalogue

PrettyFIT
As you might gather from the name, they do indeed have very pretty shoes. Unfortunately they dont' seem to have any online shopping options on their site, and what's more, only show their newest arrivals.

X:odus
Again, no online shopping options, but at least you get to see what's in their newest collection. I have to admit though, X:odus shoes aren't what they used to be. When they first started a few years ago, they had very fresh and exciting designs, but since the original owners have sold their business, the new designs aren't quite as cute. Still, some pairs are worth a look.

Ruby Sky Shoes
Little shoe boutique at the Mandarin Hotel shopping arcade with a small collection of heels. To view their shoes, click the 'Press' page.

And would you believe it, these are about the only shoe stores that have websites. When you next visit Singapore, perhaps you would like to visit the following shoe stores:

Local brands

• J West
  
• Substance
• Heatwave (Far East Plaza, same level as the overhead bridge.)
• Little shops in Far East Plaza & the Heeren

International brands

• Novo
• U.R.S.
  
• Nine West
  
• Aldo
  
• Tangs Studio shoe department
• Foot Fetish (Shaw Centre)
  
• On Pedder & Pedder Red (Ngee Ann City)

One last thing, here's an article I found on shoes in Singapore. It lists the various locations of different shoe stores. Go shoe crazy!

And this is probably as good a time as any other to start a thread on where we buy our shoes in Singapore. Girls, where do you shop for your shoes?

ShooStories: More beads!

#23

The Shoo: Silver Sensation
Circa: December 2003
Where: Vincci, either KLCC or Lot 10, KL, Malaysia

The Story: I can never resist a sparkly shoo, and I liked how this pair was slightly reminiscent of the old beaded nyonya shoos. This was bought on the same trip as Arabian Diva, and although I couldn't quite picture what I would wear these with, I bought them anyway. Buy first, match later. I don't really wear these too often, but they do look pretty with a white shirt and a pair of jeans. I should have bought the gold pair as well. Bah.

Hungry

Right now, I'm craving:

• A steaming bowl of ramen, with lots of yummy soup and fatty slices of char siew
• A bowl of prawn mee with pai guat, a la the prawn mee place at Arab St
• Champagne truffle mooncake from Raffles Hotel
• Cornflake cookies
• Feather-thin but crispy prata from any good prata place
  
• Royce chocolates

Mmmm...if only...

Fridays afternoons are for surfing the Internet...

and finding these cool sites:

David & Goliath iPod cases
Why did I not see these when I was in the D&G store in Hawaii? I want I want!

Cute food photos
- via design*sponge, the ultimate interior design candy site

Music from your favourite animes
The ultimate database filled with all the songs featured in your favourite animes. Registration required, it's free!

Seven

Woof! has tagged me with a meme. This required some tinking and soul-searching. So here goes:

7 things that scare me...

1. Scary movies (make me scared to go pee-pee in the middle of the night)
2. War & suffering
3. Flying creepy crawlies that get too close
4. Staying single for the rest of my life
5. If I do get married, that my husband would cheat on me
6. Not having enough money for a comfortable life
7. Not hearing the voice of God

7 things that I like most...

1. Singing my favourite songs out loud in the shower/car
2. Dark chocolate...mmm
3. Being engulfed in a giant hug by a hunka hunk o' burnin' love
4. Hanging out with friends
5. Gawking at trashy celebrity sites/tabloids to see what celebrities are wearing
6. A deep tissue massage (get all those kinks out!)
7. Sleep

7 important things in my room...

1. My bed! (that includes all the usual accoutrements of pillow, blankie, quilt, million thread-count sheets)
2. The new 'puter
3. My giant stack of CDs and books
4. Fan / air-con
5. Hair-dryer + assortment of hair products
6. Make-up bag filled with prettifying products
7. Collection of bags (I'm an accessory queen)

7 random facts about me...

1. I have perfect pitch - off-pitch singing and out-of-tune instruments sound particularly painful
2. I don't like durian
3. I can't eat chilli
4. I adore pretty stationery
5. My favourite drink is a lychee martini
6. I am very flexible - my pilates instructor once called me Gumby, heehee
7. I wore pigtails to school every day of my primary school life

7 things I plan to do before I die...

1. Travel to my ever-increasing list of places to visit - some of which are Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Italy, Spain, India, Kashmir, Alaska and so many more...
2. Eat an Inn' n Out burger
3. Learn to cook real good
4. Finish reading Anna Karenina
5. Have kiddies
6. Fall in love
7. Build a house with Habitat or another similar organisation

7 things I can do...

1. Put on lipstick without using a mirror
2. Put on lippie and rouge while driving
3. Play the piano and violin
4. Swing dance
5. Always justify buying yet another pair of shoes
6. Matchy-matchy my outfits
7. Try to be a better person everyday

7 things I can't do...

1. Be good in sports
2. Cycle
3. Whistle for a cab (I wanna learn!)
4. Be patient
5. Wear a min-minii-skirt or short shorts (eew!)
6. Remember friends' birthdays
7. Handstands or cartwheels

7 things I say the most...

1. Durrr...
2. Seeya! or Byeee!
3. OK
4. Like (the accursed word. Must stop sounding like Valley girl)
5. What?!
6. Huh? (or other variations like 'harrr?')
7. Hey or Hello or Whassup

7 celeb crushes...

1. Tony Leung Chiu Wai
2. Hugh Jackman
3. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
4. Ewan McGregor
5. Lee Byung Hun
6. James Franco
7. Jake Gyllenhaal

7 people I'll love to see doing this...

Err ok here I have to say I can't do it. I don't know enough people online! But if you lurve doing memes, then go riiight ahead. Just lemme know once you've done it so I can read it. :)

And at last, I'm done! Boy this was hard.

ShooStories: Out with the old, in with the new

#21

The Shoo: Cross my Toe
Circa: sometime 2002
Where: C K Tangs

The Story: Just like the little black heels, I like to keep a staple pair of black slides for when I have no time to think of what shoos to match my outfit, or when nothing in my shoo collection goes with what I'm wearing. I call them the fallback pair. Before I got this pair, I had a pair of Nine Wests, which had served me faithfully for 2 years of almost everyday wear when I was in Australia. I had broken the strap of the left side, and it was held together precariously with black tape, and yet I was loath to part with them. When I came back to Singapore, they finally fell apart and no amount of black tape could save them, and that's when I knew it was time to get a replacement pair.

I found these black sparklies after some searching. It also came in hot pink, and I was initially going to buy that, but the llittle practical angel sitting on my shoulder told me that the black would be mush, mush better. Don't be fooled by its sad and worn appearance. Back in its day, it was really pretty hor.

Bonus!

It looks better on the foot ya?


#22 *Fresh!*

The Shoo: Ladybird, ladybird
Circa: Aug 2005 (bought same time as Bling on my Buckle)
Where: Novo, Suntec City

The Story: It's time to put the abovementioned pair to happy shoo heaven. So this is my replacement pair of black staples. I suspect I won't be wearing them too often nowsadays, because I'm quite over my black phase now. It's all colour, colour, colour for me. But of course, you never know, one day I might be rushing out of the house, and NOTHING will match what I'm wearing, and that's when these ladybirds will come in useful. A girl must always be prepared, y'all.

Bonus!

Albino ladybugs

This September, I am into...

...my new 'puter, downloading anime (Bleach!), watching anime on the 19-inch screen monitor, Meiji strawberry yoghurt, gaucho pants, Style Diary, visiting friends from overseas (hurrah!), going out lots with visiting friends (double hurrah!), white skirts, Raffles Hotel snowskin mooncake, Royce chocolate, shimmery eyeliner from Sephora, trying not to buy any more new things.

My entertainment for the weekend

Did I get a new stereo?

Nope! It's my new PC!

Last weekend, I braved the crowds at Sim Lim and bought a brand new Pee Cee for home. The older one, an ancient Dell with clunky performance had finally died on me and I decided to put it out to pasture. Now I have a sleek black 19 inch LCD screen (comes with free keyboard and mouse!) and a Shuttle-like CPU that also doubles up as a stereo.* Now I have rendered my old stereo obsolete. Perhaps now is the time to buy speakers for my iPod. And then my complete home entertainment system will be set! hurhur.

So I spent the whole weekend doing computery things, like surfing for pretty wallpaper and icons, downloading important programmes like Azureus (all the better to download anime with!), anti-virus software, downloading the latest Bleach episodes, and watching Bleach on big, beautiful screen.

I foresee many nights at home.

*Don't ask me for the specs for my new 'puter, cos I don't remember. I had help assembling this. I just had to give me requirements: must look pretty, must have big-ass screen, must be powderful enough to do some Photoshopping and watching anime and movies. All I remember is it has 512 MB RAM.