So what's new with you ?

Well I've had a recent addition to my hat wardrobe in the form of Ratty, the plague rat from UK.

Warm , fuzzy and bubonic, what more could a person ask for in a fashion accesory ?












Seriously though, what have I been up to ?

Let's see.....a few weeks back, I went to the KOMAS Freedom Film fest (http://www.freedomfilmfest.komas.org/) held at Taylor's College.

It was very surreal going back to Taylor's especially when everything seems to have changed so much ( the shops look completely different ) since I was there 6-7 years back. Kinda makes me feel old. Anways...nostalgia moment over.

I watched a number of films but what was funny was that the bulk of the Malaysian entries e.g Andrew Sia ( o he of the Star's Weekender Teh Tarik fame ) 's Kopi O Khau Kurang Manis, despite being reasonably provocative, tried to mask it's inherent uneasiness in dealing with *ahem* "no-no" taboo issues of police corruption/brutality by using a lot of unnecessary humor, which I felt, made it a bit too light. Then again that's just me. I'm no activist.

But it was an interesting way to spend my weekend. Plus it was a lot more interesting to say that I went for an independent film fest focusing on documentaries on freedom of speech and human rights when people asked me what I did over the weekend as opposed to the usual " work-work + tv + catching up on lost sleep".

I also happened to be at Bar Savanh that same weekend, it's this joint down at Heritage Row somewhere beside Sheraton Imperial, for some drinks with a friend/colleague who will be going away soon to work in the UK. Not my kind of thing, clubbing/pubbing. Had some amused co-workers who asked me to stop using my "Work-Face" and loosen up. To which I replied. " I have only one setting, unfortunately and this is it"

Enough about what I've been up to..Back to the program.

Seen anything interesting lately ?

Well. Not really. I am quite pleased that NTV7 has brought back the last few episodes of Threshold, an excellent concept driven sci-fi series about an alien signal and this shady government agency ( American, no less. Typical ) that has to stop it from spreading. I am quite worried though because I read that they axed the show before it could get to the end of the first season. Which is surprising because there is a lot of junk out there that is far worse.

Movie wise, I'm planning to see the "Banquet" but am worried that it might be a massive flop.

Read any good books lately ?

Sadly. No. Have re-read Freakanomics by Steven whats-his-name and have found the second reading to be disappointing. I mean, yes, it is all very interesting how all these statistics and facts seem to lead to counter-intuitive conclusions but what does it all mean really?

Any new music ?

Well I've suddenly discovered myspace and some local Malaysian bands like (the?) Ferns and Furniture but can't seem to find their albums on sale anywhere.

Currently still hunting for the Guillemots- Thru the broken window pane and listening to the Such Great Heights by the Postal Service. It's catchy and guiltily very poppy in a rock kind of way.