Friday, May 29, 2009
grand torino

Grand Torino tells the story of Walt Kowalski, a sad and stubborn war veteran from the Korean war who could not come to terms with his guilt for killing innocent people in the war. With a stubborn personality which no one likes, he never got along with his children or their families and dislikes just about everything around him. After the death of his wife, he was left all alone, waiting for his time to come.

Along came his new neighbours, Hmong immigrants from Southeast Asia whom he despises. Thao, a boy among the Hmong immigrants, is constantly being disturbed by a local gang to which his cousin belongs. He was made to steal the '72 Gran Torino from Walt, which he failed to do so. This incident led to Walt becoming a unwilling neighbourhood hero, especially to Thao's mum and his sister, Sue. In order to make amends, Thao was made to work for Walt, a request which Walt accepted reluctantly. Eventually, a good friendship was forged as Walt became a "role model" for Thao to learn from, which he never had.

Through his interaction with his new neighbours, Walt learns to come to accept changes that are happening in his life instead of stubbornly sticking to his old beliefs and prejudices. Knowing that his neighbours will never be at peace as long as the gang was around, Walt decides to take matters into his own hands.

Its a great show, really loved it. I give it 5/5. =D

posted by sc @ 4:32 am

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Sunday, May 10, 2009
a story full of twists and turns

Heh, how times have changed. It was only 6 to 7 years ago when Sir Bobby Robson managed Newcastle United and had them challenging at the top of the table and even in the Champions League, with an entertaining style of attacking football that captured even the neutrals' hearts. Today, after a fascinating number of managers who've come and gone and failed to make any positive impact on the team, The Magpies are currently struggling to preserve their top-flight status after 15 years.

Having been a Newcastle fan for a decade, I have a pragmatic perspective of what has happened at the club and the criticism that comes with it may make me seem like an unworthy fan. Nonetheless, my support for the football club has been tried and tested and people who know me can vouch for my loyalty to the team.

Since the departure of Sir Bobby, the team has always lacked any team chemistry and understanding between the players. Luck has never been on the club's side, which is always suffering from a significant number of injuries to key players season after season. The poor appointment of managers such as Souness and Big Sam by then chairman Freddy Shepherd, has resulted in deteriorating financial stability of the club as well as football played which is little short of "disgusting".

Under Souness, the team was tactically woeful, without a proper system or style, and from then began an era of midtable mediocrity and high potential for relegation. The timely departure of Souness and appointment of Roeder as the new manager managed to save Newcastle even though he was never the first-choice. His reign was cut short by a lack of loyalty on the chairman's part when Big Sam was available for hire after resigning from Bolton (Big Sam was then a favourite to take over from Souness).

There were high expectations when Big Sam took over in 2007 with his achievements at Bolton which was also accompanied by the persistent criticism of his style of defensive, aggressive football. Speculation was rife whether he'll adopt a more attractive style of attacking footballto suit a club like Newcastle or will he bring in his style of football. The latter happened and it worked fine, only for a few games before cracks began to appear in a perpetually tactically-impotent team which lacked team chemistry. The presence of a few talented individual players could not make up for the failings of the team as a whole.

Things did not help during Big Sam's time when after a few games into the season, the club was bought over by Mike Ashley. Although Big Sam was not his appointment, he reluctantly pumped in some cash for the manager and gave him an opportunity to impress. When things didn't go well three-quarters through the season, with relegation a possibility again, Big Sam was given the sack. There was a lot of debate whether Big Sam should've been given more time to have his system well in place before results could show. I couldn't have agreed more with the owner in his decision as Big Sam's tactics just did not suit the club or players who were in the team.

Just when things looked dark and gloomy, with no renown talented managers available for the poisoned chalice that is St. James' Park's hotseat, a masterstroke (apparently at that point in time) by Ashley brought the return of King Kev to the throne. With morale in the team and fans on the up and the return of the brand of attacking football that pleases the fans and suits the players, results came our way and things were looking pretty optimistic for once in a looong time.

Coming in to the 08-09 season, things started off well with a string of decent results. The creation of new positions that have more power and say than the manager after Keegan's appointment seemed strange but acceptable initially. As the transfer window drew to a close, the club did not manage to bring in the players that King Kev hoped to have signed (restricted whether by finances or by the over-riding of decisions by "higher authority" nobody knows for certain). To make matters worse, the signing of Xisco and sale of Milner (apparently against Keegan's wishes) seemed to be the final straw for the traditional manager who firmly believed that he should have total control of player transfers in the club. With that, the Messiah's return was cut short and the club was once again thrown into a turmoil.

The temporary appointment of Joe Kinnear as manager was initially thought of as the biggest joke to have ever happened at Newcastle. I guess this is because the loyal football fans who still hold the club in high regard felt that a club as "big" as Newcastle should be attracting better-qualified managers. What they failed to understand is that Newcastle is no longer a force to be reckoned with as it was years ago and we've been nothing more than a below-average team in the Premier League. This temporary appointment was extended gradually on a monthly basis and eventually to the end of the season, as the club was put on sale by the owner without attracting any interest, partially due to the economic downturn in the world.

Just when the owner recommits himself to the football club, after appeasing the angered fans who demanded his departure for the resignation of the Messiah. Kinnear stabilised the football club to a certain extent and regrettably had to undergo a heart bypass surgery which effectively ruled him out for the season. Another manager's reign was being cut short once again, this time by unforseen circumstances.

Assistant Manager Hughton came into the picture, taking over from Kinnear while he was recovering from his surgery. Results did not come our way and it wasn't long before another temporary manager needed to be roped in to prevent Newcastle from slipping down the table and out of the Premier League. Along came Alan Shearer, recently retired talisman Magpies striker without any managerial experience. Morale has been kept high since his appointment but we will soon see whether it is enough to make up for the failings of the team as a whole.

The commitment of the owner is constantly being questioned after he has lost half his wealth through the football club but who can blame him seriously. Ashley, without any background in football club management, initially came in with a plan to make Newcastle United a sustainable football club that eventually does not require a constant pumping of huge amounts of funding from the owner. It was an ambition worth embracing and supporting but huge mistakes were made on his part due to his lack of understanding of running a football club.

Having been a fan for over 10 years, the club is really at an all-time low with relegation a real possibility like it has never ever been. It is really disappointing as the club finally has a decent group of players who can achieve much more if everyone performed to standard. Ultimately, I guess the "core" (in any sense) of the football club is rotten and being relegated might give it a great chance to freshen things up and solve the problem right at its roots. Practically it is good but for the love of the club I hope it doesn't.

posted by sc @ 1:19 am

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Sunday, August 03, 2008
ronaldo...ronaldo...ronaldo...


His name is always the headlines in the world of English football every alternate day. (almost everyday in fact) I wonder if its only getting on my nerves. Real Madrid has been linked to him even before the Euro's back in June and until now, he's still donning the Red Devils' jersey. What's with the football clubs and players these days I wonder, using all the underhand means to get what they want, be it getting the highly regarded player from the football club's perspective, or getting into their dream team from the player's perspective.


Of course, all that I know comes from the media, we won't know what is really happening betweent the clubs. So far its always been news from Real Madrid claiming that they're still doing all they can to prise Ronaldo out of Man Utd, but I haven't even heard of an official bid being made! Where's the usual routine of making a bid to Man Utd for them to reject/accept or making an enquiry of how much will Man Utd accept before Real Madrid gets their permission to talk to the player about personal terms and contract with the new club? Nope, there seems to be this new routine that's been happening for the past few major signings, some still in the midst of turmoils.


Following Ronaldo's never-ending saga comes Gareth Barry. Ok, so Aston Villa's valued him at £18m (alright, I shan't comment on this amt personally, we'll leave it as it is) and until now Liverpool have not met that valuation. Is there so much for Liverpool to talk about when they refuse to pay that amount? Yep, using Liverpool's "higher position" to unsettle the player and force Aston Villa to accept their offer. The same situation applies to the Ronaldo saga though Man Utd are in a much better position than Villa to be unaffected by Real Madrid's dirty tactics.


Ok, so let's lay everything out clearly. Gareth Barry is 27 yrs of age, coming to the peak of a footballer's career which usually spans from from 28 to 32, hoping to win something during his short career span as a footballer. (which sadly is very unlikely with Aston Villa) With Liverpool he definitely has a chance, everyone knows, and so yah, he definitely wants to leave. He's contracted to Aston Villa for another year, definitely not intending to extend given the knowledge that he's wanted by a bigger club. Villa are so waaayyy disadvantaged.


And how about Ronaldo? 23yrs of age (wow dinnoe he's born in my year, lol), probably the most highly-rated player in the world at the moment, recently have won just about everything he would want with Man Utd, being sought(is this the right word?) after by Real Madrid who hasn't been very decent in their approach. He still has a gd number of years with Man Utd on his contract, so what's there to be said? Does it matter if he WANTS TO go to Real Madrid? Why does it seem like he's being victimised by Man Utd as though Man Utd were the bad guys stopping a man from fulfilling his dreams?


If its all just about the player, then what's the use of having contracts eh? Rightfully he's contracted to Man Utd and so if Man Utd don't want to sell, that's the end of the story. If the player's unhappy and purposely plays crap football to show his displeasure, maybe letting him rot in the reserves ain't a bad idea. The fact is, he has signed a long term contract with Man Utd not long ago and if he regrets it, too bad eh, it was a bad decision on his part and he just has to live with it like a professional and play to the best of his abilities for Man Utd while his contract is still in effect.

posted by sc @ 7:54 pm

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Friday, August 01, 2008
in the valley of elah


Yep...this movie was shown in cinemas in 2007 and its only now that I decided to watch it, lol.

The movie is about a retired Army sergeant Hank Deerfield who received news from the military that his son, who just returned from his tour of duty in Iraq, went AWOL. He drives off to the military base to investigate the incident himself to make sense of it all. Hank met his son's platoon mates who all returned safe and well but no one seemed to want to answer his questions. With the apparent lack of interest from the Police, and the Army that wanted to cover up the incident, he was lucky to have the help of detective Emily Sanders.

His son's charred and dismembered body was soon found somewhere near the military base and with loosely signed credit card bills and videos taken in Iraq retrieved from his son's camera phone (which was slowly sent to Hank through emails after a hacker has decoded the files for him), they managed to uncover the tragedy behind his son's death.

The storyline seemed boring to me intially, hahaha, which was why I only watched it now. Gosh, was I in for a big surprise (and regret to only watch such a highly rated movie so late). This show turned out to be an excellent provocative murder-mystery which leads on to depict the cruel nature of war - how the soldiers are mentally and physically put to the test in a very harsh environment, how war desensitizes people, turning them into cold-blooded, unfeeling human beings who feel nothing about killing people. It makes matters worse when some aren't even sure what they were fighting for...

posted by sc @ 1:41 am

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
free and easy


How time flies, my last post was 3 mths ago! Well, its been another 3 mths for me away from sch, away from any decent part-time jobs again, no regrets though! Well, I was at T3 ytd wif the gang sending Wen You off to Shanghai for NOC. Hope he does well over there heh.

There were no plans for what was going to happen aft sending him off and wow, did we had a great time. We went for breakfast at Coffee Beans and amazingly sat there and chit-chatted with his gf til 2pm! It was a bit of catching up wif the rest and mostly reminiscing our JC days. Well, secondary school was definitely a blast, but my JC days were surprisingly enjoyable as well when I think back, hahaha.

Just when I thought this free-and-easy day was abt to come to a close, with me having to settle my lunch and dinner on my own along the way home, we took Jeff's car and sent Yanru to her tuition and initially planned on having Adam Rd's nasi lemak. After dropping Yanru off, we changed our mind and made our way to Bukit Batok to have fried hokkien mee. Just when we thought it was set, Shu Jun needed to go to a bank before it closes and we ended up... at JE having the legendary (to CSS ppl only) duck rice. (lol?!)

How interesting the day turned out to be, hahaha. I guess its kinda cool and fun not to plan too much (at times) and just go with the flow. Surprises just keep turning up along the way. =D

posted by sc @ 5:59 pm

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Thursday, May 01, 2008
a great story unfolds...(finally)

Here are some of the characters who made the Champions League Semi-final loss of Liverpool more entertaining than ever! =D

Rafa Benitez, the luckiest man on earth:

With him around, Liverpool has went into the Champions League final 3 times, and even won 1 with their brand of football which I can't find another word to describe besides, disgusting. They've also had countless refereeing decisions going in their favour in the Champions League, even for the match yesterday which was freaking unbelievable. It's amazing how an assistant referee couldn't differentiate a powerful shot from distance and a stupid pass to ur fellow teammate when 4 of them are offside. AMAZING!

Trying to play mind games before the match, against Didier Drogba who's a very determined and strong-willed person, claiming he has compiled a video of all of Drogba's diving in previous Liverpool v Chelsea encounters. I seriously wonder what was all that about. I could also compile a list of Stevie G 90th-minute free-kicks which were the matchwinners are helped save Liverpool some face, or better still, a video of all of Jamie Carragher's amazing technique of hugging opponents down in his penalty box without conceding a penalty.

Here's the most irksome part about him. Pushing Hyypia up towards the end of the game to chase an equaliser, hmm, now that tactic seemed all so familiar... Oh oh, there was this somebody, the Special One called Jose Mourinho whom Rafa disliked a lot (I bet), who used to put Robert Huth (a lumbering central defender) on to play as a striker when they were chasing an equaliser as well.... COPYCAT!

I wonder if Liverpool fans are actually proud of him, cos how I feel about him is exactly the same way I felt for Big Sam when he took over dear Newcastle and played crappy football.

Mascherano, the £17m (estimated) DM:


I wonder why would anyone spend that kind of money on such a player. There are many more DMs out there who can do what Mascherano does equally well, and on top of that, has a good eye for a pass. This guy, is nothing more than an irritant to the opponents. Money well-spent Benitez!


Drogba, victim of a lousy attempt at mind games:


Rafa's pre-match comments on Drogba's diving only spurred him on to perform well yesterday and he scored 2 goals, celebrating his first (a wonderful near-post shot that was powered in on first touch) by sliding on his knees at the touchline for Rafa, BEAUTIFUL. Drogba's one of the classy strikers ard the EPL whom I really admire. =)

Lampard, the brave:


Having just returned from compassionate leave following the death of his mother, Lampard bravely stepped up to slot the ball neatly into the back of the net in a penalty. Definitely dedicated it to his mum. Definitely helped ease his pain. =)

Torres, the boy wonder:


Rafa paid a whooping £26.5m for this highly rated striker, and did not play him very often at the start of the season, saying something along the lines of "We need to keep him fit so that he will stay fresh as we challenge for trophies in all competitions towards the end of the season. Oh...right...icic... and then taking him off when they should be chasing for a winner...



Oh well, the Blues finally reached the CL final which has been long overdue for a team tt boasts so many big-names that can match the likes of Milan, Barca etc. =)

posted by sc @ 12:16 pm

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Friday, February 22, 2008
it's been a while...

Wow, haven't blogged in ages! Well, workload's been murder this sem, 19MCs doesn't feel like 19MCs worth of effort and hours put in, hehe. Very quickly we're already into the mid-sem break (for catching up with lessons, yep, but a "break" nonetheless). Here's some food for thought, stuff which bugs me from time to time, with no valid answer to cure the itch within.

Have you ever encountered that typical lady boss at the chinese noodle stall (sells yun tun noodles, fishball noodles, ba-chor mee, etc) who upon getting your order, likes to grab a chunk of noodles from her plastic bag, puts it into a bowl, (there she goes) gently pulls 6 to 8 strands back, and then pulls another 3 to 4 strands back into your bowl. Doesn't it get really irritatingly funny sometimes? Lol. Just kinda wonder what's her mentality... is she being reaaaallly stingy? Or issit a matter of product standardisation (being really professional, dun wana sell bowls of noodles that differ in quantity by a few strands which is too much...whahaha)?

How about the typical "ignorant" person, in a reaaaallly packed MRT at 8.30am in the morn, leaning on the pole just in line with the door, feeling really relaxed while 5 other ppl around him sways left and right, counteracting the jerking of the MRT so that they don't fall down?

Another grp of ppl are even "better". Say you're waiting for the MRT to arrive, already standing behind the slanted yellow line which will position you nicely beside the door so that ppl can alight when the MRT alights. Along came this person, who stands right next to you, 1 step ahead, and will be positioned right in the middle of the door, blocking alighting passengers?

I've heard a lot about the tissue chopping culture which originated from the CBD areas but never really saw it happening until that fateful day (bt a mth+ ago) at Vivo's Kopitiam. Another irritatingly funny thing which I decided to take a photo of as well. These well-dressed office-working ladies were away for soooo long queuing for food, I'm sure some people who goes for lunch alone could've finished their food quickly at the table. You'll see groups of people moving into the Kopitiam spotting the "empty" table from afar, only to get disappointed as they neared it and saw those small packs of tissues lying around. Singapore culture? Next time you see such tissues lying around, go ahead and use them! Hahaha. Or perhaps the cleaners are not doing their job! Why's unsightly rubbish lying around like this? =P


Recently, I can't remember the url, I saw a blog post commenting about people blogging their daily life, about how boring it actually is to the average Joe who chanced upon the site, saying only friends of those bloggers will return to read periodically. I really wonder what's this guy's problem, lol. Well, according to Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English (thru dictionary.com), a blog is defined as: an online diary. Isn't a diary supposed to contain whatever thoughts the writer might feel like putting down in words, usually about whatever's happened that day? I guess he's run out of interesting stuff to talk about on his so-very-interesting blog and had to take a swipe at people who happen to like to share their thoughts with their friends eh.

Oh, 1 last thing that's bugging me to be mentioned before I log off. There was something about the goal of the Singapore Lions to reach the World Cup in 2010 eh. Now's already 2008 ok? =P

posted by sc @ 9:23 pm

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Gran Torino - Jamie Cullum

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