Auction Action with the Guru of Waltz

It's true what they say about worrying too much in advance. We had set our sights on this quaint little Federation house in 4 Stewart Street in Eastwood up for auction. Nearing a hundred years old, this 4-bedroom, air-conditioned, 553-sq. m. property is quite well-maintained. Close to shops, station, and school. My sister was fretting about how much we should bid, how much buffer we should allocate, who to do the actual bidding, where we should physically position ourselves during auction day, etc. We even got a solicitor to go through the contract. I was telling her that with that kind of location, it'll definitely go beyond $800k. Turns out I was right.

The auction proper started around 10am. The auctioneer mentioned that he'll start the bidding at $600k. Apparently, somebody wasn't paying attention. When the auction started, this Chinese guy offered an opening bid of $700k, which totally blew us out of the water. Even the auctioneer was surprised. A couple of interested parties kept the ball rolling, until this guy joined in the latter stages and started trumping all the other bids. He managed to get the property at a price of $816k. Interestingly, he only saw the property this morning. Ah, to be rich and naive!

Went to see Guru at the Hurstville Civic Theatre with my movie buddy. It's the second time I was late, and she had to reserve a seat for me. Wasn't my fault really. By noon, we were still in Eastwood. Had lunch in half an hour. Drove back to Campsie, then to Hurstville in record time. It's a movie about this young cocky villager called Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan), who started out working for Shell in Turkey. Not content to work for the white man, he goes to Mumbai with wife Sujata (Aishwarya Rai) and brother-in-law Jignesh (Arya Babbar) to make a name for himself. He joins a trading fraternity, bets heavily on polyester when nobody else would, and hit paydirt. From there, he started his own company called Shakti, and by hook and by crook, he dominated the industry. Now, it wouldn't be an Indian film without some dramas (and song-and-dance numbers). He was hauled to court for making bribes and evading duties and taxes. He was being bashed by the media. His sidekick committed suicide for unwittingly admitting they're not doing the right thing. There was a stockholder backlash because the company's shares took a dive, etc. In the end, he got off lightly for arguing that he did what he did to make the business successful. For the good of the millions of stockholder, for the good of India! Yeah, right. The movie didn't mention this, but apparently, it is based on the life story of India's richest man, petrochem tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani, the owner of Reliance India.

A few things I didn't like about the movie:

• The song-and-dance numbers. They have absolutely no value-add to the movie. They are there simply to show off the entertainment prowess of the actors. Ok, assuming it helps to set the mood or something. Do you really have to perform the song in its entirety?
• The mish-mash of shooting styles. Every shooting style known to man is implemented here, which distracts from the story.
• Soundtrack overuse. Every single minute of the film is backed up by sound effects. I know how to read subtitles. I know how to read the actors' faces. There's really no need to blanket the whole movie with soundtrack to tell me what I should be feeling.
• Cliched plotlines. Again, almost every plot device known to man is used - the midnight elopement, the train chase, the dashing idealist-journalist marrying the beautiful, crippled girl with MS, the wrist-slash suicide, the mild stroke, the hospital bed crying scene, the rousing rich-vs-poor speech, the courtroom drama, the triumphant return to power, etc.

Anyway, I just learned that I have to start brushing up on my dancing skills again, particularly the waltz. (Can you actually waltz to The Way You Look Tonight?!) Last time I did ballroom dancing was during college PE. In a week's time, I'll be dancing again. Watch this space.

Pepper Lunch Dinner after Death at a Funeral

Second funniest movie of the year after The Simpsons Movie. My movie buddy and I was supposed to watch another film at Dendy, but we didn't want to wait another 2 hours, so I suggested Death at a Funeral instead. Directed by Frank Oz and written by Dean Craig, Death at a Funeral is a barrel of laughs despite the sombre title. Right from the animated opening credits with a symbol of a coffin moving over a street map, you'll know this is going to be interesting. The dead father who has yet to come out of the closet, the struggling son living under the shadow of a much successful novelist-brother, the midget lover out for his share of the inheritance, the drug-dealing cousin whose bottle of recreational drugs disguised as Valium goes missing, the nervous fiance of the niece who took the Valium and goes naked in public, etc. - outstanding performances from a stellar cast. In spite of all the commotion and the interruptions, the son manages to deliver a passionate and heartfelt eulogy, which ended the movie nicely.

Some choice quotes from the movie:

Daniel: Who is this?
Undertaker: Pardon me?
Daniel: This is not my father.

Sandra: Tea can do many things, Jane, but it can't bring back the dead.

Martha: Simon.
Simon: [behind the bathroom door] Simon.
Martha: Simon!
Simon: Simon.
Martha: Sy!
Simon: Mon.

Uncle Alfie: Touch and go! Touch and go!

Simon: [when the coffin started moving] I knew it!

After the movie, we dropped by the MCA to pass the time before going to St. Patrick's Church along Grosvenor Street for afternoon mass. I may be a non-practising Catholic, but I reckon it wouldn't hurt if I enter a church once in a while. The mass took about an hour. After all that sitting, standing, and kneeling, I'm starting to feel hungry. Passed by the Pepper Lunch restaurant along George Street, and we went in for a sample. The unique concept of this "fast-steak" franchise is a metal plate heated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 Celsius) by an electromagnetic cooker. Raw steaks like chicken or beef with rice and sauces are then placed on the hot plate where it cooks right in front of the customer. Most stressful dinner I've had so far!
:-)

James Bond at Manly Jazz Festival

The Manly Jazz Festival is on it's 30th anniversary this year. Running for three days until the Labour Day holiday, the jazz festival has 5 stages stretching from Manly Wharf, through The Corso, to the Manly Beach. It's just the perfect day for a jazz festival - the sun was out, trees along The Corso providing some cover, and a light sea breeze blowing. I listened to The Postmen at the Council Forecourt Stage, then continued on to a husband-and-wife band called Viva playing the guitar and the accordion. Moving on to The Corso Stage, the Benny's Boys were playing. At the Ocean Beachfront Stage, the full-bodied and versatile Michelle Nicole and her band performed till 4pm. I took the opportunity to sit on the roadside and read John Gardner's For Special Services, where Ian Fleming's James Bond seduces the girls, drives fast cars, foils the bad guy's plans, and saves the world. Back at the Council Forecourt Stage, the Chatswood High Stage Band was wowing the crowd. Would've loved to stay, but I had a ferry to catch.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Fiesta at Passello

Went to Darling Harbour to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in IMAX 3D with a friend. Thanks to Star City, I managed to score 2-for-1 tickets for the show. Regular admission is $25 per adult. It's a good thing my friend has watched HP: OofP before. Last time I went to an IMAX theater, I had to leave in the middle of the film because I started getting really dizzy and was just about to puke. The screen size was really impressive, the movie was not. I've read the book, and thought it's a waste of the paper it was printed on. The movie is not much better. The recurring problem with Harry Potter (the book) is the weak plot and the lame side-stories. Rowling tries to spice things up with a myriad of characters and their little histories, but in the end, I still don't feel for them. Take away the clumsy love triangles, the secret magical trainings, the juvenile pranks, the petty house rivalries and faculty politics, and all you end up with is Voldemort trying get into Harry's head, and the showdown between the Order and Dumbledore's Army vs. the Death-Eaters and Voldemort. That segment at the Department of Mysteries is rendered in 3D. That's about the best thing about the whole movie.

Always recommended to have something to eat before the start of a movie. Halfway into the movie, my stomach's growling already. By the time we finished the movie, made our selection from the Sydney Entertainment Book, and got a table at Passello, my stomach has given up complaining. The beef lasagne and the chicken caesar salad taste quite good. Actually, anything's good when you're hungry. For dessert, we had hazelnut chocolate and green tea latte from Starbucks. Checked out the Earth from Above photo exhibition along the Urban Stream, featuring 120 large-scale aerial photographs by award-winning French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. By the time we finished viewing all the pictures, it was already 11:30pm. Parking at the Exhibition Centre - $18. A great night-out - priceless.

Book 2007.09.18 - Fat, Fifty & F***ed!

Fat, Fifty & F***ed! is winner of the inaugural Australian Popular Fiction competition by Geoffrey McGeachin. Many of you will probably recall Nigel Marsh's similarly-titled Fat, Forty and Fired. While Nigel Marsh's protagonist is an Australian advertising executive who lost his job, Geoffrey McGeachin's Martin Carter is a bank manager in the bush who totally lost it during his bank's last day of operation.

Unhappy with his family (and life in general), on a whim, Martin decided to make off with the bank's money. With nowhere to go, he decides to make an 800-km road trip from Burrinkjuruk to Far North Queensland to visit his high-school friend Jack Starck in his mountaintop fortress. Along the way, he rescues the ravishing Faith Chance from a group of bikies, and she becomes his girl. Among other misadventures, he got involved in some big conspiracy plot involving a media mogul, the military, and the government who are planning to take out his mad major-friend. In spite of it all, Martin and Faith managed to reach FNQ. The fortress got bombed to bits; good thing they (Martin, Faith, Jack and VT - his gay lover) managed to escape in a WWII Huey with Martin's millions and the Philippine Treasury's gold bars. After settling an old score with the people who have been making their lives difficult, they escape to Macau where they all lived happily ever after.

Movie 2007.09.16 - The Italian

Movie 2007.09.15 - Hairspray

dinner at tomodachi with big group

Movie 2007.09.14 - Die Hard 4.0

fake DVD

KL Day 6 - Merdeka Parade and Wayang Kulit Concert

Had only a couple of hours sleep before I was awakened by my ringing mobile phone. One of our customers is in our (Sydney) office today and wanted to see if I'm around. It's actually good that he called - if not, I'll be sleeping till noon. Hopped down to One on One for a quick breakfast, then out of the hotel by 7:30am. Again, long queues at KL Sentral for tickets to Masjid Jamek. With my infinite patience, I managed to get to Merdeka Square around 8:30am. Lots and lots of people milling about. The streets are still closed, and everywhere you'll find Perdana Executives and other flashy cars parked. The Merdeka parade has already started without me. Masses of people in colorful costumes passed by, then floats of different themes, sizes, and shapes. After that came the military troops, the trucks with onboard missiles, and fighter jets thundered across the sky. Due to my average height, I didn't get to see much of the parade. There were some earlier attempts to get the people in front to sit down so that people at the back can appreciate the parade, but there wasn't enough momentum, so everybody remained standing.

By 11am, the sun is at its maximum heat setting, so I decided to head back for the hotel. Paid RM50 for 24 hours of Internet access so I can send off some emails and complete my eValuation. Finished by 3pm, then went to KLCC to cool off. Bought tickets for tonight's The MPO Meets Wayang Kulit. Killed time by window shopping. There's quite a few tempting sales from Isetan, Hush Puppies, and G2000. Ended up buying a pair of Primavera shoes. Much to my surprise, my special friend called up and was asking for a favor. Well, aside from that High School Musical 2 DVD, she wants me to meet up with this guy based in KL, who's the long-time penpal of her friend. Sure, no problem. I'm just a stranger in a strange land - what's the worst thing that can happen to me? I passed by Galeri Petronas and spent about an hour checking out the current exhibitions: Building Merdeka (an architecture retrospective from 1957-1966) and 50 Ways to Live in Malaysia (a series of paintings and works by 50 local artists depicting Malaysian life). The gallery is also showing videos of the more memorable Petronas TV ads for the past few years. Don't understand a word they're saying, but some of them are quite funny and interesting.

By 8:15pm, I proceeded to Dewan Filharmonik Petronas for tonight's performance. Called "The MPO Meets Wayang Kulit", it's supposed to be a fusion of East and West, Kelantanese shadow puppetry meets the orchestra. The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned Adeline Wong to compose “Empunya yang beroleh Sita Dewi”. The piece revolves around the famous "Ramayana" episode, where Sita is abducted by the demon-king Ravana. Most of the piece has dalang Saupi bin Isa narrating the story, and the orchestra provides the soundtrack. I have to say I wasn't too impressed with the shadowplay. It's basically Rama and Ravana fighting each other - portrayed by two puppets chasing and bouncing off each other. After the intermission, we had some real classical pieces: Georges Bizet's Jeux d'enfants and Ottorino Respighi's La Botique Fantasque, with the Overture to Rossini's The Thieving Magpie for encore.