Sunday, March 31, 2013

Lent 2013 Report Card

Happy Easter!! Jesus Christ is risen Alleluia!! With Easter, Lent finally came to an end and it is time to bring up the report card of my Lenten resolutions.

1. Abstaining from online shopping for my hobbies -- F(ail!)
This was doomed to fail right from the start when I suddenly had the urge to get Avengers: Civil War and X-men Dark Phoenix Saga on the day before Lent. I aimed to wait until Kinokuniya member 20% sale to get it but I could not wait until the sale and I bought the books. Worse, when the sale really came a few weeks later, I bought even more X-men books.

And on the final week of Lent, I finally gave up with this resolution. I am back to my old sinful self. I bought a lot of things online: from Prince of Tennis figures, Young Avengers comics, etc. Sigh..

2. Abstaining from bubble tea -- A :)
I completed this resolution with perfect score. Not an A+ because there was few occasions when I was tempted to get oreo soya milk from the stall near my workplace with the excuse "soya milk is healthy" but with God's grace, I managed not to do so. Other than that, I was totally not tempted to get bubble tea, even when the new store was having an opening promotion of Buy 1 Get 1 Free!

3. Abstaining from Starbucks and Coffee Beans -- B
This was quite scary. Within the first few days of Lent, I received an email from Starbucks about Starbucks Mini card promotion which would be loaded with 2 complementary beverages. I thought buying 1 drink would get me 2 free ones and I was damn tempted. Thank goodness I did not succumb because I read the promotion wrongly. Lol.. The actual promotion is actually to purchase 18 drinks from March to mid-April to get this Starbucks Mini card. Okay, that is too much haha.. No urge to buy Coffee Beans at all for the past 6 weeks.

Unfortunately, right on the Easter eve, I succumbed to buying J.Co frappucino when I saw the banner of buy 1 get 1 free with BII card and my mum has it. The promotion ended today and I flew back here this morning and had no chance to enjoy this anymore. So I just bought it lor. Oh ya, I actually went home since last Wednesday. Anyways, the green tea frappe was quite good. Oops..

While it is not technically Starbucks or Coffee Beans or when I was in Singapore, I still consider this as a failure on my part. Haiz..

4. Abstaining from potato chips -- F(ail!)
I knew since the beginning of March the promo for Kettle would end right on Easter day and I would miss the chance to buy it. Everything went smoothly until the week before my second (and last) wisdom tooth extraction. I decided to just buy since I would not have any chance to eat good food after my extraction. Sigh.. and it was not only Kettle but I also bought many other chips. Darn..

Truthfully, I thought it was pretty awful results for me. Sigh.. The worst thing was that I skipped mass on the 5th Sunday of Lent. Life sucks yada yada but that was not a good reason for me to skip mass that week. I actually wanted to skip today (Easter Sunday mass zomg!!) because I felt tired after my flight. With such sinful thought, bad thing happened to me. I accidentally splashed boiling water on my right hand. Bleah.. I was so upset.. Then suddenly it rained heavily. I decided to take a nap and if it still rained, I would just skip mass to nurse my burnt hand. Surprisingly, less than an hour later, there was no sign of rain at all. How unbelivable!! No more excuse so in the end I went la.. Haha..

Okay, that's all for now. Will write about my trip home and my most recent shopping spree in a few days time. And I am always wondering why Christmas is merry and Easter is happy. So.. I wish everyone a Merry Easter. Lol!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Scarlet Witch

I knew it I knew it I KNEW IT!! Grrr.. Kinokuniya is having 20% member sale from today till Sunday T_T I had nothing else to buy but I could not resist not going there to see the books and make myself feel reasonable. My justification when I bought the 3 books few weeks ago is just an excuse. All 3 books are still available (a.k.a nobody is buying) and worse still, just now I saw 3 copies of House of M. I thought I bought the last one. Sigh.. why why why is there no Young Avengers hardcover?? I want it :( Now I gotta wait until Easter and then try to find from Amazon.

Anyway, I might as well use this post to write about what I think about the 3 books that I bought few weeks back. I think now I have a new favourite Marvel character other than Storm. She is Scarlet Witch! Although initially I thought her power was WTF, she is one of the imba character in the Marvel facebook game. I also like her in Avengers vs X-men. These reasons make me more interested in her "No More Mutants" saga and that's why I bought 3 books which are related to it: Avengers Disassembled, House of M, and Avengers: The Children Crusade.

In Avengers Disassembled, Scarlet Witch is losing her sanity for the loss of her children and blames Avengers for it. She causes chaos to the Avengers which results in the death of several members, Tony Stark's "bankrupcy", and Avengers is disassembled At the end of this, Scarlet Witch is rendered unconscious and Magneto appears to take care of his daughter. I am not too happy with the art style but the script is just awesome. I can feel the emotions of the characters from anger to disbelief in what is happening.

House of M seems to be a direct continuation of Avengers Disassembled. At the beginning, we see that desperate Magneto brings Scarlet Witch to Professor X to heal her. It seems that even Professor X is unable to stabilise her and he calls both Avengers and X-men to decide the fate of Scarlet Witch. Thinking that they will kill her, Quicksilver persuaded Scarlet Witch to alter reality in which everyone is granted their deepest desire. In this "reality", it seems only Wolverine and another character, Layla Miller, remembers the real reality. Layla has the ability to "awaken" the true memories and they embark on a journey to recover everyone's memory. Everyone thinks that Magneto is behind all of this. In the end it is revealed that Quicksilver is the culprit. In his anger, Magneto kills Quicksilver and triggered Scarlet Witch's famous "no more mutants".

House of M is surprisingly better than expected. I thought the "alternate reality" thingy will be boring but the story is quite engaging. However, I think the "no more mutants" thingy feels very anticlimatic in the book, a direct contrast with its effects which last until many more years in Marvel universe.

This book introduced me to the Young Avengers who seems to be on a larger role than the Avengers here. Wiccan, a member of Young Avengers, is believed to be reincarnation of Scarlet Witch's son and he decides to find his mother. We discover that Scarlet Witch is amnesiac and in Latveria with Dr Doom. Scarlet Witch seeked help from Doom to open the gate to access the Life Force in her attempt to revive her children. The Life Force took control of Scarlet Witch and is responsible to all the Avengers Disassembled and House of M events. It is ultimately revealed that Doom is the main antagonist and making use of Scarlet Witch. Thank goodness that in the end, Scarlet Witch is a good character!! Haha..

This book is what makes me interested in Young Avengers. My favourite is Wiccan because he has similar power as Scarlet Witch. Fwwt..

Okay, that's it! Haha.. I don't know whether I should buy Secret Invasion, Siege, X-Men Schism, X-Men Messiah CompleX, X-men Second Coming etc. I am a bit reluctant because there are many characters which I am not familiar with. But it is tempting because the reviews for these seem pretty good.. Gossh... 3 more days to think about this. Haha..

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Stupid eBay

MC999 Your eBay buying privileges have been restricted


Dear ......

To keep eBay a trustworthy place for all members, we routinely review buying and selling activity. In reviewing your account, we found:

-- An unusually high rate of low detailed seller ratings left for other sellers, with evidence that the low ratings were left specifically to disrupt your competition.


Because of this behavior, we've:
--Restricted your ability to buy items or place bids for the next 14 days.
--Removed from related seller profiles any neutral or negative Feedback and low detailed seller ratings you have left within the past year.

This restriction only affects buying, and will be automatically lifted after 14 days have passed. You'll still be able to sell on eBay and complete transactions for items you've already won.

Please be aware that if this activity continues, you may be subject to a range of other actions, including suspension of your eBay account.

In the future, if you have a problem with an item, be sure to contact the seller and try to work things out. You can do this by clicking the "Ask a question" link in the listing.

Hmm.. Looks like the days of my online shipping are numbered. I was quite shocked when I received the above email for 2 reasons: 1) my last purchase was more than 1 month ago on the 8 February and 2) I have always been "critical" when it comes to giving feedback. To me there are only 3 scales: 1 star for sucks, 5 star for meeting what the sellers promised, and 3 star for neither here and no there. I have been using the same standard since my first time using eBay in 2010. There has been no problem until now. I have a feeling that this is because of me starting to sell a few items using eBay US about 2 months ago. Otherwise, where does the "disrupt your competition" come from?

Anyway, I just think that eBay is dumb and this makes me agree with the sentiment that eBay wants to get rid off the "small-time" sellers. Is there even a competition in the first place when the items I am buying and the items I am selling are so distantly similar? In addition, I have history of purchasing from sellers everywhere: USA, UK, Australia, Japan, India, Nepal, China, Korea etc? And what's the point of having feedback when I am being penalised for leaving honest but negative feedback? Do I have to give a 5 star if item is not as described/pictured? Can't I give a 1 star if item does not arrive or arrives damaged and the seller refuses to help or refund? Am I wrong not to give a 5 star to a seller who sells on eBay US but unable to speak even the simplest form of English? Get real man!!

I also smirked at the "contact the seller and try to work things out". Does it mean that I still have to leave 5 star for timely shipping when seller ships the item late but seller already contacted me and apologise? Do I have to leave a 5 star when item is not described and seller sends a partial refund as a resolution? The stupid drones behind eBay should learn open their eyes big big. Even when a problem is resolved, it does not mean a perfection. A perfection means that there is no problem in the first place and only that deserves a 5 star rating.

No wonder eBay is full of scammers with thousands of positive feedback even though when I bought items from them, I got shit items and shit service. I mean blocking me is one thing.. but to remove the genuinely bad feedback for the bad sellers? Hmm hmm hmm.. Too much isn't it?

Ultimately, I think blocking me as a buyer is just plain dumb. How on earth they are making money if not because of buyers? The selling fee is "quite" cheap and auctions are free. The certain % from every purchase is bigger than that, isn't it? No idea how their business work. Anyway, not really a big deal to me as I know that eBay items are overpriced, eBay protections (both for sellers and buyers) suck, and the customer service is non-existent. Sigh.. If only my Rinoa and my FF VIII ArtFX GF are sold, this will be the perfect time to bid farewell to eBay.

However, I still have to say thanks to eBay for helping me to get a lot of my childhood wishlist items :) Tee hee.. And as compared to sellers, even if my account is suspended, I can still make new account everytime I see an item which I can't find elsewhere. So no big deal. In fact, if I am really suspended, it is a sign for me to start saving up. Lol.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Who is God to you?

After more than 2 years not going to any confession, I went for another one yesterday. I have to admit that I sort of "enjoy" going for confession because my previous occasions had always been good and I went off recharged and refreshed. Unfortunately, it was the reverse yesterday. Recently I feel very distant to God and my faith. Going to church has become a chore and daily prayer is neglected. I can't feel God anywhere near and it is tough to continue praying when I feel as if I am talking to myself.

So the priest asked me the questiong: "Who is God to you?". To be honest, I could not answer it. Yes, that was sad and ironic. In the past, I could easily say that I regard God as a father figure and Jesus as a friend. I can't say that now as I no longer feel that there is any relationship.

It is not the first time that I experience this sort of "spiritual dryness". Previously, I was told that even in the midst of such dryness, I should still press on: just pray and go for Mass even if I don't feel anything or even if I don't feel want to as no matter what and no matter I can feel it or not, God will still give His blessings. Simply said, praying and going for Mass, no matter in what circumstances, are still better than NOT praying and going for Mass. Yesterday I was told that if I had no relationship with God, there is no point for me going to Mass. Well, okay.. That's a green light for me not to go anymore lor~~ Hee hee..

Anyway, I still felt awful even after the absolution of sins. Bleah.. I thought I got nothing from the confession yesterday.. Sigh.. Maybe the journey of my faith is really going to an end soon.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Oz The Great and Powerful


I knew about the famous wizard of Oz but I never actually read the book or watch the movie. If not because of a friend asked me to watch "Wicked" last year, I wouldn't be bothered about this movie. I more or less know about the story and I was not to keen on the choice of actors and actresses. Yes, even with 3 witches! Haha.. I asked a few friends who watched it and the response ranged from "so so" to "very good". I thought that it means the movie is at least above average or better.

I watched without knowing any spoilers before hand because the story is more or less predictable: Oz flies on an airballoon which is subsequently trapped by a tornado and eventually he lands on the land of Oz. The people of Oz believed him as the Wizard and he plays along using his magic trick as his wizardry. Eventually the wizard will somehow rule the land. My prediction failed on one part: the 3 witches are not all good! It was the battle between Glinda the Good vs the other 2 Wicked Witches.

Not even 5 minutes into the movie, I was already disappointed and I regretted watching. I thought the "intro" part was too long. I mean come on, we all know that somehow Oz had to go into the air balloon. So why is the circus thingy so long? It also did not make sense that he still climbed to the air balloon when it was obvious that the weather was changing for worse. Bleah..

When he landed to Oz, I thought things would get better with all the colours. I was wrong! I felt like leaving the cinema already. I just HATE it when I can obviously see that the actors are playing against green screen and then the marvellous CGs are inserted subsequently. I know that nowadays who don't use green screen? But in this movie, the way they "stick" the humans to the background is atrocious. It is so jarring to the eyes!

I also think that the acting is rather akward. James Franco seems like he is trying waaaay too hard to be funny here. Mila Kunis looks wicked right from the start. It does not suit her character which was a goodie turned wicked. And once she becomes a Wicked Witch, she is waay more wicked than Rachel Weisz who is supposed to be the evil mastermind in the movie. Michelle Williams seems to be the least atrocious ones but her Glinda is still pretty bad.

Some of my friends also mentioned that the movie was quite funny. I beg to differ. I think it is more lame rather than funny.

Oh well, I should not complain. Thank goodness I used the free movie ticket to watch this. Haha.. If I have to mention something good about this movie, it will be about how the movie change the whole meaning of Chinatown and China Girl. Lol. China = porcelain. So the Chinatown in Oz is a place where all the buildings and the residents are made of porcelain. And China Girl is a girl of made of china, not made in China! That's a big difference. Haha..

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Final Fantasy 25th Memorial Ultimania

I received the item in January but I only had the chance to "rant" about it as I was very upset regarding the prices etc. At that time, I quickly flipped through the pages to screen for any damages or missing pages. From then, it has been stored nicely in a box until today when I decided to open and enjoy it leisurely. After all, it set me poorer by $275.13 so I might as well enjoy it.

Ultimania books are essentially game guides but this set is an exception. This set is essentially a collection of concept arts from Final Fantasy I to XIV, excluding the spin-off games. There are 3 volumes with volume 1 covering FF I-VI, volume 2 covering FF VII-IX, and volume 3 covering FF X-XIV. As expected, some games are given more "love" by Square Enix. Haha.. Below is the approximate number of pages for each game.

FF I: 30 pages
FF II: 50 pages
FF III: 50 pages
FF IV: 60 pages
FF V: 60 pages
FF VI: 75 pages
FF VII: 120 pages
FF VIII: 80 pages
FF IX: 120 pages
FF X: 100 pages
FF XI: 50 pages
FF XII: 70 pages
FF XIII: 90 pages
FF XIV: 10 pages

As time and technology progresses, the games and thus the books are also getting better in terms of artwork and content. My favourite is the 3rd volume as there are more CG concept arts. The concept arts for the locations and environment are breathtaking. Game-wise, I love FF X's arts the most. The pencil sketches are very "clean" and look very similar to the eventual CG arts. I am a bit pissed that my favourite game, FF VIII, gets the least exposure in the volume 2. This alone is a good reason for me to feel that the whole set is a disappointment for me.

As FF III and FF IV have been remade for Nintendo DS initially, the CG-version of these characters are also featured here. I think it is time to remake (not re-release!) FF I, II, V, and VI. FF Dissidia gives a glimpse of the main characters and main villains from these games in the modern CG animation. It will be awesome to see all the characters in the CG version.

It's time for pictures. None of the pictures is mine as my camera and my lighting sucks for taking picture of books.

The "special" bonus for buying the 3 books as a set from Square Enix Japan: the slipcase -_-
Front side of the slipcase
The back side of the slipcase features the logos of each games. Unfortunately, I am unable to find any high quality picture of the back side.
Covers of the books with their respective "obi"/belt

Covers of the books when the "obi" is removed

When the external covers are removed, these gorgeous images are not found on the hardcover of the books. The hardcover of the books only have the prints which are covered by the "obi". The back covers of the books only bear a small Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary logo so nothing is spectacular about it.

This picture looks big here but it is damn tiny on the back cover!!
No pictures of the content as I think nothing is spectacular about the content. This is not because I am being biased and sore for the less-than-expected coverage of FF VIII. Haha.. Anyway, right from the beginning, there is no way this set can be satisfying. After all, how is it be possible to condense 25 years of history and artwork into a mere 1000 pages??

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Kuroko no Basuke

Kuroko no Basuke means Kuroko's Basketball. What a peculiar title. What makes it even more peculiar is its "official" English title: The Basketball which Kuroko Plays. It is based on a manga which I never read. Honestly, I forgot how in the first place I came to know about this anime/manga.

Anyways, this is my very first basketball-themed anime which I ever watch. I watched 2 episodes of Dear Boys and that was it. I dislike the art style. Ironically I am still following the manga. Haha.. I also never watch Slam Dunk, supposedly the "god" of basketball-themed manga and anime. Lol.. I don't really enjoy the manga and still do not see what's the big deal about it. Okay, back to Kuroko, basically I am totally unbiased since I have no other similar themed anime to compare with.

When reading the synopsis, I think Kuroko no Basuke is very unique in many areas, except for the background story which is a bit cliche. Teiko Middle School is a school famous for its basketball club. Their 5 main players are "godly" that people dub them as Generation of Miracles. However, there is a phantom sixth player who is recognised by the 5 aces although he is relatively unknown as compared to them. Upon graduation, these 6 prodigies go to separate High School and from there begins their rivalries.

Our main character, Tetsuya Kuroko, is the phantom 6th player. His playing style is very unique as he is only good in passing balls but never shoots. That is very untypical "main character" for a basketball story. As such, his playing style relies on teamwork as compared to individual "selfish" gameplay from the other 5 members of the so called "Generation of Miracles". From this, it sorts of become a cliche: teamplay vs solo play yada yada..

Typically basketball stories will follow the main character's school journey to reach the interhigh. And typically the school will beat some strong schools and then lose to the number #1 and that's the end of the story. This anime is not like that! I am quite amazed when Kuroko is able to beat 2 of the Generation of Miracles to reach the top 4 in their region. Then he loses to another member of Generation of Miracles. Unable to recover from the trashing, he loses subsequent matches and fails to qualify for interhigh. However, the story does not end there! The story will continue on to the second season with the focus on Winter Cup!! Hmm hmm.. What's more unusual (in a good way) is that in the last few episodes, we are watching the full matches between 2 members of Genration of Miracles i.e 2 schools which do not belong to the main character! I am glad that they only reserve "special abilities" to select few characters because initially I fear that this will turn out to be something like Prince of Tennis with every character own their special shooting/skills etc.

In general, I enjoy the matches. But other than that, I have tonnes of "complaints" about this anime. First, the characterisation is poor. Kuroko, as a main character, is damn boring! Sigh.. He hardly shows any emotion. I also find it weird that the Generation of Miracles are more fleshed out than the other members of respective schools only serve to make up the 5 people in a team. Take a look at Seirin High School (Kuroko's school) members below. Some of the characters look alike -_- For the rival schools, the non-Generation of Miracles are always depicted as nasty and not like-able.
How many pairs of "twins" can you see? Haha..
A few interesting things happen at the beginning but just get forgotten after few episodes. What happens to Kuroko's promise to be Kagami's shadow? What happens to the so called "special ability" of Riko to see the statistics of the players simply by looking at them?

Haha okay I shall stop here. I should not comment further because I will be biased comparing it with Harlem Beat or Dear Boys manga. I should read Kuroko no Basuke manga first before I can say whether I really like it or not.

A few interesting things to note. Kise calls people whom he respects (for their basketball skills) with the ending -cchi. For example, Kurokocchi and Kagamichi, instead of calling them Kuroko or Kagami respectively. I never know that there is such suffix in calling names in Japanese other than -kun, -san, -chan, etc. In the middle of story and out of nowhere, suddenly appears this dog whose eyes similar to Kuroko's and thus its name Tetsuya #2. He becomes like a mascot to the team and the series.. Well, I don't mind because he is damn cute k!! Haha.. If I find such a dog in real life, I don't mind keeping it sia..
Kawaii~~~ Kyaaaaa!!!
Anyway, season 2 is coming and I will be looking forward to it. Haha.. Not an excellent anime but still an enjoyable one nonetheless.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Failed Lent..

Sucks.. it is not even halfway through Lent and I am already failing in few things that I wish to abstain from. During stocktake last Saturday, someone brought Doritos and did not finish it. Before she left, she put the leftover in a container. I finished it after my dinner time. So ya, there goes my abstinence from junk food.

I went for my wisdom tooth extraction on Monday and was advised to eat soft food for this few days. I decided to have cereals and thus off I went to supermarket. Gosh.. There is an ongoing promotion for Kettles potato chips until 31 March. Emooo... I admit that I am damn tempted. And darn it! Just nice that it is Easter Sunday on 31 March. So just nice that I will miss the promotion. Darn!

I also failed to persevere from not buying anything hobby-related this Lenten season as I bought a few more Marvel comics on Monday. Initially I was interested in buying 6 books so I thought I should wait for a 20% sale as the savings would be quite significant. Only 3 were available in Kino so I decided to just buy these 3. My reason is that at least with me buying these, there is nothing more that I am looking for and I won't be distracted anymore. Plus 1 book was the last copy and another 1 was left with 2 copies so I did not want to take the risk of them being sold out when the sale comes. I should have followed by gut feelings.. Sale is nearby and when I went home, I received an email from Kinokuniya 20% Sale for purchase through their bookweb. Darn!!

Today came another temptation from Starbucks. For each purchase of beverage, members can get Starbucks Mini Card which is loaded with free 2 beverages. In short, it is buy 1 get 3 right? The promotion starts today until 24th April while stocks last. I doubt that stocks will last even until end March, don't even say April. Bleah.. Furthermore, there is no limit in the number of mini cards people can buy. Knowing the kiasu people here, perhaps everything will be wiped out by the end of the week.

Why? Why? Why? Why do temptations come during Lent? Why don't these things happen at other times when I don't need to abstain from anything? Haiz.. Of course sometimes I wonder why I am all these things sia.. I mean what's the point in suffering for these 40 days and then I live like a glutton at other times of the years? No, I am not scared of sins or whatever.. It is something more personal than that. It is a matter of self discipline and integrity. I make a few promises. Can't I just bear with these 40 days and not break these promises? Haiz.. emo...

Anyway, I am glad that I am given 2 days MC for my wisdom tooth extraction. Hehe.. 1 more tooth at the end of the month and I will get MC for 25th and 26th. A bit pissed about this because I am flying off on the 27th after work. If only this has been planned since long time ago, I will just take leave on that day and I can fly home from 25th afternoon.

Haiz.. looks like it is really a bad year. Nothing good has happened to me for the past year. Always unlucky events after events.. I even feel like giving up on all these religion things altogether.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Adulthood

Money money money.. Seriously.. What am I woking for if not to spend the money? Spending money for things I don't want always makes me emo. I just had a filling for my tooth which cost me $135 on Friday. After so much time spent for brushing and taking care of my teeth for the past many years, the inevitable still came. I knew it was just a matter of time because the affected tooth is the one where food often got stuck. I knew it because everytime I flossed my teeth, there was always a large chunk of food there. Haiz.. Anyway, with the crown of the tooth being wider than the body underneath, it is just impossible for food not to get stuck there. I should instead perhaps be happy that the problem was caught early before it caused me pain or another root canal.

I am scheduled for 2 rounds of wisdom teeth extraction. My top wisdom teeth are growing at an alarming rate and they do not have any teeth at the bottom. It is another timebomb that they will keep growing and hit the lower gum to cause pain or they will cause the teeth next to it rot because it is impossible to reach the gap between. The estimated cost for each extraction is $180. Yea.. that will be a total of about $500 in this month just for my oral issues. Haiz.. On the less emo side of the coin, I should be glad that these would only be extractions instead of surgeries!!

Paying income tax is a milestone to adulthood. I received the letter to file my tax starting 1 March. I still saw zeroes on the website. My company is supposed to submit to me but I still saw nothing leh. Bleah.. I asked my senior and her first tax was about $300. Since our pays are in the same pathetic range, I thought I would be paying somethere around the amount. Looks like I am wrong. If my housing allowance and bonuses are also calculated as income, I may be paying double or triple than what I expected leh! Haha.. and that is still after the 30% tax rebate. Zomg!! Oh well, no point in thinking about things which I can't change right? I will still have to pay anyway. Haha..

Earlier this week I was impressed with Les Miserables' cast performance in this year's Academy Awards. Look what I found from the Academy 20 years ago. Yup, this is from 65th Academy Awards in 1993: Brad Kane & Lea Salonga singing A Whole New World. I never expect that magic flying carpet already existed back then. And I love the festive Arabic marketplace theme on stage. Love the costumes worn by the two of them too although I think it would have been more awesome if Lea wore Jasmine's dress. Haha I think a bit too revealing. The music arrangement is something fresh but does not butcher the original song.. Hoho.. A Whole New World won the Best Song for that year I think.


The way the magic carpet flies is just surreal..

Of course I am happy because Aladdin is my favourite Disney's cartoon from 1990s. Unlike the other Disney's cartoons back then, the main character is a guy (a small boy won't like Disney princesses that much rite? Haha) and the Jasmine is a bad ass princess, unlike the typical miserable Disney princesses.

And another piece from them: We Could Be In Love. Aaah the 90s.. the songs are nice although they are simple.. Simply relying on the vocal prowess of the singers.. Unlike nowadays..