Mrs Boo - 30 Lifer Crisis

The title of the book was what attracted me - being a sucker for history-related fiction. Even better, the back blurb claimed that Atlantis is “the new Da Vinci Code for a new generation”, and I was sold, and quickly snapped it up from the store.

Unfortunately, it is NOT another Da Vinci Code. Despite all the religious rubbish and conspiracy theories thrown in by Dan Brown in that book, it was a fascinating and thrilling read, and I could hardly put down the book. David Gibbins tried, but failed to succeed, in making Atlantis a similarly compelling read.

Synopsis: To the non-history buffs, Atlantis is the fabled great island civilisation that disappeared underneath great tidal waves thousands of years ago as told by Greek philosopher Plato. To cut a long story short, Atlantis is about a marine archaeologist Jack Howard and his team of fellow archaeologists who piece together several clues and discover the ancient site of the great citadel. Along the way, they encounter vicious Central Asian terrorists who want to get their hands on the treasures as well as nuclear warheads in an abandoned Russian submarine, thus turning Jack Howard into a great action hero flying military helicopters in the sky and manoveuring nuclear-powered submarines underwater. In that time, they uncover the wonderful “secrets” of Atlantis which would hark a change in how academics view history, and how they manage to tie all subsequent civilisations/ cultures/religions, from pharohic Eygpt, to the Old Testament, to what they have found in Atlantis.

Now the problem with the book: David Gibbins is unclear what he wants the book to be - purely a novel about a great historical discovery, or a “I will fight the terrorists” action thriller. While he tries to tie both parts of the action together, the links are tenuous, and the book loses focus. Gibbins is obviously trying to sell his book to prospective Hollywood producers to make this into a movie, by weaving in all the pyrotechnics - bombblasts, aeriel dogfights, nuclear crisis, etc. On the other hand, the “historical section” of the book, where a bunch of academics are trying to piece together the story of Atlantis and making it an astounding and mind-blowing relevation, Gibbins becomes way too wordy trying to cramp too many historical facts into the book (yes, I know you did the research, sir). It is confusing and does not capture the interest of the reader (especially those who do not care a fig about history at all). Between the action and the “history”, there is hardly any room for characterisation. By the end of the book, I still feel completely detached from the hero, and would not give two hoots on what happens to him next. This, I feel, is the biggest failure of the author.

Atlantis is a great premise for a story, and it could have been a great book - what a pity.

Rating: 3 boos out of 5

His hits are now about 500, and he has the audacity to brag about this on his blog. BAH!

Oh readers, where have you gone to?? Sigh……

I haven’t been really talking much about my pending business. Not that I am not doing anything, but I really prefer not to think about it. Away from the blog, I have been breathing in the business day in day out. There is NOTHING glamourous about being one’s own boss. In fact, it sucks unless you have a lot of money to burn. But I won’t torture readers with details of my pain. Suffice to say, stress levels are increasing, and I have disgusting pimples on my face, and a screw-up period, to show for it.

But in another week, my retail shop will open. And life will never be the same again. I will be logging 12-14 hour days 7 days a week at the shop. No time to do the things I love - no time to read, no time to watch drama serials and movies and TV, no time to blog. No time to return to my parents’ and in-laws’ places to eat home-cooked food. No time to catch up with friends and go to church. Likely no time to have sex with Mr Boo either!

But I know this is the sacrifice I have to make, if I want to go into business. Though at this point in time, I wonder if all that sacrifice is going to be worthwhile. I have to constantly remind myself why am I doing this - why I decided to stop running the rat race, throwing all my life savings, and preparing to kill my social life, and slave like a dog:

1. I don’t want to live my life till 60 and feeling that I have achieved nothing.
2. I want to carve out my own future and not be dependent on the whimsies of bosses and unfeeling corporations.
3. I want to earn enough money so that Mr Boo and I, and our families, will live more than comfortably (in luxury if possible) for the rest of our lives.
4. I want to achieve financial freedom to do all the things I want to do, buy all the things I want to buy.
5. I want to make a difference, be successful and glorify God.

So despite the waves of panic attacks that are coming more frequently, I have got to keep my cool and look above for spiritual assistance. Otherwise at this rate I am going, I will have a nervous breakdown even before I serve a single customer….ARGHHH!

Ok, I suppose I draw the line at those below 18 (or the minimum 17) years of age. Anything younger than that they are just smelly, loud, pimply and sweaty specimens. In the States there have been cases of female teachers in their 20s sleeping with their 12 and 13 year old male students, claiming to be “in love” with them. One of them, a very notorious personality whom I forgot the name, even went on to have two children with this student! Although the story went on to have a “happy” ending: she came out of jail, he came of age, and they got married…..

Everyone now - ewwwwww!

Now onto my fascination with youth of the opposite sex. When I was younger, ok much younger, i.e. in my teens, there used to be this hot pop boyband known as “New Kids on the Block”. The older people here - does that ring any bells?? Boybands, in whatever era are almost always the same - they have the same stereotypical group members like the sexy lead singer, the bad boy, the plain nice guy, and the young cutie. All my schoolmates were crazy over the sexy lead singer or the bad boy, but I was oh, so in love with the young cutie aka Joey McIntyre. That innocence, that boyishness sent tingles to my toes. In fact, throughout my school years, mature men did nothing for me, guys with boyish looks to me were hotter. My crushes on stars also showed similar patterns. But that was ok then - I was still younger than most of them.

Now, I thought that I have grown out of this taste/preference. Afterall, I lurrve Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves (both already in their early 40s), and in the East there is the manly Bae Yong Jun to tug my heartstrings. (But I must still say that Sean Connery and Harrison Ford do nothing to me - they are like grandfathers!)

But horror of horrors! In recent times, I have noticed that I have started oogling men in their early twenties with unholy and lustful thoughts. Currently in my home country, they are holding this singing talent show, similar to American Idol. There is this male cutie, 20 years of age, with big shining eyes, and oh so cute dimples (and he sings very well too). I was in a rage when he was kicked out of the competition. When he gazed longingly on the screen, I want to coo “Come to Mummy!!” When he burst into tears after he was eliminated, I wanted to hug him to my bosom…..

Everyone now - ewwwwwww!

Of course, then now I am obsessed with this Korean singer/actor Rain, whose youthful 23-year old body now adorns my blog and has the distinction of being the first male that I have uploaded a picture of. As I have mentioned before he has such a childish face placed atop a man’s body, this man-child is soooooo titillating! I’m playing his CD in the car all the time, not understanding a single Korean word except “Sarang-e” (i.e. I love you”). I think Mr Boo is getting fed-up.

So frightening, this fascination with men 7-10 years younger than me (for NOW). I wonder, if I will continue this obsession with young men even when I am 60, 70, 80?? Like Elizabeth Taylor? That would certainly be of pedophilic proportions. Imagine, myself as a 65 year old granny, cooing to a 20-something hotie and screaming “I love you! You are my hero! You’re cute!” etc. So bloody embarrassing.

This (the Elizabeth Taylor syndrome) probably also explains why I married Mr Boo. Yes, while he is older than me by 1.5 years, he looks far younger than his age. Coming to 32 now, and he looks like 25. Many people have mistaken him as my younger brother (now where is that plastic surgeon of mine!?!?!?). He is also not the most mature man on earth and I, sad to say, enjoy hen-pecking him.

But what happens when Mr Boo finally gets wrinkles and sags like normal people?! Well, I guess there are still younger saplings in the woods, ripe for picking….hehe

Pain, and oh more pain! Seems like my visitors have dwindled to naught, my site hits over the last week consists mainly of just - myself. Apparently my posts are not generating sufficient interests among readers and no one is addicted to this blog except for ….. myself. What a blow to the self esteem. (In contrast, I think Mr Boo’s site hits have about taken over mine. ) Maybe a few years down the road, when I am hugely popular, I will look back at this particular post and have a good laugh, but for now, I’ll just wallow in self pity.

Dear friends, if you are reading, please drop some comments, otherwise I will feel like I am writing to ghosts (so apt now that this is the Hungary Ghost Month in the Chinese calendar). Note that comments will not appear on the site immediately because they will have to be moderated!

Dear me, what is happening to me? Am I asking for sympathy reads?! Tsk, tsk.

I found something!!! Enjoy! (That’s also his poster in his bedroom in Full House.) Nice bod yah?

I mentioned last night that I bought Rain’s CD. Rain is first and foremost a singer, then an actor (and he acts so well!! More props! You go, dawg!). Anyway, I was listening to his CD in Mr Boo’s car, and it comprised mostly of dance-pop tracks. Mr Boo complained sourly that it was all so noisy (he hates dance tracks because he cannot dance!). Mr Boo also commented that Rain reminds him of Justin Timberlake, and I think he hit the nail on the head. Rain does sound like an Asian Justin Timberlake! But gosh, he is much better looking! Later that night I watched the bonus DVD containing two of his MTVs, and boy could he dance! He is a damn good dancer, and his body (half naked again) is HOT! I should surf the net and look for some of his naked pics and post it here hmm?

Sigh, now if only Mr Boo would go and train up his chest and arms (they are starting to slack again). But I guess we cannot do anything about his height…. (those Korean actors are just so tall!!)

I was in Seoul in October last year. My Korean friend, knowing that I was obsessed with Korean dramas, told me then that there was a very good series currently showing in Korea called “Full House”, and that it was very funny. Now, this friend of mine, she absolutely hates all the domestic Korean soapies (they are way too weepy for a modern Korean woman like her!), so for her to say that “Full House” was a good show, and that everyone was rushing home after work to watch, caught my attention. I have been on the look-out for the drama to hit our shores ever since.

So finally, after the longest wait, I got my hands on a dubbed version less than two weeks ago. I will cut right to the verdict - IT IS FANTASTIC!!! WONDERFUL! BRILLIANT! [Spoilers ahead]

It is everything the last series I watched, Beautiful Days, was not. It is hilariously funny, the leads are wonderfully natural and have perfect chemistry with one another. The plot is interesting and not too convoluted, focusing mainly on the growth and development of main characters, with a happy ending that is just spot-on and most satisfying. Perhaps I have been watching way too many tearjerkers, and this is just a breath of fresh air. Lovers in Paris came close, but Lovers had a vague ending which I disliked, and that spoiled the whole show for me.

Synopsis: Han Ji-Eun (played by Song Hae Gyo) is an aspiring writer living in a beautiful house by the beach (nicknamed “Full House”) which was built by her late father. Her two best friends, having landed in financial trouble, plotted to have her house sold to current popular actor Lee Young-Jae (played by Bi or Rain), who has been evading a series of scandals. The two crossed paths during a trip to Shanghai and from then totally rubbed each other the wrong way. Young Jae is in love with his childhood friend Kang Hye Won (played by Han Eun Jung) but she in turn was in love with another childhood friend Yoo Min-Hyuk (played by Kim Sung Soo) - yes, we cannot avoid those multiple-orgy type relationships. In a brash moment, both Ji-Eun and Young Jae decided to enter into a contractual marriage so that Ji-Eun can “work” as a maid and get back her “Full House”, while Young Jae is able to get some respite from scandals as well as to let Hye Won to be with Min-Hyuk (or so he thought). Despite their frequent quarrels and fights, both Ji-Eun and Young Jae are unable to fight off their attraction to one another. However, just when their marriage may move on to become a “real” marriage, Hye Won, having been rejected by Min-Hyuk, wants Young-Jae back. Min-Hyuk also fell in love with Ji-Eun, thereby obstructing the path to true love. The scandal regarding their contractual marriage also threatens to explode and hurt Young-Jae’s budding career. Can Ji-Eun and Young Jae, despite their differences and numerous obstacles, confess their feelings for each other and stay together for good? YES, YES and YES!!!!!

10 things I absolutely love about this show:

1) Perfect chemistry between Ji-Eun and Young-Jae: they are just so funny together. True opposites in both physical appearances and characters e.g. one is extremely untidy (the pint-sized one) and the other is a fastidious nut (tall and hunky). They are just a pair made in heaven. Both young, the bickering couple is like two squabbling teenagers, and their antics are true comedic moments. In contrast, their quiet moments are so touching and heart rending it makes me want to cry. By the end of the show, I was literally yelling at the screen, “Tell her you love her, you FOOL!!!” because I want them to be together!

2) Great plot: The premise of the show is obviously contrived (an alternative Cinderalla meets Prince Charming), and the meaning of “Great” here is not in the same degree as “Great” in Jewel in the Palace. For a romantic comedy, a great plot will hit all the right spots with the audience. The bickering, if kept on for too long will become boring and even grating, but the producers wisely kept the show to only 16 episodes. The pacing is kept up, and the sad moments are not dragged out and thus kept their poignancy. The concentration on the two leads playing house makes their falling in love all the more believable. There is no BIG Evil Third Party, both Hye Won and Min Hyuk are realistic characters and they don’t come up with sinister plots to break the leads up, and when they realise that Ji-Eun and Young-Jae are truly in love, they step aside gracefully.

3) Complementary sidekicks and other characters: Because it is a relatively short drama, there are no other nonsensical side-plots running concurrently to distract us from the main story. These characters including Ji-Eun’s idiotic friends who betrayed her and sold her house, and Young-Jae’s cute and loving family all contributed to Ji-Eun’s and Young-Jae’s progressive relationship. In particular, Young-Jae’s family, comprising of granny, dad and mum and their interactions with Ji-Eun are very heart-warming and funny. For once there is no stupid family standing in the way of true love unlike 10 zillion other Korean shows.

4) Classic moments: There are just so many of them I don’t know where to start. The one that had me laughing out loud was their “honeymoon” bedroom scene (I believed it was in the Phuket Banyan Tree!!!!!) when they fought over each other for the right to sleep on the luxurious king-size bed. Another was when they were stuffing each other with sushi while pretending to act as a loving couple in front of reporters. Other classic moments included both Ji-Eun and Young-Jae performing the “3 bears” in front of the family and each other, and many other scenes when they are hurling insults at each other, calling each other “birdbrain” (him to her) and “weirdo/pyscho” (her to him).

5) Tender and/or heart-breaking scenes: Though not that many, these are well acted out and filled with aching poignancy. One of my favourites was when Young Jae stood Ji-Eun up on a “date” (they had started to fall reluctantly in love) when he rushed over to comfort Hye Won and she stayed up late to wait for him to come home. When he finally returned and she demanded an explanation, he got defensive since he felt guilty (some artistic license here cos I can’t remember the exact script):

YJ (shouting): I never told you to wait up for me! Why are you so stupid? Who told you to wait so long for me?
JE (hurt and indignant): You stood me up and you’re calling me stupid? Where did you go? Did you go and see her?
YJ (angry and defensive): What business is it of yours? You are not my anyone!
JE (tears in her eyes): Whatever we have right now, it means nothing to you?
YJ (pausing, then ground out): Yes, whatever we have right now, it means nothing to me….you mean nothing to me.
JE (taking in a deep breath, and staring back at him, tears rolling down and saying in a quiet and dignified manner): I understand. From now on, you, and what we have here, will mean nothing to me as well.

My GOD! Is that heartbreaking or what!!?!? Trust me, the scene went better than what I wrote above.

6) Superb and well directed ending: A lot of good dramas, not just Korean, fall into the trap of a rushed or weird ending. I get extremely frustrated when this happens, and it happens a lot. Sometimes, like in the case of Beautiful Days, it seems that the director has forgotten that he has only that much time to conclude the series, and therefore the ending is so abrupt. Others like Lovers in Paris, went for an “unconventional” ending, which meant nothing at all. Do directors really think that audience don’t care about endings at all? It doesn’t matter if the ending is sad or happy, loose ends should be tied up properly. If it is a happy ending, I want to see how happy the couple is, especially if they spent the last 15 episodes apart! I want to know they are truly living happily ever after! I want to see them doing mudane things and enjoying each other’s company after the final love declaration! Full House made me very, very happy to have sacrificed my sleep and sat through the entire series. I gave a standing ovation in my living room after the credits came up.

7) Rain the actor: He is not Bae Yong Jun for sure. I don’t really know how to describe him - he has such a small boy’s face (ok, he’s only an innocent 23). Small slit eyes (and they are not even symmetrical!) which disappear when he grins a cheeky or boyish grin. (I told Mr Boo that with the Korean Wave, his looks have increased in market value since he also has small and droopy eyes.) But such a gorgeous body!!! Tanned, tonned and not overtly muscular. Tall and lithe. And he stripped often enough in the show for me to drool over his body. Meow! His looks grow on you. And I give him props for acting his role so very well. When he is blustery he is all macho crap, when he is romantic and in pain I want to hug and comfort him! (And my pedophilic tendencies rear their ugly heads again!) And he says the cheesiest lines so very well and makes my heart fly to the heavens. His final declaration to Ji-Eun goes something as such:

“I love you Ji-Eun. The seas and skies may disappear, but I will still love you. It may be the end of time, and my very being may explode into a million pieces, I will still love you.” Corny? Yes! Romantic? Yes!

And now, sigh, I am a fan. I just went to buy his CD!

8) Song Hae Gyo the actress: I never did like her in the previous shows I have seen, including Autumn in My Heart, Hotelier and All In. She was way too weepy then, and she still looked so young and childish to be a mature and lovelorn leading lady. But she was well-casted in this role as a shrewish, independent and strong young woman. Many Internet denizens commented that they never knew she had a funny bone in her, and I agree!! In fact, I think she should just do comedy from now on! She is absolutely perfect for it! And she looks absolutely luminous in the role. I think she has been hard done by the previous dramas. She is also the perfect foil for Rain.

9) “Full House” itself: In the show, “Full House” stands for “a house filled with love and romance”. According to Internet writings, the gorgeous house by the beach was specially built for this show for the grand price of US$1,000,000. It is so beautiful with its spiralling staircase, floor to ceiling glass windows, fantastic views, garden, porch - good lord, anyone can easily fall in love in such a place! I want to buy it and live with Mr Boo (although he is nothing like Rain….)!! How much is it?? I think I would be a retiree before I could even afford to live in something like that!

10) Great soundtrack: What is a good show without a good soundtrack - think Winter Sonata. Then again, there is hardly any Korean drama, even the relatively bad ones, that has a bad OST. All the songs and music fit the mood perfectly.

As I continued watching Full House, I kept changing my ratings for the drama. I started out giving the show 4 out of 5 boos, gradually moving up to 4.25 and then telling myself I would raise it up to 4.5 if the ending was well-done. However I thought to myself, what great flaws are there since it fulfilled my key criteria of providing me great entertainment? Am I fair to compare this to Jewel in the Palace when they are in totally different genres? So in the end I decided: for a romantic comedy/drama, Full House Gets Full Marks!

Rating: 5 out of 5 boos!! (A first ever!)

Mr Boo, that cheat, asked me last week to help him install a hit counter on his blog (he is a technological dinosaur, that man). Dismayed by the fact that his counter barely moved, except when he kept logging on to check, he capitulated and announced the presence of his soccer blog to his students. Within a few days, it has leapt up to a good 200+ hits! And mine has remained fairly stagnant over the weekend. Buoyed by his so-called “popularity” of the blog, Mr Boo is logging even more fanatically twice or even three times a day just to see how much his counter has jumped. I swear, men are just SOOOOOOO vain!

Now I wonder if I should announce my blog to more people, but if I do, this site will really become nothing more than a book, movies and dramas review site, and I’ll be too embarressed to write more personal issues (except to really close friends). I feel more comfortable with the idea of strangers reading my personal life and getting them addicted to reading. Oh well, I suppose I will just have to endure the taunts from Mr Boo once his site visits surpassed mine (which should be very soon). Gross!

Ok I must admit it: I have NEVER read this book by Roald Dahl during my salad days. I was more into Enid Blyton books then, you see. Nevertheless, prior to the release of this movie, I went to the book store to flip through the story quickly, so I knew what the story was about and also the ending.

So, unless you are like me living in some tribe in Timbuktu, I guess I don’t need to tell you what the story is all about, which is in a nutshell - poor boy realises his dream and visits biggest chocolate factory in town, and won the big prize in the end which is voila! the chocolate factory itself!!!

Before I go any further, let us get the modern day comparisons out of the way. Yes, Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka is creepily like Michael Jackson, except with a flawless nose. I LOVE Depp in the “Pirates of the Carribean”, but he is just SO creepy (as opposed to being just eccentric) that I think he really spoils the movie (an unfortuante thing since he is really actually a very cute actor). Thankfully, Depp did not really look at the little boys (including Charlie) in a pedophilic manner, otherwise I would have screamed and run out of the cinema.

To me, the movie is a story of two halves (very much like a soccer game). The first half, talking about Charlie (Freddie Highmore, such a revelation!) and his dirt poor but oh so close family, really pulls my heartstrings. 5 boos goes out to the cast of grandpas and grandmas stuck in one bed, the loving parents and sensible Charlie. Now this Freddie boy, he has eliminated all the ghosts of all the recent horrendous, overacting children, from Joel Haley (Sixth Sense) to Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds), and I am not including child actor of them all, Macauley Culkin (eewww). That sincere light shining from his blue eyes, the lack of pretense, gosh I wish the whole damn movie was about him, I could look at him act all day (gosh, now I am beginning to sound pedophilic myself!!).

But the minute the movie shifted its focus from Charlie and his family to the tour of the chocolate factory aka Neverland, led by Michael oops, Willy Wonka, the story fell apart, and it is just a series of gags and special effects, including the Oompa-Loompas (which were quite cute at first but lost effect after awhile). Even the ending, which deviated from the original, and talking about Wonka’s estranged relationship with his dentist father, seemed too bloody draggy. And so the movie sputtered out for me.

Rating: 3 boos out of 5 (give me Charlie and stuff the chocolate factory!!)