Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol @ IMAX TGV Cinemas

"Popcorn Royale is so nice!"

"Popcorn Royale is nicer than Garrett Popcorn!"

"Popcorn Royale is cheaper than Garrett!"


These are the three thoughts that popped in my mind, in that order, the first time I tipped one of the awfully sinful caramelised popcorn into my mouth.




It was the launch of the IMAX at TGV Cinemas in Sunway Pyramid and I was there to watch the latest blockbuster movie: Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol.




Oh god. Tom Cruise. *drool* (we'll get to that later)


There were so many things to look forward to.

First, IMAX is here. And is staying for good. The last time and first time I ever visited an IMAX was in Times Square like eons back and I wasn't really impressed, mainly because they were showing some short film documentary that didn't really bring out what was supposed to be an impressive experience.

But everything changed that day in TGV. Oh yes. It was so bloody amazing.
We'll get to that later, too, soon, very soon.

Now I've always been a little bit crazy of fully caramelised popcorn which was impossible to find in the olden days cinema in Malaysia. But then I discovered Garrett Popcorn in a Dubai mall. It's like rediscovering your favourite candy all over again, I was estastic. And then the stores kept popping up over all Singapore. So I had only had to travel 300kms to get them instead of flying across the globe. Then they were in Malaysia. Yay!

Now I'm not paid to write this. Just want to share my own point of view. I was always a little let down by the sugar burnt aftertaste that Garrett Popcorn has, not sure if it's because Malaysia version tasted different or I forgot how my first Garrett tasted like (back in Dubai). I kinda stopped liking it for a moment.

And then TGV Cinemas introduced Popcorn Royale and it's all HEAVEN again! *sing song*







Even better, I can bring it in to a cinema to enjoy! YAY! Oh no, I'm gonna get so fat. :(

Now back to the main topic, IMAX.




God heavens the movie was GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD in IMAX. So good I was BLOWN away in my seat the moment *spoiler alert* Dubai and the Burj Khalifa (Tallest building in the world) came into view on the screen.

I was flying over Dubai!

Wee~~~

And have I mentioned I have the hots for Tom Cruise, like all over again! I used to have a major crush on the said actor when I was younger, then I stopped with the whole idolizing stars phenomena for quite a number of years (it's all growing up).

Till this movie. Oh god I'm so in love with Mr. Cruise.
Hotness x1000000000 e99. ❤❤❤
His age made him all the more delectable.

What's up with my something with older guys? -.-
Maybe this is why.




Why was IMAX so good? Well this is my own deciphering, you can google if you want the more accurate explanation. Mine might not be entirely true but then I'm not bothered to google right now (there, I said it).

(quoated from my own fb) It's a technology where it uses digital projector instead of the usual film projector we're used to watch. Means it's crystal clear on cinema screen (like HD) and the screen is in a dome-like shape which means more 3D-effect, the screen is also way bigger to capture you into the movie, even in 2D movies. I can only assume it would be so much more amazing in 3D.

Which is why I'm going back for the 3D version once it's up. :D




The seats were comfortable. But I want to try their Beanie Plex where you get to sit on a beanie seat and watch movie, with your favourite popcorn. ^^




❤

Toshiba New Ultrabook Protege z830

Toshiba has launched its first Ultrabook - Protege Z830 on the 24th November 2011, calling it the thinnest and lightest 13.3inch Ultrabook (1.12kg & 15.9mm thick).







It did look suspiciously like a macbook air, keypads and all.

But it has rather impressive specs.

- Intel Core i5 & i7 processor
- 6GB RAM
- 128GB SSD disk space
- VGA & HDMI video input
- 1.3 mp webcam
- SD card reader
- 1x USB 3.0
- 2x USB 2.0
-fingerprint reader

And spill resistant keyboard is interesting.




The cost comes a bit steep priced at RM3999 for the Intel Core i5 and RM4799 for Intel Core i7.




Worth it? What say you?

Book Review: Esi Edugyan - Half Blood Blues

Esi Edugyan - Half Blood Blues
(Serpent's Tail, 345pp., £10.99. Book Review by Chris Parker)

First, the good news: a book with jazz musicians as its central characters, set at a time when the music came closest to being popular worldwide, and informed by what appears to be genuine love of and respect for said music, has been shortlisted for the most prestigious prize in the English-speaking literary world: the Booker.

Now the bad news: both as a novel per se, and (particularly) as a representation of jazz and the musicians who play it, it's extremely disappointing.

Purely as a novel, Half Blood Blues fails on numerous levels: it's derivative (the plot, hinging on betrayal and invasion, is oddly reminiscent of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner with occasional flashes of Irène Nemirovsky's Suite Française), formulaic (demotic first-person narrative written from an 'older/wiser' perspective) and simplistic (all shades of morality bleached out by the ghastly glare of Nazism); it also fails to individualise any of its characters, all of whom are unrelievedly 'flat' in the Forsterian sense, and it has no narrative 'pull', since the most interesting event in it takes place right at the beginning.

In short, if you're after thoughtful reflection on war and its effects, with special reference to Franco-German hostility, read any of Storm Jameson's novels on the subject rather than this somewhat superficial yarn.

As far as the representation of jazz and its practitioners is concerned, Edugyan's novel also disappoints. Of course, fiction writers (or film makers for that matter) are under no obligation whatsoever to present jazz musicians in a favourable light; what they are obliged to do, however, is to present them in as nuanced and subtle a manner as possible. This Edugyan signally fails to do: the 'half-blood' (German-Senegalese) trumpet prodigy at the centre of the book is simply a cipher, given little dialogue with which to express his feelings about being raised as a mixed-race child in an increasingly hostile atmosphere as the Third Reich replaces the Weimar Republic; the novel's eightysomething narrator is self-confessedly 'unreliable' and unsympathetic, so fails to engage the reader's interest, let alone sympathy; his old friend and bandmate Chip is guess what? a hard-drinking ex-junkie with a nasty line in locker-room humour.

One incident will suffice to illustrate the paucity of imagination, the reliance on unpleasant cliché and stereotyping that characterise the novel: the narrator concludes one passage of reminiscence with the words 'The jazz life. I was hooked.' So what constitutes 'the jazz life' for him? Sneaking into a jazz club in his early teens, watching his friend Chip play drums, being introduced to two women who turn out to be prostitutes, then running away from the brothel to which they take him without paying for the sexual initiation he undergoes there.

All this would not matter so much were it not for the fact that Half Blood Blues is an opportunity missed: anyone who's read anything on the subject of the Nazis and their attitude to what they termed entartete Musik (there is a short Bibliography in the back of Edugyan's book, but one of the most revealing works on the subject, Mike Zwerin's La Tristesse de Saint Louis is not mentioned) will undoubtedly be mystified as to just how such a fascinating subject falls so flat in these pages. And as a final insult, the central character's name is misspelled on the book's cover.

serpentstail.com

Tea Pairing Dinner

I was invited to Twinings tea pairing dinner by a friend of mine.

How could I say no? I love teas, and I love Twinings. I love most things English. Some people like Japanese culture, some people follow Korean Pop culture... Well, I'm a tea-drinking English girl at heart.




There was a workshop talking about making the perfect cup of tea, which was REALLY enlightening. Maybe I'll talk about it in the next post - on how to make a perfect cuppa.




Stephen Twinings was there too, yes you guessed it, he's related to the founder of Twinings - Thomas Twinings, back in the 1706 when the first Twinings tea room was first open in London.


Stephen Twinings is the 10th Generation of the Twinings empire.


It's amazing to meet someone from such a land standing legacy.

He talked a lot about tea, drank a lot of tea too.

One of the most strikening news was that Earl Grey tea is only legit for Twinings, since Early Grey tea was commissioned to Twinings by an EARL, named Charles Grey, and the tea was so welcomed it was named after the Earl. *surprised!*







I never knew tea pairs well with certain food, like wine, but it didn't surprise me that it could. Afterall, certain tea does taste better with certain variety of food.




Like black teas are good with scones, tiramisu and quiche of the sort.



My guess is that they're better with savory or slight savory desserts: some also say it's good with veal, chocolate macaroons and cheese.


Or like the green tea is best served with light food, like finger sandwich, seafood and salad, etc.




Now you know your tea, enjoy a cuppa.










Yum.

Find a cozy/scenic place, your tea will taste even better.


haha I actually got dragged out here to pose for cameras. wtf so random.


Anyway, thanks to the event, now I have enough tea to last me for the rest of the year.

Unless of course I drink it everyday then it would only last me for four months.




Dinner was held at Saujana hotel - Senja restaurant where we had tea, and wine ^^, during our evening meals. YUM.





my favourite dessert of all time!!! for now.





My favourite drink that night was the Strawberry and Mango Infusion, it's by Twinings and not exactly a tea. But really yummy when prepared with sugar.

I had like five glasses that night.

OD-ed T_T

Softening My Shower Water

The water at my apartment is extremely sulphurous.

How do I know this?
Well whenever I left my washed plate on the side of the sink to air dry, after a day, you will see white coagulate stains around the plate.

It’s really annoying. Sometimes it stains back my plate and I have to wash it again before using it.




But since I drink purchased bottled water, it doesn’t really bother me consumption wise.


But imagine this is the water I use to shower, to wash my delicate face, hair, scalp and skin. God knows that else they put in my water, chlorine perhaps?

I learnt about hard water the first time I travelled to the UK for study.

The British had so much stuff in their water (limestone, chalk), most kettles or boilers in any normal household has this tough, stony, off-white crust left at the bottom; it’s called limescale. Sometimes, when pouring direct from the kettle, you will end up drinking of those crusts. YUCK!


The metal rod was not meant to be white. -.-


When I was offered to tryout Coway Spa Water Softener, I jumped at the opportunity.

Yes, yes and yes please.


I didn’t need them to tell me the goodness of having soft water.
Supple skin after shower, no more dry outs, no more skin surface cracks.

Oh the torture I went through during student days, despite the amount of lotion I splatter on myself, it was never enough.




Basically, the Coway Spa Water Softener does two things:
1. Remove harmful and floating substances in tap water to minimize irritation to skin
2. Cation ion exchange resin – to rid of water hardness (i.e. to soften water la)


So not only it filters, you add these special “salt” to the tank when it’s finished to soften your showering tap water.




And it comes in a modern slim tank.


Nice design right?


All for RM70 monthly for a rental unit (with free product maintenance every 2 months up to 5 years).
Or buy it back home, all yours for RM1,900 (free 1 year maintenance, every 2 months).

And if you’re sceptical, try this:
14 days free trial (first 1000 units), no hidden charges, just call up 1800-888-111 or visit www.coway.com.my .

It’s totally easy. The installation guy came and went in 15 minutes flat. I hardly notice his existence.


Technically, it’s only been less than a week that I’ve started using Coway “soft water”, but as a result:
1. more bubble when applying shower gel
2. easier to wash hair
3. hair become less dry after shampooing
4. skin feels softer

You might think it’s too soon to tell, but if you’re the type of person that pays A LOT of attention to your skin like I do, you will notice the difference just after one wash.

Like I always notice the difference taking a shower in Malaysia right after a week long London trip.

True story.

*heart* H&M and Highest High Heels

I've been doing a lot of shopping lately.

It's not normal for me to shop when I travel, but this trip to the Middle East was too overwhelming I just couldn't resist myself.

So many temptations in Dubai, so many brands Malaysia doesn't have, so many things that I love.




H&M for one. I still cannot believe there isn't any H&M brand in South East Asia yet. Yes yes I know it's coming into Singapore end of this year (yay!!!), but the fact remains there isn't any store available in the whole of SEA right at this moment!

Just so you know, H&M was/is one of my favourite brands in the UK (back in my student days).

I bought two dresses and a jumpsuit.




I wore this out today, pairing it with my gold Aldo heels.




I had another in baby beige pink polka dot. Cost me 79 dirhams, only RM65. Too cheap! (Thanks to ringgit for being so strong during my travels, for once)

The jumpsuit I got is the same one Gisele wears in this photo,




but instead of brown I bought it in olive green because the brown ran out of my size.


I also bought a pair of floral print heels from Forever 21, declaring it to be my highest high heels ever owned.




It's exactly.... a total of.... 5.5 inches tall!!!!




Making it officially my tallest high heels (tallest, highest, whatever).




They're so gorgeous I can just melt in it.




After wearing it, I would be 185cm in height. So intimating, me likey.

The heels cost me 95 dirhams which is around RM80, which is really cheap considering Forever 21 in Malaysia sells their heels normally at RM129. That's 40% cheaper!

Another brand that Malaysia doesn't have is Bath and Body Works; which is a brand from the US. Which is the nicest body lotion ever~!

I'm totally into the Passionfruit scent atm.




I smell so delicious after I applied it after shower everyday. My host in Dubai was using it everyday and it made me wanna eat her every time I smelt it on her.

Nom nom nom. Mmmm....

It's like 45 dirhams which is like RM37, more expensive than the price in the US, but hey, beggar can't be chooser.


Speaking of the states, my friend Bryan just got back from the states lately and along with him brought back my bestest buy this first half of the year (so far).

Coastal Scents Make-ups!!!!!




All five palettes of them!!!

You know Coastal Scents, right?

The one that all the major make-up gurus on Youtube are using it.

People like Michelle Phan and manwomanfilm (her username on youtube, she's a super talented Japanese make-up guru) are using them.




They're famous for their 88 Color Eye Shadow Palette.

I also have their

88 Warm Palette.
88 Ultra Shimmer Eye Shadow Palette
88 Metal Mania Palette

and their 6 Contour Blush Palette




The end.

I officially declare myself BROKE for these two months.
(especially after a secret purchase I made this morning, tbc soon)

Final Verdict of Marie France

Weeks ago, the day before I left for Taiwan trip, I went for my final session at Marie France.

12 sessions.

3 months.

Done.


It was such a relief.

It was such a relief because I have never felt BETTER in my life.




I've actually lost quite an amount of weight, even though that was not my initial target when I entered the salon, the sights of cellulite on my thighs have diminise tremendously.

YAY!

It's not obvious on the before and after photo so I shall tell you in my words that I have received lots of remarks everywhere that I have been looking better, and better.


Photos here are not edited, only sharpened because my hands were shaky when I took the photos.





Over the span of three months, not only I have learnt how to:

take care of myself better,
understand how my body works,
become more aware of how my body, and fats, functions;

I've actually have a better diet, and a happier looking skin.

Surprise surprise.




To entertain you with my results, I have lost:

1. 7cm each on my right and left upper thigh
2. 12cm each on my right and left lower thigh
3. 4cm each on my right and left calve.


I had wanted to lose more on my calves because I have really thick calves, thanks to my older backpacking days, and it's really hard to get rid of.

But as the sessions went on week after week, the treatments I received have seemed to shift towards my thighs and hips.

I could have asked them to spread the treatments evenly across my calves and thighs and hips but I was worried spreading the treatment time and cream/serum/solution might also reduce the effectiveness these treatments have on each section of my body.

So I decided to let them focus on my back thighs and hips in the end.

And I'm loving the results.




I'm not saying I'm perfectly pleased with how my body looked yet, but I have never seen a fitter me in a long time and I am definitely feeling supremely confident how the way I look these days.




I've been religiously rubbing lotion after my shower every day now on my thighs and calves, I'm determine to get my calves to shrink now that I am no longer attending treatments at Marie France.

But Marie France has helped me achieve my ultimate goal.

To know that I can still lose, get fit and eliminate those wrinkly skin I thought was forever.

To know that I can get rid of all these, if I work on myself more.




A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do eh?

One day, soon enough, I'm going to achieve my perfect figure.

Maybe one day, I can always return to Marie France for more advanced tech aid.

;)


~*~*~*~*~*~*~


SMS For a free 60min slimming session (worth
RM380)

type MFB NICOLEKISS Name send to
32996