.....

Thanks Omy for the invitations!

Movie Review

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train which was the 1st of a series of bombs in the country.

He then learns he's part of a government experiment called the "Source Code," a program that forces him to relive another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life.

Colter, against his will initially, re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack. The hard part for Colter to accept was the fact that he was badly injured while serving in Afghanistan, and in reality, he's dead with only his brain intact and kept on life support in a research facility. The pact he has with the government is that they terminate his life support once his 'mission' is complete.

Filled with mind-boggling twists and heart-pounding suspense, a wonderful time warp movie with pace and style. Director, Jones has a way of conveying desperate, claustrophobic, isolation in a remarkable calm way. Interesting and engaging up until the end. With a love story in between (but hey I suppose love can happen in just 8 mins?).

Note: Jeffrey Wright was terrible playing Dr. Rutledge and his accent was something I'll rather do without.

On the whole, the movie was riveting, if you survive the mind boggling first 20mins.

Here's to the after hours athlete indeed. Trust Puma to have such an awesome series of parties. Pity this is the last!

A perfect night to party since good friday was a holiday. There was free slow skyy vodka, tiger beer and what ever dancing juice you might need.

Their series of parties actually are actually centered around any of these 1 handed ball games - Foosball, tabletennis and Air Hockey allowing you to chug a beer in the other. :)Win 6 games and get free puma gear (yay?)

I played a game of air hockey and scored! Alas, my friends weren't as game crazed as me and wouldn't agree to playing ping pong nor more games. Damn.

Was great to see the Augustman team and a couple of old media friends like Dolphin Yeo and Charmaine from The Peak. Even realised an ex school mate was bartender for the night.Looking forward to more fabulous events from Puma.

Fashion Nation.

Well, what started out Singapore Fashion Festival in 2001 has now grown by many folds to become an international fashion and trade event that the even our government has given a thumbs up for. Yes - rebranded as the Asia Fashion Exchange (AFX)this 2011

AFX 11 has more than just fashionistas getting excited. Pity Marchesa is not in this year's list, as was last year. (I always had a thing for tulle, lace, mesh and roses).

Here is what's installed for all this May.

Missoni: Think geometrics, and abstract florals . OOooo the kaleidoscopic colors you say.
Swarovski: So much more than your everyday crystals, Swarovski (Say it with me:Sa-ross -ki)has also Avant Garde lighting and design, as well as Home and Decor. For Atelier Swarovski, I'm definitely wowed by the versatility of crystal uses in cutting edge fashion and jewelry. crystal encrusted skulls anyone?
Tiffany & Co: 925 silver never looked this good, neither did we think that we would find architects or the decent of Pablo Piccaso designing our jewelry with T&Co today. It's nice how Frank Ghery and Paloma have worked their magic with Tiffany!
Vera Wang: Gowns gowns and more gowns, Wang's gowns are every bride's dream!It's surely nice to witness what 16 years as fashion editor before she turned fashion entrepreneur has done for brides in the world.
Antonio Berardi: A UK citizen board to Sicilian immigrants, Antonio has worked with John galliano as a student out of St Martins. So surely John's magic has rubbed off on Antonio, with his statement prices that are inspired by samurai armor and the kimonos. To his day to night clothes collection that collaborate with your body to enhance their natural curves. The world needs to know if they don't already!
Greyhound: An excellent Bangkok born brand, that has not just fashionable clothes, but cafes too. Asia FTW! (And yes there's alot more to BKK than just tom yum or thai discos)
Raoul: A Singapore brand with excellent branding. Fact is: Many people don't even know Raoul begin in Singapore, and they need to know! (Asian pride?)
All Dressed Up: Again, a Singaporean brand helmed by Tina Tan Leo , this brand is soooo chic. All Dressed up shows you what high end casual wear is about.
Ungaro: Since Ungaro, men without cologne were no longer in vogue.

What's been unveiled.
1. Fashion Asia Summit (May 18 to 20)
Fashion Asia Summit is a major business conference that provides knowledge, insight, and opinions about fashion for fashion industry professionals in Asia. This event will bring more than 30 experts from the fashion industry worldwide. The event delivered in a structured through presentations, interactive panel sessions, small group workshops, and master class.
Some personalities include Andrew Wu (LVMH Group Director for China), Mark Baumann (Head of Visual Merchandising, Lane Crawford), Simon Gaffey (International Director, Karen Millen), Eric Jennings (VP ​​Men’s Fashion, Saks Fifth Avenue), Douglas Benjamin (CEO of FJ Benjamin), Bryan Riviere (Head of Global Sourcing and Manufacturing, Lululemon Athletica), South Hamilton (Founder and CEO of HL Group), and Juliet Warkentin (Global Content Director, WGSN). “Through Fashion Asia Summit 2011, the business in the fashion industry get the opportunity to expand its product range,” said Chris Koh, TaFf’s Honorary President.

2. Audi Fashion Festival (May 13 to 19)
Audi Fashion Festival 2011 (AFF) is an exhibition featuring world-class collection of international designers and labels. The exhibition is held at the Tent @ Ngee Ann City is guaranteed to be bigger than last year.

3. Blueprint (May 19 to 22)
Blueprint is a trade show that brings buyers in the world and design talents to Singapore to do business in Asia. Blueprint 2011 opened the door for a unique shopping experience to consumers. Fashion lovers now have a rare opportunity to purchase limited edition pieces of exhibitors, most of which are not available locally.

4. Star Creation (11 May)
Star Creation is a fashion design competition that is ready to unveil Asian talents of the future. Last year, participants reached 75 people until the conical to 12 finalists. And finally, the three winners chosen, among them Audrey Lim (21 years old from Singapore), Kitty Miao May Rong (33 years old from China), and Daniel Ngoo (23 years old from Malaysia).

The winners get cash prizes and 10,000 Singapore dollars a year plus salary employment contract in 2500 Singapore dollars per month with a leading fashion retailer, FJ Benjamin.

Awesome you say?

The event was lots of fun, with instant photos for guest, taken and printed within 10mins, and projected live on the LCD screen display.

Barbara, the editor of Women's weekly as well as make up artists from Shiseido were there to give demos and style tips too. I especially loved the lipstick shade they used on Jessica.

The Dorothy Perkin's fashion party this Saturday beckons.
Thanks to Jessica my fashion stylist friend for the invitation :)

Speaking of which the LION KING musical at MBS was really enjoyable. Never knew Humans pretending to be animals could be this entertaining.

The tickets were pricy however, and the theatre, surprisingly small. I bought the Cat C tickets at $125 per seat. Watch it before it ends this May.

The Lion King opens on 3rd March 2011 and will play 8 shows a week.
Every Tuesday - Friday at 8pm
Every Saturday, Sunday at 2pm and 8pm

Ticket Price (Excludes Booking Fee)
Platinum - S$240
A Reserve - S$185
B Reserve - S$165
C Reserve - S$125
D Reserve - S$85
E Reserve - S$65

Nestled in the lush greenery of Bishan Park, the Canopy @ Aramsa houses not only 1 restaurant, by a vegan outlet -The Green Room, and a Spa - Asmara all upon its location.

Run by formal TV personality, Ms Jazreel Low, the CEO of Asmara Lifestyle group and open since 2007, I couldn't believe that I only came to know about the place this year.

A popular spot on weekends in this large park undergoing major revamp of what we heard include a river with water sports activities, The Canopy has a dedicated brunch menu as well as complete lunch and dinner menus, the location also boasts a Liveband for entertainment on certain days of the week as well as kids crafts for those who want to bring Junior on a weekend afternoon.

For starters, we had the Mango Prawn Salad - a cold fish with prawns perched on a soft bed of salad doused with mango sauce and mango cubes with nata de coco. The prawn was firm and tender, needless to say it went very well with the tangy mango.

We also had the Margherita Pizza, which was thin crusted and baked to perfection. Aromatic and not too salty, this one's a winner.

My favourite dish of the night was Canopy's Asian Chicken Pasta, maybe it's because I'm biased towards things that tingle. I loved how the chilli worked up my appetite, and how the pasta was not overcooked. My friends and I also tried the Bavarian Platter which had an assortment of sausages with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut, I liked the sausages and I'm sure any Male diner would. But the sauerkraut tasted a little off. Or rather I've had better sauerkraut.

Another interesting dish was the Green Curry Pasta, nicely done and definitely creative, it came with a generous portion of green chicken which was lip smacking tender.

We also were treated to some cocktails, such as the lemongrass mojito and the sunday sundae, and another which tasted like a choco-tini, but with peanut butter innit.

To sum it up, The Canopy does have a wonderfully varied menu. It's a great place with the perfect ambiance, allowing guests a reprieve from the hurried daily lives of Singaporeans and the maddening crowds.

The Canopy:
1382 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 Bishan Park 2 Singapore 569931.
For spa reservation, call +65 6456 6556
For dining reservation, call +65 6556 1533

*To reach Asmara Lifestyle by bus, you can take Bus 136, 133, and 262 from AMK. The park is not within walking distance from Bishan MRT. There's ample parking however:D

How about a dose of nostalgia, This totally functional 3 megapixel digital camera is built out of red, yellow, green and blue LEGO bricks. With one of these, you'll be too cool for school.

Available now at www.myskinnyaunt.com

Jack's Mannequin- Swim

You've gotta swim
Swim for your life
Swim for the music
That saves you
When you're not so sure you'll survive
You gotta swim
And swim when it hurts
The whole world is watching
You haven't come this far
To fall off the earth
The currents will pull you
Away from your love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
A crack in the armor
I swim to brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I'm not giving in
I swim

You gotta swim
Through nights that won't end
Swim for your families
Your lovers your sisters
And brothers and friends
Yeah you've gotta swim
Through wars without cause
Swim for the lost politicians
Who don't see their greed as a flaw

The currents will pull us
Away from our love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
Cracking me open now
I swim for brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I'm not giving in
Well I'm not giving in
I swim

You gotta swim
Swim in the dark
There's no shame in drifting
Feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark
Yeah you've gotta swim
Don't let yourself sink
Just find the horizon
I promise you it's not as far as you think
The currents will drag us away from our love
Just keep your head above
Just keep your head above
Swim
Just keep your head above
Swim, swim
Just keep your head above
Swim

Can't embed this video. So here's the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5LjFkibA7w

Met the wonderful X-Wen from fash eccentric during the First Run Film Festival held in Singapore for the 1st time, by Tischasia and the Kanbar institute of film and television.

Showing only in NYC and SG, the finals will be screened today at The Cathay and I'm pretty excited about it.

Being keen on the arts, and having attended several Singapore Short Film festivals the past years as well as seen plenty of local films, I definitely welcome NYU's First Run Film Festival to our little arts landscape. I do think it's a great opportunity for students to showcase their work and audiences to be exposed to more independent films and Asian cinema.

My 2 favourites from the shortlisted films were Skywobble and Old Married couple (I didn't make it to the later half of the screening last saturday but hey the winning films will be showed today).

Inspired film makers may wish to check out tischasia's blog / web for more details. Awesome faculty members they've got there. What more can you ask for with most of the members bring professionals already immersed in the industry and are working professional directors already. www.tischasia.nyu.edu.sg/

So I scored a pair of tickets to First Run Film festival 2011 from TischAsia

http://tischasiablog.com/2011/03/tisch-asia-presents-first-run-film-festival-2011-april-3rd-5th-2011/

Not too shabby at all :)

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