Woodcraft Owl

I completed this woodcraft owl on my 2nd last day in hospital (twas a really boring day).

The owl is made up of various wood pieces, each one a certain shape and with slot(s). It is put together by slotting corresponding pieces which are numbered. That's why you can see some writing on the wood pieces cos I used a pen to label them.

Chunyu bought this from Taiwan - thanx mate!

My first pair of socks

I'm very proud of this pair of purple socks cos they were the first time I knitted socks and were actually on time for my fren's birthday :D

I often start on projects for people's birthdays but am unable to complete them in time for the birthday...

Thank you Tricia for taking and sending me these pictures :)

Pattern adapted from a Guardian article on knitting

I knitted a baby blue elephant

The end product looks nothing like the picture in this free pattern I got off the internet.

http://www.knittinginstitute.co.uk/pdf_files/FreePatternFun1.pdf

Anyway the elephant is very soft & huggable.
Here's a picture of Reika with the elephant :)

Invictus

Guess what film I just watched?

By William Ernest Henley (originally untitled)

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus is Latin for unconquered

Patrick Swayze RIP

Listened to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack over the weekend... (Had no clue what would happen on the coming Monday)
This is the 2-disc collector's edition issued in 1999. The original soundtrack didn't include the 2nd song featured in the film - Big Girls Don't Cry. The music/film company then released another soundtrack, probably called More Dirty Dancing or something like that.
So the 1st disc is the original soundtrack (which I listened to many times during uni - thanx Daphne!) and the 2nd disc includes the music featured in several of the film scenes, including Kellerman's Anthem.
I bought the above 2-disc soundtrack in Taiwan in 2000/2001. Bought alot of CDs back then, especially non-current releases (ie. old/past albums).

Watched the opening credits of Ghost in June on British TV. Reminded me of the time I watched it in the cinema accidentally. My 2 friends & I actually wanted to watch Problem Child but we ended up watching Ghost instead - can you imagine? From a comedy about a kid to an adult drama about murder & supernatural spirits? When I saw the credits in June, I realised how creepy the credits were (well, the film title is Ghost after all), my friends and I must have literally jumped out of our seats in the dark cinema when the word GHOST appeared onscreen, due to the sheer scariness and being caught off guard since we were expecting Problem Child.

Have just watched 東邪西毒：終極版 aka Ashes of Time Redux on DVD recently.
I never realised that my favourite film of all time 重慶森林 Chungking Express was actually a by-product of the former film. The director decided to make Chungking Express while he was taking a break from editing 東邪西毒. So 重慶森林 arised from Ashes of Time :)
Twas a poignant experience cos the lead actor was Leslie Cheung 張國榮 who has also passed away like Patrick Swayze. His year of death was the same as my mother's.

東邪西毒 & 重慶森林 were the last films that Brigitte Lin 林青霞 appeared in. She retired after that.
Faye Wong 王菲 (Chungking Express) has also retired. Both Brigitte Lin & Faye Wong married and started families.
Maggie Cheung 張曼玉 (Special appearance in Ashes of Time Redux) has also retired from films. (though she's not married)
I miss watching these iconic actresses on the big screen, especially in the traditionally male-dominated film industry.

Audrey Tautou: 10 Films

Amelie aka Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain
I knew I'd like this film when I first heard of it, even before I watched it. And boy, did I have to wait a long long time before I could watch it.
This whimisical film regularly gets on many best-of film lists and is usually the only one among the other top films to feature a female lead - ie. the rose among the thorns. So Amelie is like a breath of fresh air among the heavily male-&-Hollywood-dominated film industry.


A la folie... pas du tout - He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not
L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can
Amelie's - oops, I mean Audrey's next film. After watching Amelie, you'll definitely want to watch Audrey Tautou in other films.


L'auberge espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)
Ah, a multi-national romantic comedy...
I just watched Romain Duris in De battre mon coeur s'est arrete (The beat that my heart skipped). I haven't watched the sequel to The Spanish Apartment though.


Dirty Pretty Things
Audrey speaks English - after all the film is set in London.
She's acting as an illegal immigrant from Turkey.
Watched it alone in a dirty cinema on Beach Road 1 month after returning from London.


Pas sur la bouche aka Not On The Lips
A period musical - Amelie Audrey sings!
1st time I watched an Audrey Tautou film with another person (Carolyn, at Alliance Francaise)


Un long dimanche de fiancailles - A Very Long Engagement
Jodie Foster speaks French!
Watched this on DVD.


The Da Vinci Code
I read the book before watching the films so there was no way I could imagine Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu cos Sophie is a redhead.
Another Audrey Tautou film I watched at cinema with Carolyn (and husband)


Hors de prix - Priceless
Set in The French Riveria - Nice & Monte Carlo, so the location looks gorgeous. Ditto for the various outfits Audrey wears in the film.
Watched this with Arlina & Chunyu - but we didn't sit together cos there weren't 3 seats together available before the 1st 2 rows.

Ensemble, c'est tout (Hunting & Gathering)
Can't seem to see the connection between the original French title and the English title.
The French title is certainly more appropriate as the film really does consist of a ensemble of characters. Besides the leading couple (Audrey Tautou's Camille and the dishy Guillaume Canet - Marion Cotillard is so lucky!), the male lead's grandmother and his flatmate also play important roles in the film.

Coco Avant Chanel
Watched this last night by myself (SFS members' screening).
Just so that I could notch up 10 films starring Audrey Tautou :)

http://audrey-tautou.org/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0851582/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tautou

Cup of tea

Hmmm, but which one to drink?



How about something to accompany that cup of tea?

http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/