Vacancy
According to a survey, there are a few types of women's bodies: hourglass (classic!!), top-heavy, rectangular or pear-shaped. Of 6,000 women's body analyzed, 46% were described as rectangular, with the waist less than 22.5cm smaller than the hips or bust. Just over 20% of women were bottom-heavy “spoons”, or pear shapes, with hips 5cm larger than busts or more, while almost 14% were “inverted triangles” – women whose busts were 7.4cm or more, bigger than their hips. So which one are you?
My department is currently seeking young and fresh graduates who are ecstatic, bright, witty, amusing, etc to be our new graduate engineer to replace our legendary engineer who unfortunately had to leave us due to personal reasons. LOL!! Who’s got those qualities just gimme a shout
Four Wizards and a Funeral
In the fourth Harry Potter film, the adventures are more perilous, the spells more powerful and the young wizards’ own bodies roiling with tempests of pubescent emotion. In the end, someone even dies. Yes, true to the prerelease hype, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is most definitely not kids’ stuff — the film, and the lives of its characters, have graduated to a PG-13 rating — and as one who has never read so much as one page of one Potter novel, I can only imagine where it all goes from here. (Specifically, I imagine a Part 5 in which an antiestablishment Harry blasts gangsta rap out of his iPod and starts referring to Dobby the house elf as “Shorty.”)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire traces the events leading up to and constituting the storied “Triwizard Tournament,” a sort of triathlon for magic people, pitting Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry against two rival academies — one consisting entirely of sashaying French schoolgirls, the stuff of many a schoolboy fantasy; the other an army of burly, grunting Eastern European bodybuilder types (also the stuff of schoolboy fantasies). As for the titular burning chalice, it will magically select the names of the three wizards — one from each school — worthiest of the Triwizard competition. There’s just one catch: Competitors must be at least 17 years of age, which makes 14-year-old Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) ineligible. The End.
Well, not exactly. Believe it or not, by the time Goblet of Fire reaches the terminus of its two-and-a-half-hour running time, Harry hasn’t just turned the Triwizard Tournament into a four-way affair, he’s performed beyond all reasonable expectation. Someone, you see, has a vested interest (and hardly a benevolent one) in making sure young Harry survives this arsenal of fearsome challenges.
The Tournament itself makes for an engaging spectacle, sure to rekindle fond audience memories of childhood intramural athletics: Harry does battle with a fire-breathing dragon, at one point nimbly chasing it around a steep shingle roof, then later navigates his way through a shape-shifting hedge maze that can turn entrants nearly psychotic with championship lust. The versatile director Mike Newell (Dance With a Stranger, Pushing Tin), who’s actually the first native Brit to take a crack at a Potter picture, pulls off these effects-intensive sequences with aplomb, if admittedly none of the transcendent imagination that Alfonso Cuarón brought to last summer’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — still the series’ best effort. But before the games begin, we’re subjected to a litany of tedious pre-show entertainments, including the Quidditch World Cup (which I’m told takes up more than 100 pages of Rowling’s book), the Yule Ball (Hogwarts’ version of a homecoming dance), and a tentative romance between the giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and the equally formidable Madame Olympe Maxime (West End grande dame Frances de la Tour), headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy. All of which, while reasonably amusing, feels like something that the Potter films have thus far been free of — a marking of time.
And Goblet of Fire is disappointing on other counts, too. For the second in their series of obstacles, the Triwizard contestants must rescue, from the icy Black Lake, a close friend (in Harry’s case, Hermione) who has been abducted, rendered unconscious and deposited in the boggy depths by the tournament coordinators. It’s a scenario whose unfathomable cruelty neither Newell nor veteran series screenwriter Steve Kloves seems fully prepared to confront. Nor do they seem any surer what to make of the weirdly jealous behavior shown toward Harry by his best mate Ron (Rupert Grint) in the wake of Harry’s ascendant celebrity. (By the time Ron stops speaking to Harry out of wounded pride, adolescents in the audience may wonder if they’re watching an adaptation of not J.K. Rowling but rather that staple of every middlebrow middle school education: John Knowles.)
I suppose what I’m getting at is that adolescence is no less sticky a situation for multibillion-dollar movie franchises than it is for young witches and wizards, and what is a Part 4 if not the cinematic equivalent of those awkward tween years? More often than not at this point in a series, novelty wears thin and reinvention abounds — Jason Voorhes bites the dust, Jar Jar Binks takes center stage, and the crew of the Starship Enterprise plops down in San Francisco Bay — to varying degrees of success. So why not a little teen angst for Harry and company, especially when the actors’ own gangly growth spurts (particularly Grint’s) have caused them to resemble oversize Alices traipsing through toy-box wonderlands? Purists, of course, will point out that this is all derived verbatim from Rowling’s 700-page tome — and far be it from me to suggest that a movie should succeed on its own terms.
For this viewer, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came alive only in the presence of a supposed dead man — specifically, the nefarious Lord Voldemort, who brought the lives of Harry’s parents to their untimely ends some 13 years ago, left Harry’s forehead emblazoned with its distinctive lightning-bolt scar and now guides his young archnemesis toward a fateful showdown. Resurrected here in the form of a nearly unrecognizable Ralph Fiennes, ashen of complexion and devoid of hair and nose, Voldemort is like a primeval poltergeist loosed from the deepest recesses of childhood paranoia. From the moment he appears onscreen three-quarters of the way into the picture, I was as if a child again, shivering under my bed covers from some gruesome night terror; then the lights came up, and like the teenage Harry, I found myself all too abruptly returned to a world where there are things far graver than nocturnal phantoms.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
So, finally HP4 arrives on cinema this weekend. So basically I've booked 12 tickets. No preference to anybody, I just sent messages to you guys and wait for your replies. Here are the names who have replied:
*UPDATED*
Zamir (2)
Me (2)
Ayun
Izan
Dinna
Elly (3)
Jirah (2)
So total = 12. Here are the details:
Location: TGV Suria KLCC
Date: Friday, Nov 18
Time: 8.30 pm
So probably we can meet up somewhere near KLCC first, have dinner then watch the movie. Remember to bring 11 bucks with you, and someone else needs to help me buy another 6 tix. Anybody bringing robes/hats/broomsticks?
Gotcha Part 2
This morning, Gotcha put a prank on a father who's daughter was said to skip classes, omitting assignments and even forged her dad's signature so that she doesn't need to attend lectures. Her dad was in a mode of panic when Rudy said that they'll whip her like 30 times as a punishment! LOL. Then her dad was trying to negotiate saying this kind of action will not put a positive effect on her daughter and suggested that psychology would be the better method bla bla. But when he found out the truth, he was cool about it, like all the other victims. I would like to see my dad get pranked by someone. You'll just see his reaction and I bet you it's not going to be smooth. hehehe
New generation of Civic (8th) is wider and more spacious than the previous model. It even has a digital speedometer on top of the tachometer. Looks like the new City from the front view. I guess I can probably wish and hope for the time being. Got to see what other new models are offering too. Hyundai Accent looks quite decent too.
What a good weekend of sports. England won, UofM football and volleyball w
on (Point, Michigan!), WTA Tennis, what else. Lalala
Malaysia Warned Over Pirated CDs
In General, submitted by Forcefire on 11/7/2005 7:33:01 AMMalaysia's government has been accused of failing to act on evidence that licensed CD factories are producing pirated music, films and software, BBC reports.The country's recording industry says pirated discs from 12 of the 44 factories licensed by the government have been exported abroad.The suspect plants continue to operate despite complaints while illegal plants have been shut down, the industry says.Malaysia is thought to be the world's largest exporter of pirated discs. Pirated discs produced in Malaysia have been found across Europe, Asia, Latin America and, most recently, in South Africa.Forensic examinations were made by labs in London belonging to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).A spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (Rim) said the Malaysian authorities had been given the evidence."What we are concerned about is that the CD plants are still operating despite our complaints so we do not know what form of action the government has taken," Rim chief executive officer Tan Ngiap Foo told AFP news agency."The forensic tests... [are] equivalent to DNA tests so we are able to trace the source of the manufacturer."He commended the government, however, for raiding seven unlicensed CD plants this year alone.Industry bodies and the US government both reckon that licensed Malaysian factories are able to produce around nine million discs every day.
Got hOnda?
Anybody care to lend me some money? Looks like a Civic don't you think?
Still prefer mazda, though its too expensive
Ikan di laut, asam di darat...
I really like to watch the advertisement during raya, I think the quality has improved substantially for the past few years. All the big guns are trying to convey a meaningful message, some with a hint of comedy and some very simple and each has their own theme I’ve been missing all of them for the past four years, so I made sure this year wasn’t the fifth. Out of all adverts, I think Petronas outperforms the rest, no exceptions this year too. That girl looks cute, I wonder who she is.
Anyway, it felt nice to finally celebrate raya with your family. I’m not saying that celebrating with friends aren’t, but the feeling is somewhat different. I can now say that the gap that has been left hollow in my heart has now been filled with warmth and tender. LOL
And the greatest of all, Manchester United won against Chelsea. Again, the former champion emerged victorious and ruined Chelsea’s unbeaten run. We did the same against Arsenal too. However, the goal came unexpected because I don’t think Fletcher deliberately headed the ball towards the goal. It looked as if he was trying to head the ball back in, but lucky for him the ball went straight into the net. I guess Sir Alex can now breathe a little slower now eh? A little sugar on Mourinho's face please?
Happy Deepa-Raya!!
To all my Indian and Malay friends out there, where ever you are, Selamat Deepa-Raya!! Yeehaw aku cuti for one week, since last friday sampai this sunday. Well at least I don't need to work my brains off for the whole week. Tomorrow I'll be leaving for Terengganu for 5 days. I haven't been back in years, so I'm not sure what and who to expect hehe. Most of my cousins I don't know quite well, I used to hangout with them when we were kids but now its kinda ackward. Tak tau nak ckp apa beb.
Anyway, I was browsing through the internet and I came through with a top ten list of the most expensive colleges in the US. Guess who's on the top list? U of M! Huhuhu. Do I feel guilty spending a lot of government's money? Err nope sorry. Well at least the football team is getting better now. 3 straight wins. Keep it going wolverines!!
The top 5 most expensive state universities for out-of-state students:
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, $27,601 - Tsk tsk tsk
University of California at Davis, $25,277
University of Vermont, $24,934
University of California at Santa Barbara, $24,813
University of California at Santa Cruz, $24,769
Source: Chronicle for Higher EducationAnd the list goes on...........................
Following are the No. 1 rankings in selected categories:
I Only Want the Best
Best Overall Academic Experience: Reed College
Professors Get High Marks: St. John's College, Santa Fe
Professors Get Low Marks: California Institute of Technology
Professors Make Themselves Available: United States Air Force Academy
Toughest College to Get Into: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
TAs Teach Too Many Upper-Level Courses: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - LOL!!
All I Ever Do Is Study!
Students Never Stop Studying: Reed College
Students (Almost) Never Study: University of Mississippi
Great College Library: Harvard University
This Is a Library?: Clarkson University
The Smiley Face Factor
Happiest Students: Stanford University
Least Happy Students: Colorado School of Mines
Dorms Like Palaces: Loyola College, Baltimore
Dorms Like Dungeons: United States Coast Guard Academy
Great Campus Food: Bowdoin College
Is It Food?: St. Bonaventure University
Most Beautiful Campus: Pepperdine University
Campus is Tiny, Unsightly or Both: SUNY at Albany
Best Quality of Life: Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Where's the Game?
Students Pack the Stadiums: University of Maryland, College Park
Best Jock School: University of Florida
Dodge Ball Targets: Eugene Lang College/New School University
Everyone Plays Intramural Sports: University of Notre Dame
Nobody Plays Intramural Sports: Eugene Lang College/New School University
Animal House
Top Party School: University of Wisconsin-Madison - You lucky bastards!
Major Frat & Sorority Scene: DePauw University
Reefer Madness: Hampshire College
Lots of Hard Liquor: Tulane University
Lots of Beer: Indiana University - Again, lucky bastards!
They Never Wear Togas Here (WTF?!)
Stone Cold Sober School: Brigham Young University
Students Pray on a Regular Basis: Brigham Young University
They Don't Inhale: United State Air Force Academy
Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch: Brigham Young University
Politically Correct
Most Politically-Active Students: New College of Florida
Election? What Election?: University of Idaho
Students Most Nostalgic for Ronald Reagan: Hillsdale College
Students Most Nostalgic for Bill Clinton: Mills College
I'm Okay, You're Okay
Most Diverse Student Population: George Mason University
Lots of Race/Class Interaction: Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Gay Community Accepted: New College of Florida
Alternative Lifestyles Not an Alternative: Hampden-Sydney College
Red Tape, Green Money
School Runs Like Butter: Princeton University
Long Lines and Red Tape: Fisk University
Students Most Satisfied With Financial Aid: Princeton University
Students Dissatisfied With Financial Aid: New York University
