Shops

Scary scary scary....

Cashback / Bourne Ultimatum

So it was Singapore's National Day here on Thursday, so I celebrated it with about half the nation (the half that wasn't watching the fireworks) by going shopping

Went to see the Bourne Ultimatum which was a pretty pleasing piece of action spy drama. Kept me amused for a couple of hours, had some nice clever bits. Worth a watch (if you've seen the others).




Also went to see Cashback. I'll spend a bit more time going over this film...
Cashback is a British film, that for once, doesn't contain Hugh Grant and isn't about cockney gangsters. It is part comedy, part romance (don't want to call it a romantic comedy, which feels a bit cheep for this film).
The film is about an art student who gets dumped and stops sleeping. To pass the time he gets a job working the night shift at the local supermarket. While working there he meets another girl etc etc. I can't really summarize it in a way that doesn't sound really crap and I don't want to give away some of the wierd twists that made me really like it (but I'm talking wierd like Donnie Darko). They change the pace of the film really well between comedy and romance and use some great visual effects to make it special (you'll know what I mean when you get to the end). Also the soundtrack works really well, not just the music but the way some of the parts are filled with near silence really creates a good atmosphere.

I'm not sure if it was just the mood I was in at the time, but I came out of the cinema feeling pretty floaty and good. I'd like to know what anyone else thinks if they see it. (Turns out it was made in 2006, so might be out on DVD somewhere). Random trivia, the lead actor (Sean Biggerstaff) is the guy who played Oliver Wood in the Harry Potter films. He pulls out a pretty good performance though.

Really. Go and see it, rent the DVD or something, its worth it.

Settled in....

Ok, so now I know I've been here too long....











.... yes that's my photo on the right....

Cars....

Why? Why? WHY?
The highest speed limit here is 90km/h. That should allow you to get like 1 second of buttock-clenching fun before you have to apply the breaks....

Office Cowboys?

This seems to be the latest exercise 'device' in Singapore...
It looks like a wild bull ride or something and it is intended to strengthen your back by providing a figure of 8 motion (making you look like a crazed cowboy in your living room)
Wonder how many they've sold and if they come with a hat and toy guns?

Taxis

Am developing a theory that roughly 1 in 5 taxi drivers are really entertaining. (Sample size still fairly small). Got picked up by one yesterday who spent a long time explaining to me why everyone here is so relaxed, as well as pointing out that no one ever uses their horn. It basically boils down to long prison sentences for violent crime and the fact that everyone is just pretty chilled out. He then went on to demonstrate how relaxed drivers are by cutting in and out of traffic and weaving in and out of traffic for a few minutes while laughing manically...

"Walking is for Europeans"
Pernille Rørth

No one walks here... ever. I asked Nachen how to get to the university library and got the simple answer of: 'Just take shuttlebus A2'. Then went and looked on the campus map and discovered it was a few hundred meters away... So set out on foot with a typical display of 'crazy white guy'.
Took less than 5 minutes, didn't die, didn't collapse. Still slightly confused as to why no one else has worked this out....

mind reading

....not really, but I thought it was a great name for a shop....

Juice-tastic

Had a glass of Aloe juice with honey today for lunch... didn't know you could juice Aloe or use it for anything except hand cream... it was good all the same..

Lab news...

The lab is settling fine, not too many problems with life in Singapore yet.

Amusingly Smitha had start of work health check with a doctor with a v.strong accent who she couldn't really understand.... The result: she is now officially colour blind...

accents are a great thing...