Author Archives: avnjl

About avnjl

Amanda is a lifestyle blogger who endeavours to better herself through reflective practises. She is known to be witty and analytical although at times she seems to be talking to herself. Cooking (food and literature) is therapeutic to her, so Indulge in her and perhaps drop her a note or two along the way? ;)

Dignity

Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs-of-a-Geisha-memoirs-of-a-geisha-19182137-800-375 

Full movie: http://youtu.be/TBgvjMD5xmM

Rewatched Memoirs of a Geisha the other day (2013), the movie was released in 2005, that makes it 8 years ago.

Its fascinating how watching the movie in 2013 gives a different perspective and helps gained new understanding different as per 8 years ago.

Cant recall and neither (oky wait, let me go search…)
oh, I did blogged abt it back then ( woh, I’ve been blogging for that long)..

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Just watched the movie Memoirs of the Geisha on Monday. You guys watched it yet?

… (text removed for clarity of entry)

It reminds me of life, not in the sense the everyday life that we are living. But rather this life that we have. This breath that in inhale and exhale continuously.

While we do have the freedom of choices, we have already stepped on this journey that is (not) gonna stop for anything or anyone. Not having the opportunity to say “No, time is gonna stop for me.”

You just have to walk on. Like a Geisha, your sole purpose is to live on ..

So, 2013… Aft the disruption of attending to dad after the movie, and the many things that had happened over the years. I had these thoughts written down:

(a) “Dignity is the prideful way of not being negatively persuasive.”

(b) “Dignity is the prideful, quiet rebellion when accused.”

(c) “Dignity is standing tall and having it all although in the slums.”

What is Dignity?
the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect
a sense of pride in oneself; self-respect

What is Pride?
a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from qualities or possessions that are widely admired

 

(a) was about positive persuasion, different perspective, tough language, smart usage of words and qualities to gain one’s objective, without the need to stoop low and attempt to achieve with other means such as threat, manipulation of lust and flowery persuasion. — notice the many times Sayori had verbal exchange with Hazimomo, or moving words with Noburu.

(b) When Sayori was accused of giving up her chastity for a Kimono

(c) Was the post war period when she was working with the Kimono factory, how quick she was in regaining the composure and demeanor of who she was.

 

The change is pretty profound I feel. While the young me captured thoughts of living life and having control over it. The now-me went further in and looked at character development. The need for dignity, the acts of a person, the language it portrays, whats of the left and whats of the right.

 

I wonder whats it like perhaps another 8 years down the road and I watch the show again. Hows it gonna be? 😀

 

Thanks for coming by

Be Bless
Love,
Amanda

 

P/S: Are you one of those that has been reading since 8 years ago?

Alejandro

I got curious about Lady GaGa’s song, one song in particular and I went to urbandictionary what “Alejandro” means.

1. Alejandro

noun – (Spanish variant of Alexander)

1. One who can hardly contain his awesomeness as it spills out of him everywhere he goes.

2. Extreme genius.

3. Male having an abnormally large member.

2. Alejandro

A man who keeps calling Lady GaGa’s name to the extent that she needed to write a song to get him to shut up.

Don’t call my name Alejandro.

Why the name for the song?

So, the information bank says:

With this particular song, she stated “I’m saying goodbye to all my past boyfriends..”. In an interview, Gaga said that each of her songs written for The Fame Monsterwere all influenced by a monster. The monsters all take place in each song; for example, “Alejandro” was influenced by her “Fear of Men Monster“. She confirmed this monster in an interview On the Record with Fuse. In the song, ‘Alejandro’ represents Alexander McQueen, ‘Fernando’ represents Fernando Garibay, one of the producers she worked with on the album and for The Monster Ball Tour, and ‘Roberto’ represents Rob Fusari, an old producer and ex-boyfriend. The lyrics talk about Gaga defending herself against a “harem” of Latin men and has a number of ABBA allusions, including a reference to their 1976 song “Fernando”, which Gaga cited as one of her influences.

Source: http://ladygaga.wikia.com/wiki/Alejandro_(song)

There we go:

 

 

You know that I love you boy.
Hot like Mexico, rejoice.
At this point I gotta choose,
nothing to loose.

Don’t call my name.
Don’t call my name, Alejandro.
I’m not your babe.
I’m not your babe, Fernando.

Don’t wanna kiss, don’t wanna touch.
Just smoke my cigarrette and hush.
Don’t call my name.
Don’t call my name, Roberto.

Alejandro.
Alejandro.
Ale-ale-jandro.
Ale-ale-jandro. [2x]

 

 

Thanks for coming by

Be Bless
Love,
Amanda

Psychopath .. CEO

Talking about being sick, or in this case being a psychopath.

Was reading an article on knowledge magazine and lucky you it is available online.

Could You Spot A Psychopath?

Source: http://sciencefocus.com/feature/psychology/could-you-spot-psychopath

While he tested their performance and overall potential, Babiak was permitted to use the Hare Psychopathy Checklist – the psychometric test typically used to assess whether criminals have psychopathic tendencies. Babiak discovered that out of the 203 people he tested, one in 25 of them were classified as psychopaths, despite having no criminal background. That’s four times the number he would have expected to find in the general population.

When Hare took a closer look at the data, he discovered something else. “The company’s in-house evaluations of these people often said stuff like ‘this guy/gal is a team leader – innovative, bright, can be trusted, lights up the room when they step in, and so on,’” says Hare. “In fact, the higher they tended to score on the Psychopathy Checklist the better an impression people had of them.

“But when we measured their performance scores, by looking at how effective they were at furthering the company, they went right down as their checklist scores went up. In fact, when you get up at the high levels of the psychopathy scale, their performance was generally unacceptable. They should have been fired, but they weren’t because they were viewed differently by the people – they were great at managing impressions.”

 

 

They’re also thought to control our inhibitions and our attention. So far it seems his scans back this up. Inside the MRI scanner, when an individual classed as a psychopath is asked to weigh up a serious moral dilemma – like whether they should divert an out-of-control tram to hit a bus full of schoolchildren or one headed to a retirement home – their brain doesn’t seem to work as expected. Their amygdala – an almond-shaped brain segment that deals with raw emotions like fear and rage – should reel in horror at this hypothetical disaster. But the scans reveal that it remains relatively sedate in psychopaths. In fact, the more severe their psychopathy the less this part of the limbic system seems to react.

It doesn’t seem to be just one isolated portion of the brain that’s affected either. “The Orbito-Frontal Cortex (OFC) is supposed to attach emotional salience to fear stimuli,” says Kiehl. “In other words, it helps make sense of the basic emotions formed by the amygdala. When the psychopaths were asked to rate moral violations, this circuit also demonstrated much lower levels of activity than non-psychopathic prisoners. Not only were they not picking up on the emotionally charged content, but their brains didn’t seem to be equipped to attach meaning to it either.”

The result of this faulty circuitry is that they either fail to empathise or understand an emotion in the first place, or don’t know the appropriate way to react to it – something Kiehl has witnessed first hand.

 

 

Go read it, its pretty damn cool. 😉

 

Thanks for coming by

 

Be Bless
Love,
Amanda

3096 Days

Went by to watch 3096 Days the movie.

Was actually pretty reluctant initially, cos according to the background of the movie, it can really quite mess the mind up.

3096days_051008

 

Imagine being taken at the age of 10, as seen in the photo above. Locked away in the basement of basements…

and the kidnapper seems to beget pleasure from saying “Obey Me” at you over the intercom, and does that consistently.
and when you retaliate or disobey, you get beaten up.

Really is quite a messed up show, or is perhaps is the reason why rather than portraying the many other struggle the young girl goes through, the movie portrays a lot more on human resilience.

You got to read the novel or watch the movie to catch what I’m saying. 🙂

It’s not healthy/wholesome. Its definitely not for entertainment alright?

 

Yucks. Dont understand how a person can be so sick.

 

Thanks for coming by

Be Bless
Love,
Amanda

 

Prawn and Broccoli Recipe

Prawn and Broccoli Recipe

Inspired from the BKK dish (the picture below isnt how the dish cooked from the recipe will turn out to be).
You need: 
1. Broccoli
2. Prawns
3. Carrots
4. Fish Sauce/Oyster Sauce/Salt
5. Garlic
6. Oil (1 table spoon)
Quantity: 
Agak Agak.
It is Agak Agak, but okay, its the idea of matching, if you a head of Broccoli, thats perhaps about my fist sized – 10cm in diameter, you know that going into 10 or 12 prawns is abit too much. 6-8 is sufficient. So 1-head of broccoli matches 6-8 prawns 
Carrots, dont use baby-cut carrots, it is “recycled”. Say a carrot that is about 16-17cm in length and 4-5cm in width, which is huge, a 7cm by 4cm is good enough.
Fish sauce, if you have it, Oyster sauce (which is very convenient to get) is fine too. 3-4 table-spoon is sufficient. But of course proportional to items 1 – 3. For the more health conscious, or dinning with diabetic peeps, 1.5 leveled-teaspoon of salt is enough (almost more than enough) to give it taste. Point to note the salt will “react” with the prawn to bring out the taste. It’s pretty awesome if prawn is fresh.
Garlic, Be generous, the elders say it kills bacteria of the greens, others say it brings another angle to the taste of the dish overall. I just know that Garlic is good for the body. 2-3 cloves is enough. 4, 5 will be pushing it.
Shortcut: 
1. Boil water, put Broccoli in a metal container, pour boil water into the metal container, close up metal container and let Broccoli cook itself. come back in 5-7mins time to check on Broccoli, Broccoli should look cooked by then. Pour away boil water, Douse with tap water to help retain colour (and some say vitamins). Pour away tap water. Leave it. No need to bother about drying, just leave it.
As is, Broccoli takes time to cook. So having “boil” it, all it has to do when it gets into the pan later is to absorb the essence of the dish. *sLuRP!
2. After de-shelling the prawn, give it’s rim a slid, it helps the prawn to “bloom” a little when cooked. Looks better although not exactly shortcut.
Those that are bothered, may remove the “intestinal vein”, some prawns have 2, the bottom and the top. It would then bloom even prettier. 🙂
But yar… fingers will smell of prawn. *yucks* but well, do it once, do it good.
3. Carrot, cut thin thin slice, diagonal strips are always good. It takes time to cook as well.
4. Not a fan of dicing garlic? Cut of top and bottom of garlic. Place a big knife horizontally over it. Apply pressure on top on the knife so the garlic is flatten. There, its easier now. My mom would just dump the whole flatten garlic in and it gets dissipated as we stir while cooking. 😀
5. If you prefer your dish to be a little wet (although entirely unnecessary) dilute the sauce. 3-4 table spoon of sauce to 1-2 table spoon of water. In a bowl, mix well before pouring in.
Steps: 
Prep
1. Slice Carrots. avoid getting it wet. Douse it with water and dry!! only before putting into pan.
2. Slice Broccoli. you may consider using small knifes to slid the heads out from the side, and further divide the stems into smaller pieces.
3. De-shell prawn. Wash.
4. Dice garlic.
Here comes the fun!
5. Turn stove on to Medium heat if you are un-confident. High heat is fine too (assuming Broccoli is pre-boiled)
6. Drop 1/2 a tablespoon of water into pan to see that pan is hot enough. The water evaporates when it is hot enough (not very necessary as it is more for deep frying stuff).
7. Pour in oil.
8. Put in Garlic, stir till it looks golden brown, 10-20secs is good enough too.
9. Put in Carrot, stir till it looks somewhat cooked.  (Raw carrots is edible too, dont worry)
10. Put in Prawns, stir for a short while, till its pinkish, as though the whole prawn gains heat.
11. Put in Broccoli
12. Stir
13. Put in sauce
14. Stir
15. Cover pan 10-20 secs is good enough.
16. Dish and Serve.
There you are. Agak Agak. By the feel, looks and intuition 😉

Call it off

Yet another classic,

although not entirely inspired by the minions. 😀

BRAVO! BRAVO!!! MAGNIFICO!!!

and how on earth is it that they can dance on skating shoes?
Roll Call please:

Any really good blues bar in Singapore?

We dont always get what we want

Ultimately, what is the purpose in life? We know it is not the chase for richness, it is not the chase for success, but what is it?
Those are great, if not them, then what?

I dont know it all, but I know, these are by-products of achievements.
And, purpose in life is a by-product of achievement. In my opinion.

Because its only when you achieve then can you have the ability to be more than you, a person.

We know life is unfair.
Was it fair to those that encounters natural disaster? Was it fair for someone else along the roads that was been apportion a sad deck of cards in life (although it is still for them to work around).

Everyday as we go through life, its about the people around us. Its about how we can reach out and facilitate other people’s life. Caring, Sharing, Empowering. Within your abilities, capabilities.

Making it easier for the people around you to get by (but definitely not along the line of letting them take the benefit for granted). Spreading that kindness.

Why, because life is unfair. We dont always get what we want.

Some more equal than others

Foreground:
Was looking through 9gag and this picture came up:

Goofy & Pluto

 

It was captioned “We are all born equal, some more equal than others.” and that strike me. Where did that saying start from? What does it mean? What was the writer to say? Go google “Animal Farm” by George Orwell if you were like me. Its about the abuse of collectivism amongst the common.

While we live in a meritocracy, democratic and fair society, can you see how the “Animal Farm” has quietly creeped in? 🙂

But here here, theres no one to blame except urself, because theres freewill and choice even in the most oppressed of situations.

Here’s a little read that presents another angle of itself. 🙂

Altogether Now, by Cassiestar
(http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Write-Stories/2329917)
I was walking through town, killing time, the other day.

I walked past the sombre church, where three girls in drab uniforms, were sitting on the small, stone wall, eating pasties. They didn’t say much. I caught something about boyfriends, or husbands. Not one of them was smiling.

I went into the mean, colourless, shopping precinct. I passed a couple of empty, vacant shops. One of the windows was boarded up. I went into the bargain shop to waste a few more minutes. There were two pensioners, probably husband and wife, who were looking at, scrutinizing some sleeveless shirts, compairing the different prices.

“I’ll have to wait a couple of weeks,” moaned the podgy man. “You know we’ve got the gas and electricity to pay. That’ll cost us an arm and a leg.””But you’ve got to get something,” argued his wife, pleading more than complaining.

“You’ve been wearing the same shirt for the last three weeks. Every time you go to the old age.”
“I know, but its only once a week,” protested the husband, not raising his voice too loudly, knowing his wife was trying to be helpful.

I left the bargain shop.

I went into the supermarket. It wasn’t much bigger than a postage stamp, but the prices were reasonable, damn reasonable.

I was surprised how many people were in there. It was pretty full. Parents and children. Mothers struggling with nimble kids. People checking the coins in their pockets, their purses, making sure they had enough, for bread, milk, or whatever they fancied but couldn’t really afford.

There was a couple in their late forties, looking at packs of ham, bacon. “It’s either this, or the lottery tickets,” said the man adamantly, waving a pack of gammon in front of the woman.

“All right love,” sighed the woman loudly. They moved slowly away. He placed the gammon firmly, neatly on top of the other packs. She pushed her grey hair away from her tired eyes…

I got to the checkout. There was a lad about seventeen, trying to buy a four-pack of cider.

“Are you old enough?” demanded the fleshy, threatening woman on the till. I noticed the tattoo on her arm. It was a flower or a bird. I glanced at the lad.

“Old enough,” swaggered the lad. “I’ll be twenty-six next birthday.” He grinned a brazen grin.

“Bugger off,” said the woman, waving her tattooed arm. She looked and sounded angry. “Go on, bugger off.” She waved her hand frantically, furiously. She pointed, thrust a finger in the direction of the way out automatic door. “Out!” She stood up, jabbed her finger – like a dagger to the heart. “Get out!” She almost fell back on her chair.

The lad cursed loudly, threw the four-pack back on the conveyor belt, and stormed out of, kicking over a potted plant as he left the supermarket.

I got outside, frowned and shook my head. “Nutter.” I said to myself. I walked along, not noticing much, until i left the shopping precinct.

I could hear raised voices. I stopped, turned around. There was a man and a woman outside the Workingmans Club. They were shouting and ranting. Both were in their late twenties, early thirties. She wore an orange T-shirt and black leggings. I couldn’t honestly say what he was wearing. he was moving backwards, forwards, like a caged tiger. (I think he wore jeans and a polo shirt).
He was cursing like a navvy, his face a blood pressure red. He threw something, it looked like a bunch of keys, at the woman. They hit her hard. They fell, clattering, in the gutter. He kicked, then almost punched the Club door open, still swearing.

She was crying – I could see her wipe the tears away – as she picked the keys up.

I walked away, thinking of the words we are all born equal. Some more equal than others, I mumbled, slowly shaking my head.

Thanks for coming by

Be Bless
Love,
Amanda