26/08/05 :: She's gone without the goodbye.
Do you know...
In large cities, Americans are photographed on the average of 20 times a day.

Everything you charge is in a database that police, among others, can look at.

Supermarkets track what you purchase and sell the information to direct-mail marketing firms.

Your employer is allowed to read your E-Mail, and if you use your company's health insurance to purchase drugs, your employer has access to that information.

Government computers scan your E-Mail for subversive language.

Your cell phone calls can be intercepted, and your access numbers can be cribbed by eavesdroppers with police scanners.

You register your whereabouts every time you use an ATM, credit card, or use EZ-link at a toll booth.

You are often being watched when you visit web sites. Servers know what you're looking at, what you download, and how long you stay on a page.

A political candidate found his career destroyed by a newspaper that published a list of all the videos he had ever rented.

Most "baby monitors" can be intercepted 100 feet outside the home.

Intelligence agencies now have "micro-bots" -- tiny, remote control, electronic "bugs" that literally can fly into your home and look around without your noticing.

Anyone with $100 can tap your phone.

A new technology called TEMPEST can intercept what you are typing on your keypad (from 100 feet away through a cement wall.)

The National Security Agency has a submarine that can intercept and decipher digital communications from the RF emissions of underwater phone cables.

Thanks to all the above crap(s), we are no longer a Sin City.

=)
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25/08/05 :: That melody faded into a background music.
I've just finished another book.

"The 5 people you meet in Heaven"...

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Let's be frank.
This book is very lousily writtened in terms of vocabulary.
Compared to Dan Brown, Mitch Albom is like a shrimp in the South China Sea.

But what impressed me what how the simple story touched my heart at last.

A dead man rises to heaven and he meets 5 people in his life. Those he knew, those he didn't know, those he loved, and those he killed. Every person has a tale to tell that was connected to him when he was alive. And what I got from the book is that Heaven is not just a place where you can enjoy all you want with under luxurious conditions. It is a place where you will learn about your life and reflect on the incidents which have happened before your life. Isn't it true? A life without reflection is not worth living. =)

Overall rating for "The 5 people you meet in Heaven": 8/10

It's a short book. You will like it. =)
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24/08/05 :: Don't look for me.
Hello!

I am not Wang Guan.

I am Wang Guan's computer.

He is too tired to blog, so please go be like him and study like a mad dog.

Cheers! Now I can download all the music I want... Heehee...

=="lll
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22/08/05 :: Losing passion, minute by minute...
Xu laoshi didn't come to school today.
Wish her well...

I am going to write 2 book reviews today.
1 - Angels and Demons
2 - Digital Fortress

Yeah, books by Dan Brown. =)

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Like the majority of readers, I read "Angels & Demons" after reading "The Da Vinci Code." I would venture that most people reading this review are asking the same question, "How is Angels & Demons as compared to The Da Vinci Code?" The short answer is that they're very similar. If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, you should enjoy Angels & Demons.

The same "wake-up-unwillingly-thanks-to-the-phone" starting, the same Robert Langdon, and the same same twisting plot. Not much of a surprise, although this book is far more complicating than both Da Vinci and Digital Fortress.

But still, with Robert Langdon's smart moves with Dan Brown's touching of mystery, humor and love, this book can never fail to excite you.

Overall rating for "Angels and Demons": 7/10

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I love this one.
Probably the only book which I've read that stopped me from breathing.

When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine - encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls in its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage...not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it will cripple U.S. intelligence.

"Digital Fortress" is the most realistic thriller out of all of Dan Brown's book, and the story is so powerful that you actually think that it is TRUE.

I truly recommend this thing to anything who can read English.

Overall rating for "Digital Fortress": 9/10 (Should have been perfect, but surprisingly, there was a typo in the book, and 1 paragraph did not make any sense in terms of perspective.)

Okay that's all for today.
Back to work WG!
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21/08/05 :: Dewdrop.
Independant learning sucks.

Its suckalicity is equals to the retarded Binomial Theorem.

What the hell is Binomial Theorem? Sounds so wrong and dumb.

Haix, I still hate maths.

B
L
E
A
H

Come on, let's get high tonight~

Heeheehee...
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20/08/05 :: Be with you.
I wanna go to Japan.

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3rd grossing movie in Japan. Ima Ai Ni Yukimasu - "Be with You".

"Be with You", a simple yet magnificent contemporary romance and upon closer look, has discreetly tucked away a much deeper study -- a universal one on the extent of true love and the acceptance of death. Blending romance with death in a tragically beautiful way, "Be with you" is almost perfect in both plot and mood.

My initial exposure to this film plot was filled with skeptics and questions. Why was Takumi’s wife, Mio, able to return from her death and why was she only able to stay with them for the duration of six weeks? I was expecting those “run out the mill” return from death plot but was pleasantly surprised at the revelation in the end. Yes, the rational of her return was hinged upon the unrealistic but it does give the film that surreal romantism and it will leave you with something to think about after leaving the theater.

However, do not expect emotional outburst in this film, even if it seemingly has the potential to do so (since it touted as a tragic romantic story). “Be With You” hardly contains any excessive expressions of emotion: joy, tears or even more than a couple simple kisses. I felt that the film's subtle treatment of romance transformed into the magic of this film, creating a more realistic loving relationship between Takumi, Mio and their son Yuji.

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Part of the charm lies in the three main characters that make up the close knitted family. Akashi Takei who played the adorable son, Yuji, will probably be the endearing one. As an actor at such a young age, he is a natural with the ability to pull the audience’s heartstrings without any exaggerated performance. Shidou Nakamura, who plays the father Takumi, is totally convincing as this awkwardly shy and quiet guy, handicapped in his own way, making him distance himself from the rest of the world. Last but not least, the mother, Mio, played by Yuko Takeuchi was superb in portraying the lady who is just getting used to her sudden new husband and son that she never knew she had.

Initially Shidou Nakamura and Yuko Takeuchi felt like an unlikely couple but with their performance and great storyline, the audiences will grow to like them and understand why they were cast as the couple whose relationship was somewhat doomed from the start.

“Be With You” is highly recommended to all those people who are in love with the Japanese film “Love Letter” as they share plenty of similarities (such as the recollection of the old school days romance and the difficulty in expressing love to the other party) and yet distinctly different from each other such that fans of the latter film will probably like this one too. “Be With You” will be able to pacify the hardcore romantic and those who fear an overdose of sentimentality in films like me.

However my only concern is that Shidou Nakamura's hair is disgusting.

Other than that, it is simply perfect.

Overall rating for "Be with You": 12/10

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19/08/05 :: 9 out of 10 people have an IQ of less than 100.
I love Fridays.
Because you see, I can finally get to relax after a week of shit. =)

Also, I've finally managed to squeeze out time for "Seven Swords". And coming up is my exclusive review. =)

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I love this kind of heroic movies. Especially when the heros are team players. =)

So basically, the Chinese government wanted to eliminate everyone who practises martial arts, so that everyone is weak and fragile for the high officers to control. After finishing off 1 village, the evil asses went to another. So this retarded village needed help because they would be gone in minutes without the help of pros. Hence, this ridiculously silly woman brought this ultra sexually deprived guy up to the "Sky Mountain" and summoned the swords. There were 5 on the mountain, and plus the 2 of them, "Seven Swords" are formed.

So I guess you SHOULD know the follow ups. Seven Swords went down to the mountain and took the entire village for an adventure and fought and fought and fought this mentally challenged general and of course, they won at last.

Honestly speaking, I don't really care about the story. I am more concerned about the director and actors.

Tsui Hark is one of the all-time favourite Hong Kong directors. Although this is not his best movie, people will still support him.

Acting wise, I thought it was pretty good. But the movie is really very BIAN TAI, so you feel disturbed at times, that's why I have no idea why it was rated PG. It should be NC-16, really. Duncan did a great job, and so did Leon Lai.

The style is of course the usual hongkie way of shooting, shaky and fast. Tsui Hark can never be better than Zhang Yimou in martial arts films. But what was impressive is that he actually took the idea from Sin City for the 1st few scenes. It was black and white with touches of red now and then. I have no idea how you can do that... Hahahaha... Rookie. =)

I recommend it. 2 and a half hours of beautiful scenary and fighting. I like. =P

Overall rating for "Seven Swords": 7/10

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Okay the time now is 00:06. Actually I just got back from Balestier a few minutes ago. Watched "The Maid" with Kenneth. Lol... It was a hell of a experience. But frankly speaking, I don't feel the aftermath effect. I'm actually not scared now! Haha... weird...

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I think for the "1st local horror movie", this film has done us justice (although it's not really the 1st, I remembered Zoe Tay's "Hai Zi Shu" years ago with the same genre)...

The approach of this movie is very very good. Seventh month. Maids. Very local, and very easy to attract your attention. And before you watch the movie, you don't really know if it is an english or chinese movie, great way to attract viewers.

I don't have to talk about advertising. I think you are probably sick of all the posters and teasers already. =) So am I, actually.

During the Chinese Seventh Month, the gates of hell open and for 30 days, the dead walk among the living. There are rules to follow in the Seventh Month: Do not swim during the Seventh Month; do not turn back at night when someone calls out your name; do not talk to strangers on a deserted stretch of road.

Oh, did you know, the name of the maid is ROSA? O-M-G.
Can't Kelvin Tong choose something else? Why must it be R-O-S-A?
Lol. Nevermind. =)

I won't tell you about the story, I want you to watch it.
Experience SINGAPORE horror.

It's really horrible. =)

Overall rating for "The Maid": 8/10

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Be careful, don't turn back if someone calls you from the back...

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17/08/05 :: If you got nothing to say, then shut.
I'm too tired to blog.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

You wanna know why?
Cause everything is just homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test, homework, test.

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16/08/05 :: Spread your wings and fly.
Joke of the year:
"For those classes who cannot hear the announcement, class chairman please come down to the office immediately after this announcment. Thank you."

Someone please kill me.

English: 4/10 (... those classes WHO cannot hear...)
Logic: 0/10

Okay anyways, mum is back! Woohoo~
Finally. =)

I've watched many many movies recently but I didn't review. Let me do some today. =) 1st up, "The Year of the Yao".

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Yao Ming - He stands 7 feet 6 inches tall and is just 22 years old. To the Chinese nation of one billion, he is a heroic son and symbol of its increasing presence on the world stage. To the National Basketball Association, he is a poster child for the globalization of the sport and potentially its first iconic superstar from outside North America and Europe. To his teammates on the Houston Rockets, he is the key to a successful championship season. To basketball fans, comedians and even commentators in his field, he is an anomaly: the tallest player in the NBA and Chinese. To his supportive parents, both of whom preceded him as members of the Chinese National Basketball team, he is simply "son." To a young American interpreter with a passion for Chinese language and culture, he is initially a client for interpretation services...and eventually, over the course of a year, a close and valued friend.

Basically, I hate documentaries. But this is one which I love.
Strangely, it is so touching.

I don't know why, this is one documentary which can move you deep inside. Weird, you should catch it in DVD. =)

Overall rating for "The Year of the Yao": 9/10

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Okay next movie, "Ice Princess"

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Brainy Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) has never quite fit in. Caught between her fantasy of becoming a championship figure skater and her strong-willed mother (Joan Cusack), who has her on the fast track to Harvard, she can only hope to be like Nikki, Tiffany and Gen (Hayden Panettiere) - three elite skating prodigies who are ruthlessly competing on the US National circuit (and have attitudes to match). But when Casey gets the chance to train with Gen and her coach, a disgraced former skating champion who also happens to be Gen's mother (Kim Cattrall), she must dash her own mother's hopes in order to pursue her dream. Now, with only the support of Gen's teenage brother, a hunky Zamboni driver (Trevor Blumas), Casey takes on the challenge of her life when she finds herself competing against the best to make it into the championship circuit and become a real "ice princess."

I watched this show even before Ouxiang blogged about it, but I didn't review because I thought none of you would have watched it. Haha... Anyways, I watched this film with mininum expectations, because I never had faith with Disney productions.

To my horror shock, this sweet little movie was actually a simple yet inspiring movie for the entire family. How strong of a mind does it take to give up HARVARD for ice-skating? How strong of a mind does it take to forgive someone who bought you new shoes right before your competition so that you can screw up and injure your feet? Very difficult to understand plot, but it's moving and you will be left with deep emotions. Catch this one as well.

Overall rating for "Ice Princess": 7.5/10