Chloe & Dylan ~ Tang Lung at Home 2011

Ahh...time goes by quick, and before I know it, the Lantern Festival is here...bring on the lights and mooncakes. All forms of lanterns are available as usual but the one this ole man truely desire is the vintage Racing Horse Lantern. Just couldn't find any here in KL.

Hot Toys MMS 149 ~ Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

This figure by HT is based on Tim Burton's 2007 black comedy horror musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The movie itself is based on the highly acclaimed, award winning 1979 musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. The story is based during the Victorian era, whereby a barber, Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), was falsely charged and sentenced to a life of hard labour in Australia by a corrupt judge lusting after the barber's beautiful wife. He returned after 15 year, with another sailor, Anthony and learnt from his former land lady, Mrs Lovett (who operates an unsuccessful pie shop on the ground floor), that his wife had committed suicide after being raped by the judge, Turpin. Sweeney Todd, as he calls himself now, vows revenge on the perverted judge. Meanwhile Anthony has fallen in love with the ward of Turpin, Johanna. In fact, Turpin wants Johanna for himself. As such he locks up Johanna in an asylum after learning she intends to elope with Anthony. As event progresses, Todd very nearly accomplished his revenge on Turpin but the plan is ruined at the very last minute by Anthony. Consumed with hatred and anger, Sweeney, in his insanity for failing to kill Turpin, vent his anger on all his customers. Sweeney kills them with a slash on the neck, using the straight razor. The barber chair has a trap door underneath, whereby the bodies are disposed and baked into pies by Mrs Lovett, whom has fallen in love with Todd and becomes a willing accomplice. Ironically, Mrs Lovett's pie business begins to meet with success after using this "ingredient". Todd also begins to devise a new plan to entice Turpin to return to the barber shop. He sends a letter saying that Anthony will free Johanna and brings her to his shop. Around this time, Mrs Lovett took in a boy Toby as assistant. Also, filthy beggar woman begins to pester them for then unknown reason. Later, Toby witnesses a victim being dropped from the barber shop onto the bake house as well as finding a toe in a pie and informs Mrs Lovett about it. Todd and Mrs Lovett then search for Toby but not before Mrs Lovett hides him underneath the sewer. Then the beggar woman went to Todd's barber shop, she is killed as Turpin returns to claim back Johanna. Todd manages to kill Turpin this time around. Johanna sees the murder of Turpin and is about to be killed by Todd but his attention is diverted by Mrs Lovett's scream. Turpin has in his death throes grabs Mrs Lovett. As Todd goes to the bake house to look at Turpin's corpse, Todd begins to recognise the face of the dead beggar woman, who turns out to be his wife. Mrs Lovett has intentionally lied to Todd from the beginning, and pretending to forgive her, Todd insanely dances with Mrs Lovett before tossing her into the oven, burning her alive. Toby, who is hiding in the sewer, then creeps up behind Todd and picks up the razor. He knows Toby's presence and raises his own neck for Toby to slash as he kneels and cradles the body of his wife. Before I forget, Todd also did not realise that he has a daughter, who turns out to be Johanna.

Blitzway ~ Tony "Scarface" Montana.

I never f**ked anybody over in my life didn't have it coming to them. You got that? All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break them for no one. Do you understand? That piece of shit up there, I never liked him, I never trusted him. For all I know he had me set up and had my friend Angel Fernandez killed. But that's history. I'm here, he's not. Do you wanna go on with me, you say it. You don't, then you make a move.

In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.

The World Is Yours!

What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of f**kin' a******s. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your f$%^kin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!

Is this it? That's what it's all about, Manny? Eating, drinking, f**king, sucking? Snorting? Then what? You're 50. You got a bag for a belly. You got tits, you need a bra. They got hair on them. You got a liver, they got spots on it, and you're eating this f**kin' shit, looking like these rich f**king mummies in here... Look at that. A junkie. I got a f**kin' junkie for a wife. She don't eat nothing. Sleeps all day with them black shades on. Wakes up with a Quaalude, and who won't f**k me 'cause she's in a coma. I can't even have a kid with her, Manny. Her womb is so polluted, I can't even have a f**kin' little baby with her!

You know what capitalism is? Getting f**ked!

You think you can take me? You need a f**king army if you gonna take me! I'm Tony Montana! You f**k with me, you f**kin' with the best! Go ahead! I take your f**king bullets! You think you kill me with bullets? I take your f**king bullets! Go ahead!

Frank : Hey, Tony. Remember when I told you when you first started working for me, the guys that last in this business, are the guys who fly straight. Low-key, quiet. But the guys who want it all, chicas, champagne, flash... they don't last.

Elvira : You say f**k too much.

..................................................

Brian De Palma's 1983 Scarface tells the rise and fall of Tony Montana, a Cuban whom was part of the hundreds of thousands Cuban refugees seeking political asylum and expelled by Castro from Cuba, resulting in the Mariel boat lift (April 15 to October 31, 1980). According to the pretext, Castro also took this opportunity to include criminals from prisons and mental hospitals as part of the refugees arriving in Miami, Florida. Montana was part of these groups of criminals. From being held at a temporary makeshift refugee camp, Montana and his pals, including closest friend and right hand man, Manny, seized each opportunity presented to him and audaciously (as well as violently) worked his way up to become one of the biggest drug lord running a massive drug empire. Scarface gains notoriety and memorable not only for its extreme violence and excessive usage of vulgar language (for its time) but more importantly, for its underlying view of a distorted version of the American Dream. Montana works hard to amass massive fortunes for himself but through drug dealings and killing of rivals. Montana has no redemptive value, is crude (but audacious and cunning) and violent to the point of being a borderline sociopath as well as morally bankrupt (even though he refused to allow an assassin to go ahead with the killing of a Bolivian journalist who wanted to expose the connections between the drug barons and key government individuals because the man's spouse and kids were with him). He lives in a huge but opulently designed mansion and has a trophy wife, Elvira, but like Montana, is herself a materialistic, hardcore drug addict. He seems to care about his mother and sister but may secretly harbours an incestuous desire for the latter, an event which would eventually led to the death of Manny at the hands of Montana. He achieves the distorted Dream but at the cost of his own sanity and the lives of those around him. In certain conversations within the film, Montana, drunk and high on drugs himself, he reflects back onto his own success and his drug business empire. Is this all there is? In the climatic ending, Montana (after being indicted of money laundering and failed assassination of the journalist), he eventually fell in a hail of bullets in a drug fueled, brutal final stand with an army of Bolivian assassins, a retaliatory act by another Bolivian drug baron. Scarface has since gained a cult following status, particularly amongst the hip hop community. It also attracted criticism from the local Cuban community for the negative portrayal of the Cuban society in Florida. And this is perhaps one of the best performances and memorable characters on screen portrayed by Al Pacino.

Chloe & Dylan ~ Natalie's Fullmoon Gathering At Malacca.

Another addition to Kah Yau's ever expanding family hehe...

Sim Yoon and Choo's Wedding Trip To Bali.

Courtesy of Choo and Sim Yoon's wedding, with Esther and Renee being chosen as one of the bridesmaid (hmm, isn't bridesmaid suppose to be single only to be eligible?), the family got to go on a nice 4 days 3 nights trip to Bali, staying near Kuta Beach at the Conrad Hotel. The two precious had great moments of their lives, first time on plane. I was quite panicky at first, coz I was worried they might be afraid to get on the plane or something like that. We didn't get to go anywhere, as most tourist destinations and attractions are vastly spread out, and Esther got her time full doing several rehersals for the actual event. And since Renee, whom Esther hasn't got in touch with for quite some time, was around, I looked after the kids, while the ladies go about the preparations and catch up with the times (Renee is now working for the International Red Cross, and constantly travels). Even though, the Conrad was great enough for us, beautiful and with a beach front (the Indian Ocean I told the two precious who then looked at me in an odd manner...) where we spent most of our time. We did go out but only nearby area when we need to shop for some wines for the reception. It was a church wedding and the church, known as Infinity Church, was one of the most modern, minimalistic and stylish churches I had ever been to. Alas, on the actual day itself, Chloe and Dylan threw quite a tantrum and cried for Esther. So, we actually had to witness the entire process from the outside window. But it was alright in the end. Thanks Choo, Sim Yoon for the invitation and making it a memorable trip for us.

ThreeA ~ Popbot : Tomorrow Kings Seven Bones Wasabi.

Made for war against the robots.
Genetically bred autistic warriors who cannot dress themselves, but can shear off a robot's head with nary a thought.
Alone, even though their brothers number in the millions, yes we are doing fine, like the last time, like the last time.
They face death from steel, but do not know how to say hello.
Today's Princes, Tomorrow's Kings.

A (mis) interpretation:

Category: Experimental prototype replicants.
Model type: The Tomorrow Kings - GEN 1.0.
Unit type: The Seven Bones ( 七骨) Old Guards.
ID: Wasabi / The Untameable Fury.
Manufacturer: The Luthor Beans Jr. Corporation.
Function : Heavy artillery support / combat / personal security.
Rank: Wakagashira-hosa.
Incept Date : 15th Dec. 1990.
Serial no.: TKG02MAB0000007B.
Longevity : N/A.
Physical Level : A+.
Mental Class : B.
Abilities: Panzer Kunst - anti-armour martial art; superhuman physiology; precognition.
Std. armaments : The MONEY SHOT RPG x 1; monomolecular-edged katana x 1; Ion Cyclotron power glove x 2.

Wasabi is a member of The Seven Bones, selected from The Old Guards, an elite team of bodyguards for the Punk King the Fourth. Also known as the Untameable Fury, Wasabi truly lives up to his nickname, for he is like a furious tempest of unbridled temper when fighting against Mortis battle titans. His un-relentless furiousness in battles is a complete opposite of the calm, compose nature of a Tomorrow King or Queen. He yields a standard issued RPG which is known as the "Money Shot" because he never misses the vital, weak point of his targets and they would always get it in the mouth. He also carries a standard issued monomolecular edged katana and a pair of Ion Cyclotron power gloves. Regardless of his wild and near uncontrollable nature, Wasabi is noted for his bravery when face even with an insurmountable odds in each battle. Wasabi has a natural instinct in identifying and taking out Interloper TKs and TQs. As a Seven Bones, Wasabi possesses precognitive ability of when and where the Mortis Legion would strike. Due to his neural programming and false memory implant, Wasabi doesn't care even when he already foreseen the manner he would eventually die and when.
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Here's the start of the first of the seven figures called the Seven Bones...

Enterbay ~ The Storm Warriors (风云II) : 1/6th Nameless (無名).

Name : Nameless aka Mou Ming (無名)
Aliases : Wai Ying Hung (韋英雄); Mou Ying Ming (慕英名)

Weapon : The Heroic Sword (英雄劍)

Swordplay Styles :
The Ten Thousand Reciprocating Swords Principle (萬劍歸宗)
The Swordplay of Nameless (莫名劍法)
The Sorrowful Swordplay of Nameless (悲痛莫名)

Martial Art Skills :
The Heavenly Sword Stance (天劍)


I waited, like a Cantonese saying, "until my neck got so long" for this figure to arrive. Well, not really arrive. It's just that Sam was kind enough to "pass on" one from their HQ due to another customer whom has not collected it for a quite a while. See, I was on the waiting list. And knowing the trend Enterbay is currently into right now, I would probably be 80 by the time it arrives. Just kidding. So is it worth the wait? Well, let's just say that the real deal looks way off from the prototype. Of all the Storm Warriors figures, Lord Godless has got to be the one closest to the prototype pics and the best. I just want to complete the set...

911 ~ Ten Years Later....

11th September 2011. I was watching a movie on the telly when a friend called and said that one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center was on fire. What is the title of the movie and which channel I asked her. No, she said. It was not a movie and it was on CNN. I immediately switched channel. As the images of a passenger plane being shown slamming straight onto one of the Twin Towers, while the other spewing plume of black smokes and flames, I immediately went into goosebumps. New York was being attacked, I told her. We hung up, I woke up me mom, we both watched in horror as eventually both towers collapsed. We also realised that Pentagon was being simultaneously attacked and another attempted one had crashed, foiled by the heroic sacrifices of the passengers against the hijackers. The next day, at the office, everyone was talking about it. Colleagues, customers, suppliers. At home. The images of the dust covered survivors are still fresh in my mind till today. Eventually, it emerged that a terrorist group called al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Ladin, was responsible for planning and carrying out the attack. Thousands died, all innocent peoples just looking towards another day at work....firemen and policemen whom responded to the disaster were sacrificed. The 911 Attacks as it came to be known, would marked the beginning of an era whereby opposing enemies are no longer distinctive, as like in a war where two nations of opposing nationalities fought on the battlefield. Terrorists are terrifying opponents. They care not for the innocents, they are faceless and deeply rooted in extreme ideologies which can only be described as insane. Terrorist attacks are not new. These include public bombings what the IRA did. But the 911 attacks would be the most infamous and audacious as it is considered an unprecedented direct attack onto America. The attack also emboldened some of the other terrorist cells, most infamous include the two Bali bombings, claiming two hundred lives of revellers and locals. The mastermind bin Laden, was eventually located and killed by US Navy SEALs and CIA covert operation on 2nd May 2011, in Pakistan.