My Very First Blog

Do you like my panda avatar? Isn't he cute?

He's actually Jing Jing, one of the five mascots from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.



I wonder if there's a planet out there in a galaxy far, far away with a population of pandas like Jing Jing. Then maybe, I can go into that claustrophobic box and sleep away while mentally controlling my panda avatar on that distant planet called Pandaro.

OK, you must have guessed by now this post is not so much about my panda avatar as it is about Avatar the movie directed by James Cameron. Haha!



Of course, in the movie, it's Pandora, not Pandaro and the natives of the planet is called Na'vi, not Panda!

It is this movie Avatar that made this three-word phrase trendy nowadays. Which 3 words?

"I see you".



With Star Wars it was "May The Force Be With You". That phrase was so famous it's already a classic.

Now with Avatar, it's "I see you".

To those of you who have not watched this movie, you will not know what the heck I am talking about. So go watch it and come back here later and tell me whether you see me or not, OK?

Before you watch the movie however, you may want to watch this trailer. (If you still want to continue reading, be aware of spoilers ahead!)



Anyway, I went to watch this movie on Christmas eve last year without bothering to book or buy the tickets online. So when I went to GSC 1Utama in the morning thinking I was early enough to buy tickets for the night show, I was stunned to see a long queue and the monitors showing tickets were limited and selling fast!

I sure as hell was not going to queue up there, so I walked over to the old wing of 1Utama and tried my luck at TGV cinema. Surprise! There was no queue there, in fact hardly any people there at all! I quickly bought myself 3 tickets for Avatar priced at only RM9 per seat. Too bad they did not have Avatar in 3D, but I guess I was lucky to even get the tickets!

Well, what do you know! After years of being "pampered" in GSC, I found it quite uncomfortable watching a movie in TGV. For one, the seats did not have head rests (my poor neck!) and secondly, they were a little tight! Mind you, I am not fat!



I still remember a decade ago, TGV was like "luxury" to me! Now it has been replaced by GSC. No wonder no one goes TGV anymore! But wait, I have found out an even better version that makes GSC pales in comparison. It's GSC Signature - the crème de la crème of cinemas! Of course, the tickets there are sold at a premium price too.



So you can imagine how my friend who ever so often goes to GSC Signature for her movies, complained about TGV that night! After 3 hours of Avatar, she came out with a backache! Haha! Obviously, she's a little weak as she is not even 25 yet!



I will not go into details about Avatar the movie. If you want to know more and are not afraid of spoilers, go read the reviews here, here and here.

Suffice to say, I love the movie! It's easily my top 3 movies last year and possibly this year, although I really hope not!

I would say James Cameron did it again! I enjoyed his movies from Terminator to Aliens, to Titanic and now Avatar.



Sam Worthington is definitely the next big action movie star! As Jake Sully, he puts in enough emotional depth into his character. You can't say the same for many other big action movie stars out there!



There must be a reason why James Cameron hired Sigourney Weaver again. As the famous heroine in his movie Alien, Sigourney came across as a strong woman in the face of fear. And I can tell you, she was excellent in Avatar.



I like the way her character Dr. Grace Augustine stood up to the sleazy entrepreneur Parker Selfridge (played by Giovanni Ribisi) and the aggressive Col. Miles Quaritch (played by Stephen Lang).



There's one scene where she was about to die (oops! sorry for this spoiler! If you have not watched this movie, stop right here!) and she saw the Tree Of Souls (Vitraya Ramunon) and blurted out that she would like to collect some samples. That's really funny because it was so unexpected!



I thought Zoe Saldana did a perfect job with her Neytiri character. I liked the myriad of expressions on her face - she was good! In fact, Neytiri was such a central character in the movie without an actress of her capability, the movie would surely suffer.



But the biggest star in the movie had to be the CGI and special effects, without which, Avatar would not be raking in the millions by now. If there were any imperfections in the plotlines and cheesiness in the dialogues, they were quickly forgotten as the impressive CGI effects took over.

I liked this movie so much I was a little disappointed for not being able to watch it in 3D. So guess what? I went for a second round just for the 3D!

After "suffering" in TGV, I went to GSC Signature for the 3D version a few days later. A good movie of almost 3 hours long must be watched in complete comfort and luxury, don't you agree? Who cares about the price? It's Avatar 3D!

Here's a photo of the huge Avatar poster I snapped at GSC Signature before the I watched the movie. I felt like taking it home with me as souvenir. Haha!



Amazingly, I found that I prefer Avatar without 3D! It was indeed a surprise, and I still do not know why, but I found the 3D was not as sharp and clear as the one without 3D. In case you are wondering, yes, I was wearing that 3D specs!

Oh well, maybe I should watch it the 3rd time on IMAX 3D! But is there any IMAX 3D in KL? I think the one in Berjaya Times Square is closed for some time already, am I right? Maybe I should just fly over to Bangkok and watch IMAX 3D at Siam Paragon!



Anyway, I still enjoyed watching it the second time. Avatar reminds me of Dances With Wolves, Pocahontas and My Neighbour Totoro all combined. The storyline may not be very original, but it was meaningful enough to drive home some powerful messages.

Among them, is the environmental issues for example, to save the trees and whatever that are left for us to save, and to leave the indigenous people as they are. Avatar also hinted or rather in a way criticized US' attempt at colonizing Iraq and perhaps in another way also reminded us of the oppression of the American Natives.

Very powerful messages indeed and I am glad James Cameron used Avatar as a tool to spread these messages.



I was also intrigued by the issues of energy and the lifeforce as explained by Neytiri to Jake. Energy cannot be destroyed - they only change forms. And we are all connected to the life force. How profound! If humans understand this, they will stop destroying one another and they will start to respect all living beings!

I am rating Avatar 4.5 out of 5.

Made at the cost of US$300 million, Avatar had already earned back that amount and had even surpassed the US$1 billion mark worldwide according to the latest news!

If you can only watch one movie this year, Avatar is the one!

With that, I would like to leave you with this beautiful song "I See You" from the Avatar movie soundtrack, sung by Leona Lewis. Enjoy!!


“I See You” (Theme from Avatar) by Leona Lewis in HD

Now that the year 2009 is gone forever,
I would like to welcome this brand new year,
With a tribute to my blogger friends and followers,
If you are new to my blog thanks for dropping by here,
Hopefully you'll become one of my brand new loyal readers,
And while you are at it, why not sign up as one of my subscribers?
Or join me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter?
Surely that's not too much to ask from you, my dear readers? : )

Now let me start off with HappySurfer,
Who has always been my loyal Follower,
I have never seen her from far or near,
I wonder if she looks anything like Liv Tyler!

And then there's Tekkaus who is very popular,
Who comes from the historical state of Melaka,
I'm not sure what he does though I'm certain he's no Crime Scene Investigator,
But I think he's really busy cos he totally neglects his Tech Buzzer!

Reanaclaire was hoping I could write a Tribute to her,
So here it is - my Tribute to this blogger from Ipoh, Malaysia,
She recently went to Japan for travel and leisure,
And came back with a true ghost story much to my horror!

Ladyviral had always wanted to be my First Commenter,
And she finally succeeded after trying for a year!
Of course I am just kidding, my dear,
Now can you please send me your home cooked fried rice by courier!

I have met Lina, the Japan-mad blogger,
She's into all things Japanese, that I know for sure!
I am positive she would rather eat takoyaki than Ramli burger,
And that her next holiday would again be a trip to Japan, not Indonesia!

Xin and J2Kfm are both confirmed floggers,
That means they blog about food and nothing else throughout the whole year!
I am not sure if I should continue to be one of their faithful readers,
Because damn it, I seem to be getting rounder and rounder!

Bengbeng is one of those "terror" bloggers,
Who can come out with 3 posts or more within 24 hours,
Now tell me how can I catch up with such a blogger,
When the best I can do is to write a new post every 48 hours!

Merryn is someone whom I love to get to know better,
Cos it's actually her cutie two year old son Ethan that I am after,
No I'm not a pedophile if that's what you fear,
Anyway, Merryn thanks for following me on Twitter!

I am sure you all know who is Fufu, the frequent traveler,
Sometimes I wonder how he can afford to travel the world over,
Either he's really loaded or he has a rich sponsor,
Fufu, I hope one day you'll be my travel partner!

Reading fufu's blog I need to scroll down lower and lower,
Cos his post is so long it takes me forever,
Fufu, can you please make your posts a little shorter,
Cos by the time I leave my comments I can't remember what I read earlier!

Recently I received a very cute souvenir,
No it's not from Santa and Rudolph the red nosed reindeer,
It's Wenn who had just returned from a trip to Hong Kong, Macau and China,
Who gave me this lovely souvenir which I shall blog about in the near future!

I got to know a blogger called Manglish last year,
His blog is really funny though I'm quite surprised he reads The Kite Runner,
There was an outburst with the revelation of his picture,
I guess we all know who was the backstabber!

Che-Cheh has a cute dog by the name of Chester,
She also has what I think a very nosy neighbour,
She hates going to the dentist but is a Tupperware lover,
If not mistaken, I think she also likes F1 and Michael Schumacher!

Now have you all heard of Twilight Zone the grandmother,
OK, she's no granny, she's actually a male blogger,
Now please don't ask me why coz I won't be explaining any further,
Just visit his blog to get to know him better!

Monica is a part time blogger and full time procrastinator,
No I did not make this up, if you don't believe me please go ask her,
Originally from Sabah but now staying in Petaling Jaya,
She's a confirmed night owl and an active Entrecarder!

I am amazed by this blogger from Philippines by the name of Bluedreamer,
He has so many blogs I feel like a total blogging amateur,
He recently dedicated one whole month to my idol Mariah,
Thank you Blue for awarding me Blog Idol Of The Year!

EastCoastLife or ECL is a popular Singaporean blogger,
I love reading her blog so much I am an official follower,
I also try my best to be her Top Commenter though I have to fight Lina, Ayie and Mariuca,
Actually I would have preferred to win her HP Printer!

Shingo T is another Singaporean blogger,
Reading his Random Notes is more entertaining than watching Ben Stiller,
I wonder if this self confessed male chauvinist pig is indeed a network marketer,
Or perhaps he is working part-time as a male stripper!

I am sure you have all heard of this blog called Hot-screensaver,
Just by that name alone it has attracted lots of readers,
Blogger Neo (who is not, I repeat, not from The Matrix) must be really clever,
To gain traffic just by posting hot and sexy female pictures!

Not to be outdone is blogger Kelvin who uses the same idea,
Neo, take note you have a competitor here,
With posts and posts of pretty girls it's no wonder in 5 days he had 1000 visitors,
Maybe I should go one up and start posting naked, sexy female pictures!

Nick Phillips is one heck of a funny blogger,
Reading his blog always fill me with much laughter,
Now I have my doubts but it seems he's going to usher in the new year,
With lots and lots of prizes for his readers!

CH Voon likes to blog about Vanessa, his daughter,
Well, at least he does not blog about his mother!
OK, this is just a joke, so don't lash out at me in anger,
Don't forget to share with me if you hit the jackpot this year!

CheahS@n and Bananaz are two unusual bloggers,
The former blogs about music though he's no piano player,
I am a banana myself so I sort of warm up to the latter,
But thanks to Jeannie, I hope my banana days would soon be over!

Donna or is it Dolly, I am still not too sure,
She has a boyfriend name Tobby who is no Richard Gere,
Of course she's nothing like Jennifer Garner or Eva Longoria,
But what the heck, she's damn funny so go visit her!

There's Annant who seems to be getting prettier and prettier,
OK, I'm just trying to rhyme it so don't get all excited like a Bunny Energizer!
Reading her blog always makes me smile from ear to ear,
And many times it made me burst out in laughter.

Do you know that Borneo Falcon is a huge fan of Transformers?
You know where Decepticons change effortlessly into helicopters?
He has a wide collection of toys from this series and movie blockbuster,
It's amazing really, but I still think I prefer Terminator!

Eiling Lim is every bit the wine connoisseur,
Although she is also every bit the gourmet chocolate marketer,
I'm afraid I don't know much about wine although I do drink some beer,
And I'm definitely not like Eiling who is also every bit the night clubber!

Now have you heard of this person called Gallivanter,
Who is crazy about Jon Bon Jovi, that I'm pretty sure,
I'm wondering why he's so obsessed with this handsome rocker,
Maybe it's like how I'm so obsessed with my idol Mariah!

Let me introduce you all to a blogger called Cloudia,
Who hails from the beautiful island of Hawaii in America,
And it's from this wonderful freelance writer and author,
That I finally learn the real meaning of Aloha!

If you are into food like a lot of floggers,
Then you must go visit Peteformation Foodie Adventure,
Pete blogs about food from nasi lemak to mee jawa,
And all those lovely desserts which are high in sugar!

Skycity is a nice name so let me tell you about it here,
It's a place where dreams come alive, so says Superman the high flyer,
I wonder if this Superman possesses superhero powers,
Won't it be nice if he can help to get me out of all kinds of dangers!

Now have you heard of Ai Shiang who lives in Australia?
Just like Mei Teng, she's an avid photographer,
Her blog is called It's Raining Ice Cream, now wouldn't it be cool if that happens here,
By the way, check her out - she's quite an expert soap maker!

I have so many more bloggers I want to mention here,
But it would just make this post longer and longer,
I guess I cannot go on like this forever,
Especially if Mozilla crashes and I have to rely on Internet Explorer!

I have already spent more than 3 hours on this Tribute here,
That's longer than watching Avatar at GSC Signature!
Anyway, before I end my Tribute here,
I think I would like to thank the following bloggers....

Jam, for being my reliable travel partner,
QuaChee, for being my inspiring dreamer,
Levian, for simply being an anime lover,
And Lawstude, for being an awesome photographer!

Congrats to Kyh for getting into my Top 10 Commenters,
Faisal, good thing you are back with Blogspot and not with Wordpress any longer,
SJ, many thanks for being my Follower,
And Pikey, my appreciation to you for being a frequent visitor!

Brief mention also must be given to the following bloggers....
Medie, I admire you for being an upcoming doctor,
SK, thanks for being my comment spammer,
And TZ, I know I called you a loony but you know you are nowhere near!

Khengsiong, Keeyit, Beng Gee, Gabriel and Day-dreamer,
Thank you guys for dropping by often and leaving comments here,
Vialentino, Kenwooi, Willie, Witch and Saucer,
For your continuous support throughout the year!

By the way, I am missing you guys - Nic, JL, Rad and Cashmere,
Are you all no longer on blogosphere?
Well, it's OK if you guys are on Facebook or Twitter,
Or do come chat with me on Yahoo Messenger.

Oh! To all of you who are not on Twitter,
It's really fun so go there now and sign up as a member,
Although I am not as popular as Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher,
I think I tweet more than Robert Downey Jr!

So we've come to the end of my Tribute to my friendly bloggers,
If your name is not mentioned here, please have no fear,
For I promise you that if I remember,
You will be included in my Tribute next year!

Of course if you want me to really really remember,
Please drop by more and be listed in my Top 10 Commenters,
Whether it's summer, autumn, spring or winter,
You are guaranteed a place in my Tribute next year! : )

OK, I 'm just kidding, so don't get too serious here,
It may not seem so but once you get to know me, you'll know I am a joker,
With that I would like to thank all of you my readers,
And wish you a Very Happy And Happening New Year!!!