Video 1 (Beethoven)

Beethoven(-lookalike) straggles down the street whistling (Beethoven’s) Symphony No. 5, one trouser leg shorter than the other. Camera zooms to his legs with noises of flies around, he scratches one leg with the other foot. Camera zooms up, his hair is grey and messy. He continues down another street and a passerby does a double take. A policeman approaches him around the corner and asks to check his ID card. Beethoven reaches for his ID, dropping his tissue, keys, more keys, coins and everything in the process, and hands the police the ID.

Narrator (while Beethoven is shoving all the crap he’s dropped back into his pockets): Beethoven was known to be a very messy person. So why do you think classical music is pretentious now?

Video 2 (Mozart)

Mozart(-lookalike) flamboyantly hops into a barbershop. He greets the barber by rubbing his face, laughs out loud as he reads a comic book and switches his wig with the toupee of the man next to him who’s nodded off.

Narrator (while Mozart is laughing and playing with toupee in mirror): Mozart was known to have a playful personality. So why do you think classical music is only serious now?

Video 3 (Schubert)

Schubert(-lookalike) is in a small and shared bedroom with two other men in their undershirts. All three men have no shoes on and are eyeing a pair of shoes in the room. They play rock-paper-scissors and one man wins. Schubert and the other loser look frustrated as the winner happily claims the shoes.

Narrator (while Schubert and the other man watch the person with the shoes walk out): Schubert was known to be completely broke. So why do you think classical music is something reserved for the rich now?

And I Say

And that’s classical music, seriously! I’m sick of people telling me that I have a refined, elegant, pretentious, strange or what-have-you taste in music. What I like is very much like what you like. If you (don’t) like it, you (don’t) like it. If you (don’t) understand the appeal, you (don’t) understand the appeal. It’s really just that.

Whoever came up with these ads should give themselves a pat on the back. Or quote this blog and redeem their voucher for a free hug/drink/more.

Here is a sample of the Guild Wars (Guild Wars Prophecies) opening theme song: DirectSong > Guild Wars > 01 – Opening Theme.

Here is the movie’s official site: Traditional Chinese version, Simplified Chinese version or English version.

This is my expression after I heard the song on the movie’s official site:

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear no-longer-little Little Brother Jacky!
Happy Birthday to youuuuu!

This is also probably Hong Kong’s most mis-sung song. And the lyrics are copyrighted? Outrageous! I’m so ignoring that.

Later, Vickie gets sued.

“How are you?”

I can’t really speak for the rest of the Hong Kongers; but generally speaking, unless you know the person personally and haven’t seen them for quite a bit, you don’t ask them how they are. Cashiers say hi, they don’t ask how you are. Neighbours don’t necessarily know one another; they say hi if they’re particularly friendly, they don’t ask how you are.

“How are you?”

I feel like crap. I’m stressed. I’m loaded with Uni assignment. I’m hungry. I’m tired. I’m PMS-ing. I have period cramps. “Good! How are you?”

Silent Hill the movie wasn’t released in Hong Kong until the day before, so naturally I went to the movies with Bro first thing after work that night. We actually made it on time for it (and even had time to be subjected to the torture of slimming product ads before it started), seeing how we didn’t usually get to see the first 10-15 minutes of other films. My first impression of the movie actually had nothing to do with the production itself. Just look at this.

What the hell is up with the Chinese title, “鬼魅山房”? The direct translation of Silent Hill wasn’t powerful enough, so they justify themselves in making up a name that isn’t accurate to the movie or the game, huh? Well, Bro and I already mocked at it enough, so let’s move on to the movie.

It started with the music theme of the first Silent Hill game, audience stirred. Cool, fellow gamers around. Until a few more scenes later, the movie was still forcing music from the games into it at, in my opinion, inappropriate time (or inappropriate choice of clips. Either one). It was as if they were trying too hard to emphasise how they were a movie based on the games. “Hark! Loyal gamers! We’re the Silent Hill movie! We use all the music from the games!” I read later that they did so because they wanted to use the same music tracks at similar scenes of the game. Darlings, what works for a game doesn’t necessarily work for a movie!

While I love it that they kept a few characters and monsters from the game, and understand that they couldn’t just use the exact same story, I didn’t like how they twisted it. It’s similar in a sense (presence of a cult, a few locations, the disfigured corpses, etc.), but the main storyline! Cybil turned a tomboy; Lisa turned into a nameless nurse who didn’t appear until quite the end; Dahlia got split into two characters — “good” Dahlia and Christabella; there was also only one Pyramid Head Red Pyramid who didn’t seem to serve any purpose other than scare factor in the movie compared to the one in the game.

There are some little things I love about the movie, though. For example, I think how Cybil said “what the fuck” instead of “what the hell” was really in-character and appropriate, because that kind of situation deserved something much stronger than a WTH. The “foggy” Silent Hill to alternate Silent Hill transfer was well done as well.

But all in all, with the amount of blood, gore, violence, cleavages and girl power in the movie adapted from a game, what’s not to love about it?

Heh. I almost screamed at a certain guy sitting somewhere behind me. The song “You’re Not Here” played at the credits, and he commented that the song sounded vaguely familiar. Vaguely familiar only?! It was the Silent Hill 3 theme song! Blasphemer! We must burn him! … If only I wasn’t busy singing along.

P.S. I still don’t understand how this movie could be rated Category IIB and not a III.

P.P.S. Bro’s comment on the movie (in Chinese).

And if I do decide to look for a partner in Hong Kong; judging from the number of girls who have a similar level of entomophobia like I do… I think I might just end up with a guy.

*Gender — or species, for that matter…

The normal Hong Konger usually says “wei” when they pick up the phone, but some just like to say “hello”, er, to be creative? I’m rather surprised, though, that most of those who said “hello” didn’t actually expect the person on the other end to reply in English. The following happens quite frequently when I call people…

someone picks up the phone
Me: 喂? (Sounds like “wei”)
Person: Hello?
Me: May I speak to so-and-so, please?
Person: … (awkward silence) Wait.
person puts down phone
(whispers in Cantonese, confused, possibly frowning): She… speaks English…

Darling, if only you said “wei” instead of “hello”.

In other news, oh boy am I inspired to make a new (but not necessarily better) layout for the domain. Everything’s already here *taps head*, now let’s see if I could squeeze the time needed to put the idea into graphics and codes into my tight schedule of eating, sleeping, reading, drawing, prospectus-flipping*, porno-watching, etc. that I (have to) do every day.

*I should really write an entry on this.

I was walking to the train station after school with two of my closer guy classmates, when one of them felt the urge to relief himself. As we’re walking to the washrooms, they randomly told me that the male washroom was renovated, and was no longer having the “central system”.

“Central system?” I asked.

And then, there, after 19 years of ignorance, I learnt, shockingly, that guys don’t always get their own urinal in a public washroom. Not always in Hong Kong anyway.

Huh? They (sometimes) have to share a huge urinal with all the other men? There’ll (sometimes) be a “waterfall” on the wall in front of them if they go into public washrooms like that? What?!

I’ve never understood how guys could just unzip and do their business in front of everybody in the first place. And oftentimes, as a girl, I already feel uncomfortable knowing that the other female (supposedly) next stalls would be able to hear what I’m doing when I’m fulfilling my biological needs.

Sharing a “urinal”…?!

Some day when I cut my hair short, I’ll spare a day and visit all the cleaner male restrooms around Hong Kong to prove my interesting discovery. When, one day, I also get my hands on one of those spiffy male urinal thingies (for medical purpose), I might also try emptying my bladder like most guys do daily.

Oh what the hell. I’ll pee, piss, and urinate like most guys do. (Google me, pervs!)

What you don’t:
There was a giant bee hive at the back of the stadium.

What you do:
Figo scored, and Ronaldo scored, then Wang Peng scored, then Ronaldo again, and Raul, and Li Yao scored!

What you don’t:
Six people got stung by the bees.

What you do:
Spanish giants Real Madrid tasted its third victory in Asia tour 2003 by defeating Hong Kong 4-2.

What you don’t:
A girl who got stung was in shock and was sent to the hospital.