visions of clarity...do as infinity

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Majestic + The Patissier

WARNING: IMAGE HEAVY! AND VERY LONG!

^_^"

Today we had lunch at Majestic Restaurant at the New Majestic Hotel located near Chinatown on Bukit Pasoh Road. It's in a lovely quiet spot [although the place is quite marred by the construction site next door] and is relatively near Cantonment Road [near the Wiener Kaffeehouse! ^_^].

The first thing you notice about the hotel is how it isn't very big. It's a boutique hotel boasting about a 30 room capacity and has a lovely Chinese restaurant, Majestic Restaurant, on the ground level. The design inside is simple and bright thanks to the floor to ceiling glass windows. They've got a multitude of cool chairs littered around the lobby and the restaurant is hidden behind tinted glass toward the back.

The dining room itself is not large and the tables are packed relatively close to one another. However, the whimsical design elements within the dining room itself more than makes up for the lack of space with a floral arrangement of roses in test tubes catching my attention.^_^ Very cute. Anyway, notice the cute tea cup!

^_^ It looks miniature but can hold just enough tea so that it doesn't get horrendously cold since they replenish it frequently. I didn't take a photo of the teapot but it's adorable as well!! It's got a little rose on the top and the whole teapot is bulbous and oh-so-cute.xD Ahem. Light comes in from portholes that look into their swimming pool that's situated above the restaurant. [My cousin and I went to peek and the swimming pool is TINY! xP But if you think about it.. It's like a private swimming pool and in a 30-room hotel, you'll probably never have to jostle for space.]

They've got 2 set lunches and an a-la-carte menu but we went for the set lunch.=) The chef at Majestic used to work in Pan Pacific's Hai Tien Lo [everyone seems to have worked there at one point or another.O.o] so you can expect Cantonese food here.^_^

First course: Entree

This was nicely presented in little indentations along the glass plate. It reminds me of Rain in Toronto [I think] that's featured on the TV show, Made to Order, that shows on Tuesday nights on Discovery Travel & Living [I love that channel!!! xD]. Anyway, from the left: Sichuan Dumplings, Deep-fried soft shell crab with green mango salad and Pork neck meat in Char Siew style with Jellyfish.
Hmm.. I ate the stuff in that order and I really liked the dumplings!!! ^_^ Sichuan dumplings [or chao shui I THINK they are called..] usually come with an overwhelmingly spicy dressing or chilli sauce, chilli oil and topped with chopped chillies. Thankfully, this version was the for-useless-people-like-me version and it was quite manageable.^_^ The filling had a lovely prawn inside which provided a nice crunch and the dressing was spicy without being overly so.
I adored the soft shell crab though. The green mango salad was crunchy and refreshing and went very well with the crispy soft shell crab.xD This was very well fried and light on the palate. None of the greasy feeling you get when you eat horrible soft shell crab.=) Yum. I got 2 pieces since someone at the table didn't want his.xD xD xD YAY! Ahem.
Finally, the pork neck meat [I won't even try spelling the cantonese way of pronouncing it because I'm probably WRONG.] done in char siew style. This had a nice yielding texture with great flavour but I prefer the Ritz-Carlton's version. This was a bit soft while the Ritz-Carlton's version is crunchy which is the thing I love about pork neck meat.^_^ It tasted really good though, with the char siew taste permeating the meat very nicely. The jellyfish was a nice companion to the rich taste of the pork and wasn't overly seasoned which was great.=D

Second Course: Soup

This was Cantonese soup with some strange root thing inside [my aunt said the name but I can't remember what she said..]. My dad was all grouchy at me because everyone got the same soup except that mine didn't have shark's fin in it [Public Service Announcement: SEVEN MILLION SHARKS WERE KILLED FOR THEIR FINS LAST YEAR. *dies* Like hello. Seven million!!! RAWR.] so he was grumbling that I could have given my piece to my grandfather.-_-" Which is not the point at all but anyway.. My aunt said the shark's fin was done very well. I'll take her word for it.

Third Course: Seafood

This was King Prawns done 2 ways: Steamed prawn head and Prawns stir fried in a special sauce. The prawns came on top of this lovely soft steamed egg that balanced the taste of the prawns very well. Unfortunately, I don't eat prawn head [I originally thought it was crab until my cousin pointed it out.-_-" I am so retarded. Haha.=P] because I don't like the taste of prawn roe at all. Fortunately for me though, the prawns tasted really good except for the fact that I would have preferred a crisper texture.^_^" Oh how fussy I am. As mentioned before, it went very well with the soft wobbly steamed egg though and I was vainly trying to scoop the steamed egg into my mouth using the curved fork. ^_^"

Extra Dish!

My dad ordered a serving of stir-fried carrot cake and it was really yummy.=D I love how restaurants add chives and beansprouts to their stir-fried carrot cakes because it provides a nice contrast of textures and tastes lovely. This was cooked with XO sauce and wasn't very spicy, much to my delight.=D My favourite part was the beansprouts though.^_^" I found the carrot cake to have a nice texture if a bit on the soft side.. Thinking back though.. I really enjoyed this dish.^_^ Although it does appear like everyone is doing carrot cake these days..

Fourth Course: Carbs

This is mee sua [mian xian] with sliced goose and topped with a preserved vegetable sauce. I'm not a fan of mee sua at all and sure enough, this was really soft and not to my taste. The veggies went well with the sauce though and the sauce added a nice savouriness to the otherwise tasteless mee sua. I loved the goose and although it was a bit too salty it balanced out the mee sua well.=)

Fifth Course: Dessert

I took loads of pictures here since you get to choose your own dessert from a selection.=)

I went the boring route and decided to try their Mango Pudding. I'm somewhat of a mango pudding elitist and have a hard time finding one that I'm happy with. Sadly, this one failed on all counts being too rich and heavy and lacking in a yummy mango flavour. It was paired with red bean sauce which didn't help at all and increased my sadness that I'll never find good mango pudding again. [I haven't eaten the Lei Garden one in a really long time so while I can't confirm it absolutely, it remains as my favourite mango pudding ever based on what I remember.] The raspberry had some gold dust on top which didn't help at all and didn't save the mango pudding from being locked away in the depths of "Failed Mango Pudding" land.

Chocolate ice cream! I love the bowl [boat? sampan?]. It's so cute! =D It's meant to have 3 colours and thus 3 flavours: Vanilla, Chocolate and Green Tea but this person doesn't eat anything but Chocolate so..^_^

Lime sorbet with aloe vera and grass jelly. This has an interesting layout and while I am a firm believer in crunchy aloe vera [like my mom's!], this one was very much like everyone else's aloe vera, soft and sweet. The combination of flavours here was nice though and my aunt thoroughly enjoyed it.^_^

This is my favourite dessert though.. I should have ordered it!!! SIGH. Anyway, it's deep fried durian ice cream.=D The durian ice cream was surprisingly good actually. And didn't taste like those horrendously artificial ones. The batter was also quite crispy and not too thick. My grandfather seemed to love it judging from how he polished it off..

All in all, it was a very enjoyable meal at Majestic and not too heavy, which is great for executives who dine there since they won't be dozing off after lunch.=) Yay. I don't mind trying their dinner menu next time. Wee!

After that, we headed for The Patissier at Mohammed Sultan Road to try out their cakes.=D [And compare them to Canele.xD]

The shop itself is quite small and located on the corner of Mohammed Sultan Road. The interior is quite sparse as well, with a long couch to one side wall and the cake counter right there in front of you as you enter the shop. It's not claustrophobic however and the cake counter is well lit. The server is also earnest and although friendly enough I suppose.. Wasn't all that beaming either. The cake selection was smaller than I expected with rather blah presentations but nonetheless, it is the taste that matters. My mother and I pondered over what to order while a family behind us did the same. After visiting Canele, The Patissier's presentations can seem a tad blase, almost bordering on ordinary. They had 3 cakes of the strawberry variety, 2 or 3 chocolate ones, 1 tiramisu, 1 green tea and the famous Passionfruit Meringue. My mother was dying to try the Chocolate Fudge Cake but they only had one large cake.

In the end, this is what we got! ^_^

Ahem. It's quite a lot of pieces. But.. ^_^" Seeing as we might not pass by anytime soon, we might as well try all we can today. *beams*

I'll start with their 2 signature cakes: Passionfruit Meringue and Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager [according to Urban] is the patissier's cake for her mother. Or something like that. It's a strawberry mouse cake with sponge inside and a cookie-ish base. I didn't like this at all. My mom and dad however, proclaimed it VERY GOOD. It was certainly very light and not terribly cloying with a strawberry aroma and sponge cake flitting behind the pink. However, too much cream is too much for me and while I could certainly see the benefits... I'm not up for so much cream. Ever.

The Passionfruit Meringue on the other hand was a sure winner with me! ^_^ Filled with pieces of mango and strawberry, the meringue encased a sponge cake that encased the fruit filling. It was so light and lovely without being overly sweet. The fruit gave it a little freshness and the meringue didn't overwhelm the entire creation at all. This was DROOLFULLY good.xD xD xD Plus I'm a sucker for sponge cake.xD

This is a dark chocolate cake with white chocolate fudge/mousse [I can't figure out which]. The only thing that saves it for me is the cute little butterfly perched on top of the cake:

Otherwise, I really didn't like this at all. I thought it tasted terrible. My mom liked it though.^_^"

This resembles the Le Royale in the description of the cake with the chocolate cake, mousse and nougat layers. However, for me, this paled in comparison to Le Royale because the layers were too thick and thus too distinct from each other. It's also not as intricately assembled.

Strawberry Shortcake [on left]. This was yummy because their sponge is rather good however, I felt that this too paled in comparison to Canele's version simply because Canele's has a thicker sponge which makes it more satisfying for me. [I love thick sponge cakes. They make you feel like you're on a fluffy little cloud!]The Patissier's comes with layers of sponge, cream and strawberries. It's nice though my mom didn't really like it.^_^ As I said.. I'm a sucker for sponge cake.

Verdict?
I would say that Canele wins hands-down for presentation because seriously. The Patissier's cake doesn't look all that fantastic. Tastewise however, they both have their strengths and that Passionfruit Meringue was so damn good.. xD So I would definitely say that to take home [and gobble without prying eyes].. Go to The Patissier but buy what you like and anyway, there isn't much to experiment with. On the other hand, eat-in at Canele because the place is really nice and presentation is fabulous. Canele also has more stuff to experiment with though some stuff [like the meringue] pales in comparison.^_^

Okay. This entry has been WAY TOO LONG. Gomen ne? =X Cheese and tomato sandwiches for me tonight! ^_^"

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Ano Hi No Kawa E + Shiroi Tatsu Sen To Chihiro No Kamikakushi Image Album]
[mood : ^_^]
[food : carrot cake, passionfruit meringue, soft shell crab!, pork neck meat!! (T_T)]

Labels: edibles, Majestic, The Patissier

Saturday, October 28, 2006

If - Rudyard Kipling

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Very inspiring.

If you can get through the A Levels and not go bonkers, you'll have the World everyone! ^_^

Makes me feel like everything WILL be better.=D

wendaye: Well.. As long as I have some clue as to where in the world to get ichigo no choco daifuku! then the world will be at peace.=D Beams. Ahaha. Volcano guy! ^_^ Ooh yes! I'm all for eating well in Japan - Land of Good Food.=D =D =D Beams. Sankyuu! xD I LOVE THAT BLOG by the way.xD Haha. Her cupcakes are really pretty!!! But a little too perfect if you get my drift...^_^"

I don't understand how Blogger manages to resize pictures and get nice clear pictures [like it's supposed to be] while photobucket resized pictures are fuzzy. Aren't they supposed to become clearer when smaller?! -_- Growl.

Anyway. After being all inspired by the poem.. ^_^ Go study!

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Natsu Oto GLAY + Ano Hi No Kawa E Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi Image Album + The Boy Who Accepted the Star Howl no Ugoku Shiro OST]
[mood : serene]
[food : --]

PS: I found this cute applet thingum that lets you carve a virtual pumpkin online and then it shows you your lighted up result! ^_^ It's really addictive. Check it out here: The Pumpkin Carver (link).=)

Labels: poem

Friday, October 27, 2006

The End of Ouran

Episode 26 of Ouran High School Host Club spells the end of the series. (T_T)

I hate it when things I love end. You know how you desperately want MORE knowing full well that there is NO MORE? (T_T) It's a very sad state of affairs indeed. Sigh. I get sucked into anime far too easily. It's sad.

Luckily for us, screencaps help us to deal with withdrawal symptoms and cravings.xD Beams.

The silent one:

He's cool and silent.. A perfect guy for the chatty girl.^_^" He's really cool though.xD Haha. The strong, silent protector..

The mischievous twins:

xD They're cute together. And very funny.. But yay! After deliberating with Joyce, I can now tell them apart too! ^_^ I love them when they look like this:

Kyaa!!!~ xD Kakkoi!!! I'm glad they aren't one dimensional though.^_^ It makes the anime very interesting.

The loli shota one:

Another side of Haninozuka.^_^ I think he's really cute yet at the same time, he seems to be able to draw out this "omg he is SO COOL" side when he's serious.^_^ I love how he's good at martial arts too.. A great pick for the shorter girls! ^_^ But my heart melts when you see him in his adorable state with Busa-chan! [Busa? Bunsa? His rabbit basically..]

Kawaii! xD

My favourite two characters though..^_^ BEAMS.

The cool one:

Ahh. I love Kyouya.^_^ He's really cool..and intelligent..and multifaceted..and.. really. Good. Looking.xD xD xD BEAMS! He's a totally loyal friend though and I love him with Tamaki.x) Doesn't this picture remind you of a certain teacher? Clipboard and all? x)

Perfect Husband Material.^_^

The princely one:

^_^ What can I say. He is SO GOOD LOOKING. *dies* Seriously. Just.. Look at him! *dies again* Plus his optimism and zest for life is amazing.=) I think he's a fabulous friend. Really.

*melts*

Anyway.. Time for the low-tech way of replying people:

Jiamin: Yes yes. I know you like the twins.xD They ARE cute I'll admit.. But.. Tamaki!!! Kyouya!!! xD xD xD BEAMS. Honey is merely cute and oh-so-cool when he gets mad/serious/is fighting.xD

Fel: Hello! *waves* The cake WAS delicious.=D You should try it when you get back! ^_^ And Kyouya is calculating but.. not in a completely bad way right? ^_^ Good financial manager husband. Yay!

cch: Emailing it now is kind of..EARLY isn't it. O.o And my friend said the ichigo no choco daifuku is available at the airport and if I can't find it anywhere else [god forbid!] then there will be none for you for I will polish it all off before we get on the plane. MWAHAHA.xD And I suggest you direct the "where to stay" question to dad. Not me.^_^"

Sigh. When things end.. You either feel wistful or you feel happy. I wonder how I'll feel after the A levels?

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Natsu Oto GLAY + Alumina + The World Nightmare]
[mood : thoughtful]
[food : --]

In other news.. the relatively new GLAY single [released in September], Natsu Oto, is really addictively good.^_^ The PV is also really sweet and pretty in a sad kind of way. [The colours used are very.. hmm.. I've been trying to think of a way I would describe it but..the word is eluding me.. The colours aren't brigt basically.^_^"] The song itself sounds rather wistful and sad.. Perfect for right now.

Labels: ouran

Thursday, October 26, 2006

A Little Boy's Dream - Katherine Mansfield

A Little Boy's Dream

To and fro, to and fro
In my little boat I go
Sailing far across the sea
All alone, just little me.
And the sea is big and strong
And the journey very long.
To and fro, to and fro
In my little boat I go.

Sea and sky, sea and sky,
Quietly on the deck I lie,
Having just a little rest.
I have really done my best
In an awful pirate fight,
But we captured them all right.
Sea and sky, sea and sky,
Quietly on the deck I lie--

Far away, far away
From my home and from my play,
On a journey without end
Only with the sea for friend
And the fishes in the sea.
But they swim away from me
Far away, far away
From my home and from my play.

Then he cried "O Mother dear."
And he woke and sat upright,
They were in the rocking chair,
Mother's arms around him--tight.

Katherine Mansfield

This is such a sweet poem.^_^

It also makes one wish one was young and carefree again... *wistful sigh*

I do wish the A levels weren't so damn close. But they are. Another fact of life to accept and thus, move on.. and go study.

Sigh.

*[-witchstone-]*

On the other hand.. Tamaki + Kyouya = *rabu rabu!* xD xD xD

And ichigo no choco daifuku! *cutesy Wendy voice* = xD xD xD SO DAMN GOOD. I am hunting it down in Japan for SURE. Takashimaya must bring in their dark chocolate daifuku SOON. Rawr. Thank you Wendaye!!! xD
[music : Communist Moon The (International) Noise Conspiracy + EMU~for my dear~ Gackt + caramel drops baroque]
[mood : moody]
[food : ichigo no choco daifuku! *cutesy Wendy voice*]

Labels: poem

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

GACKT TRAINING DAYS 2006 DRUG PARTY

If you look at the title, that [according to gakuhai.livejournal.com] is the title of Gackt's tour in December.

Sorry but..
HOW LAME CAN YOU GET?! -_-"

Drug Party? Training Days?

All impression of Gackt having cool concepts for his concert tours has just gone down the drain. O.o I am entirely embarrassed. Sigh.

At least this collage I made looks good..xD

I think I chose pictures that are complementary in terms of his positioning and colour [for the 2 blueish ones at least.=P]. ^_^ Sometimes, Picasa does do a good job.. Then again.. Almost anything with Gackt looks good. ;) [You will NEVER see the images where he looks bad here. Glares. Stupid photographers/stylists/make-up artists/hair people.-____-"]

I'm almost done with Silas Marner. Hooray! It is far too long.-_-" Although I'm not even done with the quotes.. I'm already on my 7th page. ARGH.

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : For Real (piano version) Gensoumaden Saiyuki OST + dears + Kono daremo inai heya de Gackt]
[mood : -_-"]
[food : pasta? xD]

Labels: Gackt, tour 2006

Gu Ma's Birthday!

Hello.=)

Today we went to my aunt's house to eat homemade laksa and before that, my parents and I drove to Canele to pick up the cake I ordered yesterday!

Sadly, because I only ordered yesterday, they only had 2 choices: Gateaux Chocolat [chocolate cake, I think that's what it's called.. I couldn't really hear the person over the phone..] and Le Royale. Oh. What a decision I had to make! *mock faint* So I ordered a 1kg cake [sounds really big but it isn't really..] and picked it up today! ^_^

I was drooling over the cakes in the cake window as the server went to pick up my cake for me.^_^ O gosh. I was just melting all over the counter!!! L'amour [an almond cake base with a rose macaron and other beautifully pink elements like rose and raspberry] looks AMAZINGLY good. It's almost too pretty to eat!!! ^_^ Jupiter sounds amazing as well and it has a pecan nut nougatine which should be very interesting.=D *beams*

However, my mom suggests we go to The Patissier next week.^_^ I'm always up for new things!!! BEAMS. *bounces away*

Anyway.. I love laksa!!! And I announced to my aunt that I am going over to learn to make laksa and everything after the A Levels.=D She was quite pleased really and so am I!!! *bounce bounce* Laksa! Curry! Mee Siam! [for my brother and mother.-_-" I'm not very fond of mee siam] and.. Loads of other things. I really want to try making chiffon cake at her house though. I am DYING to use her Kenwood ProChef [the $1000 machine that whips and stirs like a pro] mixer because omigosh! It's so BIG and EXPENSIVE looking and it looks like it'll come up with GORGEOUS results!!! xD xD xD *goes into kitchen nerd mode*

Ahem.

After lunch, we lit a candle, stuck in the cake and brought it out.=D Beams! Here's the lovely cake:

Doesn't it look simply amazing? I'm sorry I didn't bring my Ixus because the gorgeous contrast of green and red against the chocolatey brown doesn't come out well with my phone's camera. Sigh. But look at the artistically done careless-streaks-of-molten-chocolate! xD Yum.

Everyone really liked the cake [duh] and I brought home the remainder because my cousins are generally too busy to eat anything at home.=P

Here's my aunt beaming away with the cake:

^_^ Okay. So she's not really beaming. But ahem. She really likes the cake!

When you come back piggy.. We must zoom down to all these cakeshops to eat!! Omigosh. If you're there.. Mom and I can order more!!! Teehee.xD xD xD

The first picture is the Canele namecard [placecard?] and the ribbon that they used to tie the box. So pretty! xD xD xD I love this cake. I do I do!!! ^_^

My cousin also tried the Earl Grey with oil of Bergamot and Lavender blend by the Gryphon Tea Company [a local brand!!]. =) She says it's really not bad and it comes in a lovely silken sachet with tea leaves inside. ^_^ Brilliant packaging, good concept.. A sure win! ^_^ Another fabulous Made-in-Singapore product.=D [Like Creative! *beams*]

Anyway. I'm getting annoyed with Joe in The Solder's Return again. Growls. What an annoying kid. Thankfully I can't really think of many comparisons for children who had a father in the war so.. Hopefully I won't have to think of him too much. ;) Yay. I really must try to finish the Silas Marner quotes!!! ARGH. (T_T)

Ah well. I have pineapple tarts, nonya dumplings and leftover Le Royale to comfort myself.=D [Diet time = AFTER exams.^_^"]

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Ending Theme Moonchild OST + Chopin's piano pieces + SEASON'S CALL HYDE]
[mood : ^_^]
[food : Le Royale!!! xD]

Labels: Canele, edibles

Monday, October 23, 2006

Ouran High School Host Club!

Thanks to the ever resourceful and powerful Wendy.. We have GORGEOUS SCREENCAPS OF OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB!!! *squeals in delight*

OMG. It is so CUTE you can just die!!! xD xD xD Hooray for screencaps so you don't even have to watch it to relish the CUTENESS that is OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB!!! xD xD xD [Ahem. From here on, Ouran High School Host Club = Ouran.]

Ahem.

Allow me to introduce the characters!!! xD [Only the guys. Because I'm biased like that.xD But no.. I mean.. Haruhi (the lead character) is really good looking/pretty depending on the situation but.. I'm into GUYS.-_-"]

WARNING: IMAGE HEAVY.

Irrashaimase! Welcome to the Host Club. Who is your type?

The wild type?

The cool type?

The brotherly love type?

The loli-shota type?

The prince type?

Whoever's your type, we'll have him just for you. ;)

But omg.. DREAMY.xD xD xD Like.. hello.. Just look at Honey!!!!!! [His real name is Haninozuka Mitsukuni but everyone but Mori calls him Honey/Hunny/Hani, however you want to spell it.]

KAWAII NE???? xD xD xD Omg. I just giggle with happiness everytime I see him!!!!!! xD xD xD Honto ni.. kawaii desu ka!!!

But you know who really makes me quiver with joy? xD xD xD Gosh. He is DREAMY. And.. He's perfect boyfriend material because he is SO SWEET [and so rich! And incredibly intelligent! And so CARING! and.. *list goes on*]!!! xD xD xD

Suou Tamaki!!! *dies* Isn't he just.. DREAMY??? xD xD xD Omg. Just LOOK at him. *sighs dreamily* My gosh.. Why can't guys be made like this in real life?! *stares into this gorgeous blue eyes* Omygosh.. *gushes* HE IS SO CUTE. And Goodlooking. And so sweet! And so incredibly rich and powerful!!!

But I've come to the conclusion that Tamaki is merely "good boyfriend material". For good husband material.. You've got to look to Ootaki Kyouya. ;)

Rich, powerful and from a good family with loads of intelligence to boot.. He's the perfect husband material. I'm sure that inside every guy is spark of love and kindness. ;) He's a really good friend [as you can tell from this lovely screenshot of him and Tamaki. ;) ;) ;) BEAMS.]. Plus he's got a great future laid out for him I am certain. *nods vigorously* At first I was all for the "OMG I MUST MARRY TAMAKI". But now that I think about it.. Kyouya is actually the perfect choice. ^_^ How very practical of me!

Tamaki is so DIVA while Kyouya is the more stable, mature type. *sighs dreamily* Now to find a REAL guy like that. ;)

Looking at these screencaps is great for destressing!!! ^_^ And I finally managed to learn how to screencap using my DVD player [although it can't open most files]. Yippee! Also.. Thank you Wendy for Ouran!!! xD xD xD And for Season's Call!!! Hyde looks amazingly good there.*drools over the laptop* Plus that's the song & video that made me fall in love with him too. ;)

Hope you all feel inspired and loved with these gorgeous screencaps [I am hunting down Wendy's laptop to screencap after the As. *nods vigorously* Wee!]. Ganbatte Minna!!! We only have about a month to go!!! *beams*

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : missing + Doomsday + rain Gackt]
[mood : chirpy]
[food : Reverso!!! from Island Creamery]

don: Haha. Such faith!!! ;)

Jiamin: I don't have that beat thing! =P And I did say that dakishimete meant something about hugging. Haha.=P

cch: I want something as good as Legal Seafood!!! *prod prod hint hint* LOBSTERS HERE I COME!!! *beams* And is winter the season for swordfish? I want scallops!!! I LOVE AND ADORE SCALLOPS. Hope I get to eat them in Japan since Singapore scallops suck. (T_T) And I want to go to Birch Run!!! SHOPPING!!! xD xD xD

Labels: ouran

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Music!

Hello

Spent the entire day doing math.. lit.. GP.. more math.. (T_T) Math is a terrible subject. Have I mentioned it before? Well. Let me say again. Math is a terrible hateful subject. [To those people who are good at math, go away and let me revel in misery. Or you could be nice and HELP ME. Sigh.]

On the other hand, things seem just that much better when there's good music to listen to! ^_^ [I'm sure I have many friends who'd agree with me on this.=)] Being the unadventurous and boring person that I am.. I relistened to more Jrock after reading stuff on them [like what they inspire in the listener, the meanings of the lyrics, so on and so forth].

And I just realised that the sound is about 3 million times better when I plug in the earplugs!!! Sigh. I should have done this all along. You can't trust these laptop speakers.. They are TERRIBLE. I would get those giant headphones that give you superb sound if I didn't have to tie up my hair.xP And right now, it's rather inconvenient because my earplugs are attached to my Neeon. O.o

Merveilles, Rebirth and Moon were playing merrily away today.^_^ Yay. Renewed Malice Mizer love!!! I was contemplating whether to listen to Klaha but decided in the end that it should be a Gackt music day.^_^" [The image is from the Moon album I might add.^_^ Doesn't he look just.. DROOLFULLY good? xD xD xD]

I was reading through the translations of lyrics as I was merrily singing along [sometimes, most of the time I was far too irritated with the math question to do anything but glare at the paper] and gosh.. Gackt has a lot of ideas doesn't he? But anyway, I think he's starting to run out of ideas.

His 2 favourite phrases/words: dakishimete and mitsumeteta. [Dakishimete = Hold me/you something like that. It's along the lines of hugging?] [Mistumeteta = gazing at you/looking/you get the idea.]

They appear in practically EVERY SONG. -_-" Not every song. But practically every one.

On the other hand, I was reading the translator's notes and she was talking about the music rhythm [at least I think it's the rhythm] or "time" [like 3/4th time or 7/8th time]. And I was wondering how in the world you can tell such a thing.O.o Teach me o people who know music! xD

Over lunch, I was watching Bel Air de l'image or Verte Aile Bel Air [Green Wing Beautiful Air according to Babelfish]. It is another completely RETARDED Malice Mizer short film.-_-" It's a silent film with a rather nice classical soundtrack telling the story that's related to the Bel Air PV [apparently, Bel Air is also known as Veeru Eeru. O.o Guess which name I prefer?] and is completely RETARDED. I was like -_-" most of the way through. Then at the end, you suddenly get to watch the Bel Air PV. Like urm. RELATION?! -_-" Trust Mana to come up with crap like that. The only redeeming quality was how I love how they zoom in on Gackt in soft focus and.. xD xD xD He looks GREAT. *beams!* And Mana really likes wearing that maid uniform doesn't he? However.. You should STAB THIS GIRL too. Growls.

And what's worse is that it wasn't even amusing like Bara no Konrei was!!! Sigh.xP

Ahh. I love Gackt's voice.*squeals!* xD I'm thinking whether or not I'll be successful in directing the food cravings into "listen to Gackt NOW" cravings.xD At least that's fat free. Ahaha. *being stupid*

Ganbatte with studying!!! ^_^
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Eege + au revoir + Le Ciel Malice Mizer & Doomsday + Missing + Fragrance + Rain + sekirei~seki-ray~ + Kimi no tameni dekiru koto + Secret Garden + Maria Gackt]
[mood : ^_^]
[food : korean food!!! Sigh.]

don: Sigh. I am so retarded!!! Haha.=P

Wendaye: Can you screencap Honey [the small boy who is TOO CUTE] too?? xD xD xD *big puppy eyes* please? xD xD xD Thank you in advance. Heh! =P

cch: Dai Gu Ma's birthday is on thursday so please .. I don't know. Call her or something.O.o We're going to yeye's house on Tuesday for Laksa by the way.

And I noticed a little exchange happening over cbox! *wipes tear away* How touching that people should be getting to know each other right before our eyes!
Oh. And in case you didn't notice, I updated my food blog.^_^ *points to links on the right*

Labels: Malice Mizer, misc, music, Verte Aile Bel Air

Saturday, October 21, 2006

SY's Most Spastic Moment Yet

Hello

Today I was so retarded I was like -_________-"""""" at myself.^_^"

So I was rushing for tuition right and then I ran to catch the bus.. I was contemplating whether or not to cab there because I wasn't exactly early. But lucky my thrifty [cough] self caught myself before I was stupid.

So there I was.. Riding the bus to tuition and highlighting The Soldier's Return on the way.. Then I walked quickly to the tuition centre all the while wondering why the lights were off.

As I usually do, I barged into the glass door only to find that.. It was locked. The whole tuition centre was silent and the lights were off. I shook the door again and again before noticing a sign.. "There will be no classes or replacement classes on or for gazetted public holidays".

A lightbulb [just like in Ouran High School Host Club] lit up.

I called Vivion and asked her if it's a Public Holiday. "hmm. I think so?"

My brain shattered and I came to the sad conclusion that not only am I completely retarded, I'm extremely BLUR as well.

(T_T)

This must be my most spastic moment yet.

Groan.

On the other hand, Ouran High School Host Club!!! Rabu rabu! xD xD xD I love EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER which is rare for me really.=D =D =D But.. Tamaki-senpai!!! xD *swoons* And Honey-senpai is completely KAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xD xD xD Moe moe! *beams* It's not only stupendously CUTE, it's really funny as well.=) And sweet at times.. Beams.

Reading The Soldier's Return a second time round is rather painful. O.o Sigh. Got to type out them Silas Marner quotes as well.. AND have to practice the Honey-senpai big puppy eyed look so I can go around asking people how to do math without getting killed for further retardedness on my part.^_^"

Jiamin: Joongs!!! I want to see!! xD Yuhno! =) Haha. And the Vanilla video is quite nice.=D

cch: Have you heard of a break? But don't worry. I studied very hard after because guilt was EATING away at me.xP

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Ouran High School Host Club music!]
[mood : xD kyaaa!!!~]
[food : aloe vera! pineapple tarts! xD CAKEE!]

Labels: misc, ouran

Friday, October 20, 2006

The Red and Blue Rebirth xD

Hello

Okay. The title is completely LAME and out of point. But you must forgive me.=D I'm in a happy bouncy Renewed Gackt Fangirl state!!! xD xD xD xD xD

Beams!

I LOVE THE RED AND BLUE FILMOGRAPHIES. Beams! =D =D =D And Rebirth is beyond pretty as well. ;) Yay. O god I LOVE THIS SONG. *dies of happiness* =D =D =D And and.. he looks so damn good!!! *dies again* =D

Anyway, before I get carried away in my GACKT LOVE! state, all I can [OMG HIS EYES ARE GORGEOUS] say for SEA is.. O dear. Haha.=P I mean.. The paper was okay and I'm actually surprisingly pleased with my General Impact answer [I tried to recall all the facts I could.O.o Allow me to live in my little bubble of disillusionment while I can!!! (T_T)] and well.. Yea. It wasn't half bad. Certified documents to be true and then.. ^_^ BEAMS.

Right. [AHHHHHHHHH DAMN PRETTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *DIES*] Ahem. As I was saying..
Allow me to get into Renewed Gackt Fangirl state.^_^ Because.. I can't help it!!! xD xD xD BEAMS! Haha. I have SIX PAGES of scribbling while watching the videos.. Haha. Was a bit incoherent for the ones I was drooling over..=X Anyway, allow me to point out some things before I begin
- Gackt seriously thinks Los Angeles = Los Angels. *dies* He shot quite a few videos in "Los Angels" Ahaha. *sniggers*
- When I say Live Performance, it does not necessarily refer to a concert sort of performance. I just mean that it appears to be performed right there in front of you and isn't styled like the usual PV.^_^
- It's great because before each video, there's like a 20 second introduction thing that tells you the director, who appears in the videos, the place of shooting, release date and stuff like that. The videos also have subtitles [you can choose to turn it off] so like.. OMG. I actually found out what You was rapping in Redemption!!! AHAHA.=P

Right. I started off with The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 ~Blue~ because I expected myself to not like it as much as Red.=D Beams.

I'll be going video by video to give you a brief idea of what I thought.=)

saikai~Story~
Clothes for this video are like.. so 3 million years ago. O.o Like hello. Does Gackt think he still resides in the pre-war era or something? It's a nice setting though.. It was filmed in Saipan which, according to the video, is in USA. Or something like that. Which gets me wondering.. How can a place called Saipan possibly be in the US? O.o Unless it's a US colony or something. Anyway.. Gackt looks normal in this video and I absolutely adore this song but.. I think we should STAB THAT GIRL NOW. *glares* Moving on..

Kimi no tameni dekiru koto
I hate the clothes. I hate the styling. I hate the random house. What is that crazy girl in white doing?! But. I love this song.=)

Tsuki no uta~TSUKI no UTA~
This video is completely animated as it's for the anime Texhnolyze [I'm not quite sure how to spell it. I mean, it's not even a proper WORD.]. It's got a weird CG person, who is supposed to be Gackt, in some gruesome robot-without-limbs state. It's a very bizarre video. I do love the song though.=D

Kimi ga matteiru kara~UNPLUGGED~
It's a live performance in front of a seated audience and Gackt, You and Chacha play the guitar onstage while Ryu shakes this.. Thing with like beans or rice inside and Ju-ken is on a bass. Gackt has like, perfect skin here. *sighs dreamily* I wish I could have skin that looked like that. Although this is a nice song.. I really prefer the original.=) It's much more dramatic with orchestral accompainiment [spelling?] and thus, I like it better.=)

Todokanai Ai to Shitteita no ni Osaekirezu ni Aishitsuzuketa...
The song with the extremely long title has a very cheesy video. It's got 2 really hideous vampire people and Gackt looks like some random homeless guy with nice clothes in the castle.-_-" Can I be more unimpressed with this video which is supposed to accompany a song I really like?

Juunigatsu no Love Song
There's YOU!!! xD xD xD He's wandering around New York and Gackt pops up in the most random ghostly manner. It's very bizarre. And Gackt has really bad hair. This song was written in commemoration of the victims of 9-11 so they show Gackt's message right at the end and boy does he have hideous handwriting [in English].O.o The video has the film crew going around asking people to write messages of love, peace and hope on big cards and show it to the camera.=) It's quite a sweet and feel-good song. And.. You writes a letter. In ENGLISH. AHAHA.=P

Last Song~UNPLUGGED~
This is a live performance of Gackt on piano with lots of close-ups of his hands!! =) =) =) Okay. So his hands are quite ugly.. I bet it's from playing too much guitar.O.o Anyway, there are really cool lights over the piano.. It's shaped like an UFO. Haha.=X I love the piano bits.. *dies of happiness* SO BEAUTIFUL. =) But as I peered at the video.. He's lip-syncing!!!!! Isn't he? *peers*

Kimi ni aitakute
I love this song. And.. He looks DAMN GOOD in this video. *bounces around happily* He has this.. earnest and goodlooking and sad expression that just made my heart break!!! (T_T) The whole video is shot in sepia-ish tones and muted colours which contribute to the atmosphere of the video quite well.=) However.. This is another video where we must all STAB THE GIRL NOW. *glares*

Arittake no ai de
The video is really cute and really lame. Haha.=P Gackt is hilarious. But his hair is really really ugly.. frizzy and disgusting. O.o Never ever crimp your hair children. It looks BAD. I'm not quite fond of this song though. It's nice but it's bit too.. Happy.*cringe*

Last Song
This is the original version of Last Song and I love it!!! =D Beams. It's a very random video that's shot in sepia tones where Gackt appears to be this.. struggling musician. AHAHA. *guffaws* Completely hilarious although the video itself is quite sad. He writes the score to Last Song in the video and gives it to this homeless street busker. =P I have no idea what the connection is. And.. Poor You has to wear a mask again!!! [Like in Mizerable] Oh. And you know what? STAB THAT GIRL NOW.

Mirror~UNPLUGGED~
Another live performance and this was taken from one of the Platinum Boxes [the 2004 one I think?]. It has urm.. Random dancing and.. Gackt.. *cringe* hops around. Haha. He looks good obviously but you know.. the dancing.. Urm.. *twitch* Oh and I squealed with delight when I saw him get really close to You. ;) So cute!!! Beams. Happy Gackt = Happy Me! YAY! ^_^ And methinks he does much better in small group performances.. I think the whole intimate setting thing works for him.=)

Love Letter
Gosh. I love this song.=) It's really sweet. The video is a lazy way out and features footage from the Diabolos concert and "various Asian countries" [direct quote from the video]. It also has small flashes of all his past tours, Mars, Requiem et Reminiscence, Kagen no Tsuki, Jougen no Tsuki and The Sixth Day and Seventh Night.=) [Should I be worried that I know all this? O.o] The video feels like this.. "let's see how Gackt was like through the years but we must keep referencing back to Diabolos" thing.^_^"

Beams. I thought it ended off on a good note.=) With your heart filled with warmth and happiness.. You move on to The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 ~Red~.

This one has all the rock songs while the Blue one has all the slow songs.=) Wee!

ANOTHER WORLD
Wee! This video was shot in Hong Kong with YOU!!! =D Yay. There are like.. Random gangster wannabes and references to the movie Moon Child, like they are meant to complement each other.=S The girl in the video is rather hideous but all is well again when you see Gackt wielding pistols! =D Beams. At the end of the video, you see Gackt shot [omg. (T_T)] and a cute random doll. This video has a story in it but it's fun to watch it on your own.=)

OASIS
This video was shot in Nevada in the desert and has Gackt in his weird potato sack. O.o It's also got a weird Star Wars reference with this little boy who looks like Anakin wandering around the desert. Like.. How strange is that? Oh, and you've got this strange girl who's outfit reminds me of a fish/mermaid and seems to be like The Neverending Story movie. [I love that movie by the way. It was so tragic!] Despite all this strangeness, I thought the editors made good use of colour filters and different shooting angles to add interest to the video.=)

Secret Garden
Los Angels *sniggers* was the shooting ground for this video. Gackt looks really scary and like, anorexic in this video.O.o The video features all these random people from all walks of life and appears to be like some kind of social message of some sort.O.o I have no idea about that but.. I really like this song! ^_^ [kudos to brother dear who actually had it on his computer when I was first seeking out Gackt. Hooray Piggy!]

REDEMPTION
I love this song because it's full of energy and is rather rock inspired.=) Gackt wears his DoC [Dirge of Cerberus] outfit in this video and there are weird bird references in this video. They've also got scary birds [like crows] and cute owls! ^_^ I don't really understand the birds thing but.. I did figure out what You was saying. ;) His Engrish is great.

Mizerable
I LOVE THIS VIDEO. Gackt! In his kingly state! And I LOVE THIS SONG. Ahh. This video is just.. fantastic!!! Except for the fact that You has to wear his really scary and ugly mask. Oh. And Gackt looks really skinny in those forest scenes.. and he twitches and spasms [and convulses and embarrasses me endlessly] in the desert, among rock formations and in the forest. But apart from that.. I LOVE THIS VIDEO!!! And for the first time in my life, I heard a variation in the song in this video! Le Gasp. I need to watch my other versions and see..

BLACK STONE
This was filmed in Sydney in what looks like the outback! =) It's got a fat random truck driver, the video is filmed in/on/with a truck and the final scene is incredibly puzzling to me. The song is a happy, bouncy rock-ish song where the band members have cool hair but funny outfits [they wear what they also wear in the Diabolos concert "fun" segment - the U+K, Mirror, etc etc segment].

sekirei~seki-ray~
I LOVE AND ADORE THIS VIDEO. And THIS SONG. Gackt is so gorgeous in this video.. and he's heartachingly pretty.. and goodlooking.. and.. *swoons* xD xD xD I love snow. I love this song. I love how it's shot. And it's full of imagery [that I don't understand]. *drifts off happily* And they've got the most gorgeous closeup of Gackt ever.

Vanilla
Everyone's favourite song! =D He's got his anime-ish hair that looks like Cloud's [from Final Fantasy].=D Haha. Unfortunately for the viewer, this is the song where Gackt just loves to twitch..and spasm..and "dance" in general.^_^" It's very amusing and with many many weird females surrounding him, it's easy to just focus your attention on Gackt and try to prevent yourself from sniggering. The main girl is rather pretty though.=D Again, there's weird imagery in this video but.. I was more amused with his Engrish. ;) And apparently, it's supposed to be "a crew sees crying knees. Wanna need. Not betray!". ^_^" *hides in embarrassment*

Kimi ga oikaketa yume
Vivian Hsu appears in this video with Gackt.=) I like this song.. and I like the jacket he's wearing and he looks rather good.. Especially when you see him in his wifebeater. *swoons and dies*

Mirror
Again, it's shot in Los Angels.-_-" Well.. My thoughts: Ugly hair. Ugly outfits. Weird Setting. And I don't really like this song. 'Nuff said.

Wa.su.re.na.i.ka.ra
Cool bike!!! =D Apparently it's one of like only 200 bikes in the world or something. I love this song and he's lookin' good! [Especially when you compared him to Mirror.O.o] There are lots of random shots of flowers and water and urm.. What's with the bizarre nude makeup that isn't really nude but wishes to be nude? O.o And the cameraman is terrible. What's with the lousy close-up shots? -_-"

Metamorphoze
This is a Gundam-inspired space video with Gackt in some bizarre robot suit "fighting" against some enemy. He looks quite fetching in his "I'm supposed to be defeated and dead" state.^_^" Heh. It's quite a cool video because even the subtitles are made to fit the mood of the video and this Gundam thing? It probably fulfilled Gackt's wildest dreams to be like those Gundam characters.=D The only difference would be that he's about 3 million times better looking. Haha.=P

-end-

O gosh. Watching everything at once sends me into JOY!!! =D =D =D As I had already predicted, I enjoyed the "red" collection a lot more because there are more videos that I like. =D I like the songs in the "blue" collection but I really prefer the "red" videos.=D =D =D BEAMS.

The Rebirth album is a lot like Moon and Mizerable with the CD in this cardboard section and the pages as "hard" cardboard.^_^ I love Gackt's marketing people. I adore them. They make everything so damn pretty. *beams!*

I'm very pleased now.^_^ Time to study! Wee!
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : songs from The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 ~Red~ and ~Blue~]
[mood : ecstatically floating in the clouds!]
[food : pineapple tarts!]

Wee!!! And I realised that the phrase "I heart Gackt" kind of rhymes!!! AHAHA.=X

Labels: DVD review, Gackt

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