Notes on a Scandal

You might not have even heard about the movie title before, but Notes on a Scandal is a great cinematographic adaptation of the novel (by Zoe Heller) which shares the same title. It was nominated for a 2006 Academy Award, and features Judi Dench as Barbara, the lonely old woman and Cate Blanchett as Sheba, the scandalous and notorious mother-cum-teacher. Both of them are Academy Award winners, which could be told by watching how the two ladies portrayed their roles fantastically in the film.

In just a few words, the story lies between the unusual friendship between Barbara and Sheba who works in the same school as teacher. Barbara's a big failure in sustaining friendship, which explains her loneliness and singlehood. Sheba, on the other hand, has a family but bonds well with Barbara (at first). how ever, Barbara soon finds out the dark secret of Sheba, who unintentionally and helplessly indulged in adultery with one of her student of Year Eleven. Barbara advised her to stop the relationship due to jealousy and legislations. Nevertheless, things didn't turn out the way they expected it to be, and when Barbara needed the companionship of Sheba, she wasn't there for her. Subsequently, she went all cuckoo and crazy and therefore, she revealed the scandal to another teacher, hoping that Sheba will learn her lesson.

I have to say, it's a pretty good movie. With a one of a kind story to tell, it's a great joy to watch the movie. ****

After watching the movie, I went to look for a few real cases on this particular issue. So, lets look at a few examples of teachers turned offenders which I found on the net. All I found were cases where the teachers are female. Rather difficult to look for any male cases, as no links were found.

Teacher: Mary Kay Fuulaau (January 30, 1962)
School: Shorewood Elementary School
Age: The first time - She (28), He (8)
The second time - She (33), He (13)
Punishment: 7 years in prison

Teacher: Karen Louise Ellis (1967)
School: Nil
Age: She (36), He (15)
Punishment: 2 years and 8 months in prison
Service of a minimum 6 months



Teacher: Debra Lafave (August 28, 1980)
School: Angelo L. Greco Middle School
Age: She (25), He (14)
Punishment: House arrest for 3 years
Probation for 7 years
Note: She was given a house arrest because she actually claimed that she's too pretty...



Teacher: Bridget Mary Nolan (1981)
School: Unidentified school in Riverland, South Australia
Age: She (24), He (15)
Punishment: Imprisonment for 2 years and 4 months

R.Age

A while ago, Amber introduced me for an interview with a R.Age journalist, Sharmila. It was on guys having any make-up on. Yea, I'm sure all of you know that I do put eyeliner sometimes. And as I'm anticipating to see myself on the papers for once, my friend shockingly told me that the article is already out on today's papers. Argh, hopefully I'll get my own copy by tomorrow for remembrance. It's my first time appearing on papers, and third time on printed media (twice in Cinema Online Magazine). Anyway, I sent two pictures for publishing, and the one with make-up was chosen. Ah, I'm so excited. By the way, you can read the article online here.

Mi is coming!

Exactly a month from now, I will be heading to Genting Highlands for a concert that I has been long awaiting and anticipating for. No, Beyonce's tour isn't covering our nation but Sammi Cheng is. Y'all know that I consider myself as a devoted fan of Sammi for at least 10 years now since primary school. She has grown, and so have I. Her stardom did fluctuate for the past few recent years, but now she's making a comeback. In Hong Kong, the concert which was intitially planned for two nights was extended to 8 nights in the end, with profits from two of the nights contributed to charity. That has just proven that Sammi's status as the industry's Queen of CantoPop.

Anyway, her concert in Malsysia will be held in Genting Highlands (just like two of her previous concerts). It's scheduled for 22nd and 23rd of June and the sales of tickets have already commenced. From what I heard, most of the VIP seats have been fully booked or purchased. How great. On top of that, it was also rumoured that the cheapest tickets are unavailable anymore, too. Well, I'm going for only one night, which is on the 23rd, since the last show is normally the best. One of my friends planned to go for both nights, which I couldn't due to financial limitation. By the way, I'm not sure of my seats yet, since they were actually redeemed through Genting WorldCard, and not purchased. Hopefully it's somewhere in the middle and not too far from the stage. Anyhow, below are the details of the concert:

With the concert, Sammi reclaimed her spot as the Everchanging Fashionist. Check out some of the costumes that was worn. I think the lizard-like eyebrow will be another trademark for her, succeeding the Nike eyebrow back then. Her Bob hair looks rather weird, but the leopard inspired outfit is extremely hot. Also, spotted as an audience during the concert is Gillian Chung, a member of Hong Kong's top band, Twins. She was there for 2 nights I think, and on the second night, Sammi invited her to the stage to sing a duet together. It's really heart-warming to see established artists supporting each other. All in all, I can't wait for the concert!

Nugeno Ad!

Been sick for a few consecutive days already. Was down with a fever which has already recovered, but I'm still having cold and a terrible throat. With more sneezing and hacks sweets, I think I should be able to recover quickly, hopefully by the end of this week, as it is constantly getting me tired and sleepy. Anyhow, I had been busy as well.

On Saturday, I had a delectation attending my Line Dance class. It was a two hours class, rather than the usual one hour. As it was a class meant for intermediates, I was ahving a hard time catching up on dances which I had never learned before. Screwed up most of the parts when we were practicing in front of the public in the foyer of California, Mid Valley. Definitely had a little embarrassment there.

Over the weekend, I was also over at The Curve to celebrate Adrien's birthday. Met many of his close peeps, Mas, Nas, Juliana, etc. They are really cool people, not to forget about their craziness and the ability to go completely outgoing and outdoorsy. On that day, Adrien found the shy side of me, which shouldn't occur as a surprise to majorrity who has been with me for a long, long time. Anyway, hope he loved the present that Tam, Ju and I got him. And hell yeah, he does live up to his nickname (Santa!). Although my birthday has long been over, he actually gave me a present on that day! Astonishing!

Time for some random pictures...

Local artists hardly get enough attention even when they go live. Andrew, from Malaysian Idol 1 is seen singing here in the Curve.


Love cupids are being challenged by an anonymous writer here, who cursed them to actually break-up within 2 months.


Nobody could resist a bowl of ice kacang during hot weather. This is actually one of the best food in the Sunway Cafeteria.


The Sunway campus is going through some renovation jobs. Whilst they are focusing on tearing down the hostels and tiling up the roads, the hideous walls are being ignored.


Accounting Information Systems and Financial Modeling (AISFM) is my least subject this semester. Seen here is the lecturer for the subject doing his usual than gin the hall.


This was actually taken a while ago when I was still having my long hair. Spotted with me is sweet and lovely Kel in Maison on her birthday!


Lastly, everyone knows that I'm extremely afraid of aging. And these are the products that I use to keep my skin youthful although I'm only at the tender age of 20.

Selena; The Prestige; Casino Royale

Based on the true story of Selena, the movie Selena showcases the debut of Jennifer Lopez who turned into one of today's hottest stars on our planet with the best booty (which are insured!) in the industry. As a debut film for her, I personally think that she delivered a great job in impersonating the late Selena and portraying her twisted life. On top of that, the dance choreographies were very much alike, which makes the movie more fantastic when J. Lo started strutting her stuff in just a bra top (No, I ain't a pervert!). The main purpose of the movie is to educate us about the life of Selena, who was murdered by her own fans club's president who have been fraudulently cashing in money. Her stardom might have been short, but with the movie and all the respect that she gets, Selena will always be remembered. R.I.P. ***3/4

Next up, The Prestige deals with the war between two magicians, played by Hugh Jackman and and Christian Bale. The movie was based on the award-winning novel of the same name. Basically, the movie shows how hatred and jealousy leads to fatality. It also somehow shows to us how magicians do their trick using science and technology. Of course, when we're the audiences, we wouldn't notice any of the secrets or the techniques to magic. All my life, I've only seen magic for a couple of times. Yet, I'm very much amused by it. ***1/2

Bond. James Bond. One can call him shapeshifter for he has looked different for numerous times already. In the latest flick, Casino Royale, James Bond is played by the new blond, Daniel Craig. At first, I thought that his predecessor, Pierce Brosnan would have been a wiser choice in playing the role. But having seen the movie proved me wrong. Daniel, to me, rocked the movie better than any previous Bond film that I have seen. Great bodies and beautiful actions made the movie extremely thrilling. Oh, how can I not mention about the Bond girl of the film? Eva Green gained the spotlight as a French actress, who had starred in Kingdom of Heaven as well. On screen, their chemistry wasn't really there. Nevertheless, her presence charmed the screen. ****

ANTM 8 Episode 13 [Finale] Quickie

Finally, my predictions came true (just like the last cycle when CariDee won). Jaslene wins America's Next Top Model Cycle 8, ousting Natasha, who was the first runner-up and Renee, the second runner-up. Renee struggled with her CoverGirl national ad by not looking youthful, but heck, she's really beautiful and she'll still enjoy a good post-ANTM career. Natasha on the other hand was unable to grasp control of her runway walk. As Jaslene walk like a model everyday all day, she easily defeated Natasha, and was crowded this season's top. I find it quite controversial for her to win actually (though I had always been rooting for her). She was actually an unselected model for Cycle 7, and now she's the winner. Can we draw up a few conclusions here?

1. She has improved tremendously.
2. Tyra looks for different traits in the girls every season.
3. The other models this season is inferior to Jaslene, making her the simple best.
4. And many, many more...

I've seen the negative feedbacks after the result was announced. Of course, not everyone's going to agree on the finalized decision, but I do think that Jaslene had worked hard to get to where she is. I don't think who the winner is matters, but its their potential and exposure to the industry that will measure their success in modeling. But nevertheless, by winning the competition, the winners will be fixedly handled by CoverGirl and Elite Model Management for a year. And hell yeah, CariDee English made a special guest appearance in this episode. Right now, I'm still waiting for the video to be uploaded into the net... So excited.

Cha Cha Diva Jaslene rocks!

ANTM 8 Episode 12 Quickie

We see the remaining girls learning aboroginal dance for self-expression and storytelling purposes in episode 12. Their challenge was actually on story-telling, where they had to relate to their life-story. Renee did a precise good job, and she was named the winner. Her reward was pearl jewelery, and she shared them with Jaslene, whom she picked. That night, the girls had a night out without Natasha, who preferred to stay at home as she was sick. In the club, Nene, Jas and Brown allied together against Nata, which was a pretty bad thing but heck, we all know how they feels towards her.

For the photo shoot, it was also on aboroginal dance.

Dionne on Dance of Food Gatherers.


Jaslene on Dance of the Red Chested Robin.


Natasha, on Dance of the Willie Wagtail.


Renee, on Dance of the Butterfly.

IN the judging room that week, the girls were asked to express who they think has the most and lest potential in the group. As predicted, Natasha was verbally attacked and the judges thought it was jealousy, which I doubt. Her photo was horrible for that shoot. Anyway, one girl was sent back to America and here's Tyra's call-out order:

1. Renee
2. Jaslene
3. Natasha
4. Dionne (eliminated)

It was unsurprising at all to see Dionne leaving. She could have been eliminated the previous week but Tyra saw potential in her over Brittany. With her gone now, the competition becomes really unpredictable and exciting. I just don't know who will be the next to go and who will be named as America's Next Top Model this cycle.

My predictions? Renee might leave first due to her inability to do a good commercial leaving Natasha and Jaslene as the two finalists. If that happens, Jaslene will definitely excel in the runway with her signature walk (Note: She walks like that all day everyday). Go go Jaslene! Ah, we'll find out who will win soon!