Kung Fu Panda


When I first saw the trailer for Kung Fu Panda, I wasn't very impressed. I thought, "Not another animation movie." But, Po is so cute and such a reluctant hero. Now, I am so tickled over his colorful shorts. I love it!

I would recommend it to anyone. It is definitely better than the Shrek sequels. Very nice animation and the soundtrack is great.

The moral of the story: never judge a book by its cover, awesomeness is within yourself if you only believe and girth saves the day!

Heatwave, Thunderstorm & Hail


Our North East weather saga continues...

Immediately after the heatwave, a major thunderstorm ensued two nights ago - heavy rain, lightning, rumbling thunder and hail.

A tree tumbled

Another tree - two women surveying the damage

And another...

Is it hot or what?!

Unless you're addicted to the sun, the weather has been the pits. It has been extremely hot since Saturday and the heatwave has continued on till today. The worst part is that we're expecting more heat over the next 2 days and it is not even officially summer yet!

Global roasting warming here we come.

Almost 40C/101F -- the peak of our "hotness" today :(

Let's turn to a more cooling topic...

Adrian's quest for an aquarium full of goldfish continued with the addition of 3 more goldies. At first, I thought that it would be a nice little hobby for him but now it's becoming an "obsession".

You-know-who's Encyclopedia of Aquarium & Pond Fish

Feeding frenzy

Goldfish are like garbage trucks. They'll eat whatever amount of flakes you throw into the tank. Must be careful not to over-feed them.

Memorial Weekend Viewing

Apart from the aquarium thingy (read below), we also spent a few hours in front of the boob tube and the theater.

This documentary is a re-telling of letters written by a group of Western expatriates who lived in Nanking during the on-set of the Japanese invasion of China. Over-shadowed by the Holocaust in Europe, this is a forgotten event of great human monstrosity committed by the Japanese soldiers, within such a short period of time, to women, men, children and babies. You will be moved to tears by their stories - a little girl being split into two for resisting rape, a boy who saw his mother killed and his baby brother being skewered and flung away, etc. It also has interviews with former perpetrators/Japanese soldiers and their bitter admission to these atrocities. Read more.

If you haven't watched the above movie, just wait for the DVD release. If you can't, go to a weekend matinee. Indiana Jones meets sci-fi. Some really funny scenes but that's it. Towards the end of the movie, we thought we were watching National Treasure: Book of Secrets all over again! Quite a blah. I should have listened to the reviews but I was being stubborn. I think that's the price a lot of people pay for being an Indiana Jones fan of the 80s. What's my favorite Indi movie? Temple of Doom!!!

Short talk: After five months of temporary assignment, I have been permanently hired by an organization in lower Manhattan (of which, I am unable to flaunt my affiliation with).

Reviving an old hobby

Adrian is a goldfish lover but gave up this hobby when he came to the U.S. to continue his studies. His hobby is shared by my Grandpa who used to breed goldfish back in his younger days. These days my parents' tank is reduced to a 12+ year old Osphronemus goramy (ikan kaloi) and a few local kois.

A few days ago, Adrian decided to renew his passion for goldfish, so off we went to our neighborhood Wal-mart. We've always known that pets here lead a luxury life but who knew that even tropical fish and freshwater fish are included. Adrian was "salivating" with excitement as we walked by aisle after aisle of fish supplies. Even I the non-fish lover is now a convert.

So, this is how we spent our Memorial Weekend....

Before


After

Our tank is home to 2 black moors, 2 red cap orandas, 1 black & red oranda, 2 calico ryukins, 1 lion head/ranchu and 1 pearl scale. The tank is hypnotic! And, a great stress reliever :)

Enjoy the short video of our new "friends".

Dey Mansion

It's time to explore Jersey again. Adrian & I went on another historical visit last Sunday. We took a tour of Dey Mansion in Wayne. Dey Mansion (pronounced "die" in Dutch, or "day" in American English) was the home of Colonel Theunis Dey in the mid-18th century. The brick Georgian style mansion was used by General Washington twice as his headquarters while his troops encamped at Totowa Heights.

Kitchen - note the correlation between hunting and cooking in this photo :)

Men wore clogs with markings to signify that they were no longer "eligible"

Did you know that in the past women never wore short sleeves because exposing one's arm was deemed inappropriate. Who knew the elbow was an erogenous zone?

Dey Mansion rooms...

The front room where General Washington used as his office. It was said that he wrote about 300 letters here.

Washington's so-called "conference room" where the men would gather and discuss war strategies. Hmm...

Guest room. Who slept here? Gilbert du Motier @ Marquis de La Fayette, General Anthony Wayne, Alexander Hamilton, General Nathaniel Greene and Lord Stirling. But, whose night dress is that on the bed?!

Washington's bedroom at the Mansion. He was a tall man of about 6 feet 3 inches, but that bed is rather short for him isn't it? Nah, we were told that back in those days, people didn't lie flat on the bed but slept propped up to prevent illness such as pneumonia. Therefore, a long bed wasn't necessary. I can't imagine Washington's feet dangling from the edges.

The Colonel's bedroom @ the master bedroom. What about the kids? Colonel and Mrs. Dey had 10 children but most were grown-up and lived elsewhere so they had rooms to spare those heavy weights mentioned earlier on.

Up in the attic, we found numbers on the beams, suggesting that the house was an early modular home. Isn't that amazing?! Anyway, the attic is now an exhibition area featuring war artifacts, etc.

This is my favorite - a 13 star colonial flag used in the Battle of Cowpens, 1781. Just imagine a flag that's over 200 years old!

View of Dey Mansion from the back and garden...

Did I mention that it's spring? April showers bring May flowers?! This is the bloom from one of the bushes. Ati-shooo!!!!!!! Damn pollens.


Side Note
Recommended by our tour guide:
HBO's John Adams - this miniseries puts a human face to the men of revolution. What's that phrase -To err is human?

Filming in Dey Mansion - PBS' American Experience: Alexander Hamilton and Middlemarch.