Kewl Stuff For A Kewl Home 5

Philippe Starck’s famous chair was designed in 1984 for Café Costes in Paris. The chair was designed with only 3 legs to make it easier to wait on tables without waiters tripping on the protrusions.

Café Costes is located within the famous Hotel Costes where uber-hip in-house DJ Stéphane Pompougnac has released several albums of re-mixed chill-out tunes for the party set.

I shudder to think how much one chair would cost. If I remember correctly, saw it going for about $1000+ a pop. Sheesh!

Kewl Stuff For A Kewl Home 4

The FIORE partition wall is designed by Fabrizio Bertero, Andrea Panto and Simona Marzoli for Zanotta.

It is constructed from a laser-cut steel panel which is varnished white. May use it to partition the study into 2 work spaces =)

Kewl Stuff For A Kewl Home 3

Cactus! by Alessi. Its a pretty kewl citrus basket.



The Juicy Salif. Designed by Philippe Starck for Alessi. Not very practical but oodles oodles of chic-ness. Easy to clean also but messy =))

Kewl Stuff For A Kewl Home 2

Castore Floor Lamp from Italian designers Artemide

Kewl Stuff For A Kewl Home 1

Ok so we haven't actually decided which apartment to buy yet. But until we get it, here are some kewl stuff we can really live with. Over the next few months, will hint hint abit incase anyone is thinking of getting that house-warming gift =))

Can plan rite? =P

First up, the Bose Companion 5 Multi-media Speaker System

Unkers@TheMovies - Letters From Iwo Jima

I have become quite a fan of Ken Watanabe. And with Ken-san's latest incarnation as Lt.GEN Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Million Dollar 'Harry' Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima, the suave jepun has sealed his place in Hollywood's A-list for sure.



Letters From Iwo Jima, unlike Flags of our Fathers, tells the story of the island's bloody fall from the Japanese perspective. But since I did not catch Flags (because I heard it was draggy and boring), I can't say which one is better. Moreover, I am no military historian and even if I had caught both movies, I won't know which one gives the more accurate and balanced account.

But no matter, Letters was a great show to catch. Depressing, like all war movies with blood, gore and human-to-human combat in copious amounts, but very moving no less.

The charasmatic Kuribayashi arrives to take charge of the Japanese Garrison on Iwo Jima not knowing that it would be his final assignment as a soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army. Only after he arrives and when his friend, fellow soldier and 1932 Olympic Equestrian Gold-medallist Lt.COL Takeichi Nishi (played by Tsuyoshi Ihara) tells him that the Japanese Combined Fleet has been totally decimated at the Battle of the Leyte Gulf, does the General realise that the odds are stacked impossibly against him and his men, being more or less devoid of crucial air and sea cover.

And so begins a fearful and morale-zapping journey of getting the garrison ready for the impending American Armada. On the General's instructions, the troops abandon their original beach defences for cave-digging in the highlands. Most important of which was Mount Suribachi, that famous mountain where a group of US soldiers eventually hoisted the Stars and Stripes after they took control of the island and where an iconic photo was captured that became THE photo that represented the war in the Pacific.



Watanabe is supported by an excellent cast of young Japanese actors. Most notably Kazunari Ninomiya, a member of Japanese boy-band Arashi, as army Private Saigo. Kazunari plays the part of the reluctant conscipt torn between his love for his wife and duty to his emperor with a sizeable dollop of conviction. He is so endearing in his gabra own way that I actually didn't want him to get riddled with machine-gun fire or have a grenade explode in his face. Which incidentally was what happened to many of his regiment-mates. Handsome Ryo Kase plays Shimizu, a fresh graduate of the Kempeitei Academy kicked out and re-assigned to a deployment on Iwo Jima just after 5 days on the job as a member of the much feared Japanese Secret Military Police. He's a good boy you see, too good to be out terrorizing the folks back home with the notorious Kempeitei. After being suspected of having been sent to spy on the troops on Iwo Jima, Shimizu eventually strikes up a good friendship with Saigo as they thread the perilous journey leopard-crawling and bullet-dodging together.

I suppose like all good movies, Letters does not take sides. The Americans are not made to look like crass, burger-chomping savages. Neither are the Japanese made to look like a couple of mindless Kamikaze Ninjas bent on Banzai-ing their way through when everything is lost. Like all good war movies, we are shown that in times of such bitter and brutal conflict, there can be no good that comes out from the bloody mess. Inside every soldier, American or Japanese, is someone's son, brother, husband or father. And from the letters that the soldiers send and receive from back home, the universality of kinship ties is manifested so evidently.

The power of Eastwood's story-telling is when you find yourself showing so much sympathy, empathy and fear on the Japanese soldiers' behalf. No mean feat for a generation of South-East Asians, whose ancestors were tortured by the Japs and bred on a diet of heroic movies showing the Nipponese getting their arses kicked back to Tokyo by the Allied War Juggernaut.

So kudos Mr Eastwood, I'll give your latest effort a 8/10.

Wedding Photographer Wannabe

When JJ told me the other day that she preferred the photos I took during her wedding to the ones her professional photographer snapped, my first reaction was, U gotta be kidding, that nice meh ?

I didn't really set out to capture the entire day's proceedings. Just to keep myself occupied while the wifey took part in the 'Ah-Yi' brigade =)) Moreover, the weather was horrendously cloudy and rainy that day, plus I didn't have a proper external flash with me. I still haven't bought one by the way.

But ok lah, I'm a little proud my efforts were appreciated. Toying with the idea of putting up a little Wedding Scrapbook of photos for the happy couple. Bookbinders or Prints have really kewl scrapbook albums you can paste your photos in. Abit of a hassle but it brings you back to your Primary skool Art & Craft days =))

Maybe when I hone my skills enough, I can try eking out a part-time, weekend living being a wedding photographer. But be prepared for some quirky shots of oranges and bridal-car fenders, rather than pixel upon pixel of wedding dinner table-posed shots =))

Pardon Us While We Renovate...

Not very good with HTML. Even worst with Dreamweaver.

So if Unkster looks tacky, that's because we are experimenting...=))

Destination Unkster - Vietnam

Its after 4am. And I've just put down a book I've been reading about Vietnam.

We're planning a trip there in April and like all our holidays, the DIY-itinerary preparations have begun in earnest. I mean its not a long trip, what, 8 days thereabouts. But I like to read alot about the country I'll be visiting before any trip proper. Especially a country like Vietnam where the ravages of many wars, most noticeably the last major American Cock-up, have left their indelible mark.

Vietnam is famous the world over for all the wrong reasons. The very mention of the country and the terms Viet Cong, Napalm, Hamburger Hill, 'Charlie', Chinooks over Saigon, MIA and PoWs come to mind.

But if the guidebooks and friends are to be believed, it is also a place of stunning natural beauty and old-world charm. If I had the luxury of time and money, I would do a 1 month sojourn from up North in Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City down South, soaking in the sights and sounds of surrealistic Halong Bay, the scenic rice paddyfields of Tam Coc, culturally-rich Hue, historic Danang, the cobbled streets of Hoi An, the ancient Cham capital of My Son and the sand dunes at Mui Ne. Not forgetting a hugely sobering stop-over at the DMZ bordering the river Ben Hai and taking a crawl through the VC tunnels at Vinh Moc.

But we don't have the time. So to make sure the 8 days are well-spent, the itinerary has to be well-balanced with sufficient time for eating, shopping, historic buildings, significant battle spots, as well as UNESCO World Heritage sites. And yes, we have to factor in enough sleep as well. Its really tough trying to control from over-packing the schedule so that we do not need another holiday to recover from this one =))

Anyway that's the fun of it all isn't it? Doing your research on a place, mixing and matching where you want to go, and eventually fixing up a tailored time-table that suits your fancy.

To me, the joy of the journey is in the preparations ;)

Happy Lunar New Year Folks!!!

Something I created juz for that Chic-Pig in you...

And Pigs Can Fly

I can't seem to remember when Chinese New Year turned from an event that was so eagerly anticipated, to one that is, although not exactly dreaded, little looked forward to nonetheless.

It seems to me that the occasion most excites the very young or the very old. The young because they get to dress up in their Sunday Best, receive Hong Bao and gorge on a variety of sweet delights. The old because of tradition and the fact that for some of them, its the only time the whole family can sit down and eat together.

For the rest of us in-betweens, its pretty much a 'oh I hate to see those pesky relatives again' affliction. Yes I know. We have 'progressed' to a situation where Kith takes precedence over Kin. Blood runs thicker than water? Its more like the red Cabernet Sauvignon you often share with friends that really matters.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing to hide from the relatives, except perhaps for the fact that we are still without the little tykes that call us Mummy and Daddy. We're a little sick of telling the kaypohs that we are not really that into chewren. So I've composed a little one-liner to fob off anyone who irritates me with the question ; "we're going to adopt one from Cambodia just like Angelina". And then proceed to wax lyrical about how handsome Maddox is growing up to be =))

My heart does go out though, to those singles who have to put up with all the questioning, or should I say interrogation, by the Auntie Kempeitei. All this coming right after Valentine's Day no less. For those who have faked a holiday to the Hilton Maldives, good for you. For those whose ancestral obligations dictate a show-face at some Patriarchal congregation of inquisitive monkeys, condolences. Really. Well there is always the option of over-dosing on Pineapple tarts, getting a real bad case of the runs and seeking the solace of the toilet.

Ok C'mon!, its not that bad lah. No need to behave like a Lunar-tic during Lunar New Year.

Think of all the good things, the super-long weekend, red is the color of Ferrari, Bak-Kwa and a ice-cold Hoegaarden, that kewt 2nd cousin who has blossomed into a lanky lass in lace...All is not lost! =))

So try to have a good time this Oink year. Please don't be cynical and say yah, and Pigs Can Fly.

UnkReads: The Harmony Silk Factory

Tash Aw's The Harmony Silk Factory is a stunning book. Not perfect, but stunning all the same.

This is the story of Johnny Lim, a Malaysian of Chinese descent. The story details parts of his life just before, during and after the second world war. Aw's brilliant use of 3 different narrators to tell the story is what makes this a compelling read. I am reminded of that classic play, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, where three players talk about a man (Godot) and we never actually meet him, because he never turns up.


The first section is told by his son, Jasper, who narrates the story of his father based on his research. He paints a picture of a despicable man. He learns of his fathers early days working in a tin-mine owned by the British. The death an english boss results in a career-change and he becomes a successful fabric salesman who eventualy marries Snow Soong, the most beautiful woman in the Kinta Valley, we are led to believe.

The second section of the book is narrated by Snow. It is in the form of her diary, and details a bizarre honeymoon trip, which was more of a 'group' honeymoon with 3 (yes, 3) chaperones - a japanese 'Marquis', a british mine-owner, and another englishman, Peter.

The final section is told through the lens of Peter, and its an account of the same trip.

We see different aspects of Johnny in each section of the book, with Snow's & Peter's potrayal of Johnny quite different to Jasper's.

Aw is able to lend credibility to each of his characters by the use of totally different styles. Its impressive because its hard enough to write as yourself, but you need a great amount of emphathy required to sound like 3 different people. And although the narrations sometimes contradict each other (i believe this is done on purpose to show that different people perceive things and other people differently), its what makes the book good.

Tash Aw is Malaysian, and a Lawyer by training. He lives in London.

Highly recommended.

My Valentine

Dear Chio Chimp,

Even when I...

...have never sent flowers to your office...

...finish all the food faster than you during past V-Day dinners...

...blow cigarette smoke at your face (not purposely one) and make u koff...

...spend more time on the internet sometimes than talking to you...

...appear that I love Nicole more than I do Ginger...

...got tipsy and called your friend a Telly-Tubby during a wedding dinner...

I know you still love me dearly. And I love you too...Happy V-Day sweetie.


Love,

Pops, The SilverBack Golila.

UnkStuff - Abraham 606 Kopter

Ok I just up-sized my heli-hobby on Saturday.

Compared to the Picoo-Z, this fella's a whole new ball-game. For starters, flying it indoors will put all your household plants at risk of being shaved bald =)) But at least it won't get blown off-course with a draft from the window. And good luck to you if the thing comes straight for your head.



What next? An AH-64D Apache Longbow complete with Hellfire missles and Hydra 70 rockets? =))

In God's Hands

There are some things you can control. There are others you conveniently leave to fate. And if you believe in God, you would prefer to say that the really tricky ones are in His hands.

Finding that special someone is one of them.

Where do you draw the line and concede that 'I've tried my best' and then progress to "l'll leave it to divine intervention'? When does eager endeavour turn to despondent desperation? What if that Someone slowly becomes just about Anyone?

For those who are alone this Valentine's, perhaps His hands are working on something bigger for you. But remember, products of such celestial calibration are usually manifested only by the work of your own.

Its not easy. But that goes for anything out of the ordinary isn't it?