Sunday, 29 April 2007

Greatest Movies of All Time...

I recently bought Empire Magazine's Special Collector's Edition....100 Greatest Movies Of All Time. I've listed the Top 10 here.

10. Goodfellas - 1990; Director: Martin Scorcese

9. Amelie - 2001; Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

8. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back - 1980; Director: Irvin Kershner

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - 2003; Director: Peter Jackson

6. Donnie Darko - 2001; Director: Richard Kelly

5. A Clockwork Orange - 1971; Director: Stanley Kubrick

4. Aliens - 1986; Director: James Cameron

3. The Shawshank Redemption - 1994; Director: Frank Darabont

2. Pulp Fiction - 1994; Director: Quentin Tarantino

1. ??????????????????????????????????????????????

Which movie do you think made it as THE greatest of all time?

Friday, 27 April 2007

This little piggy went to market.....

Scrolling through my photo collection the other day, and found this picture which I took in Hong Kong. Can't recall exactly where this was, but have a feeling it was outside a food market in North Point, close to our hotel.

Now, I love bacon, but I don't like to be reminded of where it hails from! Don't think I ate any pork on that entire trip.

And now for my "favourite" women's clothing store in Hong Kong.........

Hmmmmmm.....questionable name don't you think?

Monday, 23 April 2007

Words of wisdom.....

"The mind is like a parachute.....it works much better when it's open."

"The best things in life aren't things."

Words from a couple of bumper stickers I saw today.

Friday, 20 April 2007

The new celebrity must have...

Kate Moss is releasing her own font.

What will they think of next?

Toilet paper embossed with Paris' face??????

Thursday, 19 April 2007

T-Shirt Number 1

Saw some funny t-shirts the other day....

Wednesday, 18 April 2007

Still squirming and cringing....

I left the office to get some lunch yesterday.

As I walked out the gate, whilst fiddling with goodness knows what in my handbag, I felt something squishy under my shoe.

For 3 seconds I thought nothing of it.

Then a switch in my brain triggered a thought process that went along the lines of: "What the HELL was that?"

So then I looked..............................

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!

A DEAD MOUSE/RAT!!!!!!!!!!

Again...............Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, 16 April 2007

Can you commit..............Part 2

Thank you to NYC Modelista and Nameless4Now for sharing your tips with me - you both sound like you're on the perfect track to help maintain the world we live in.

As promised, here are more ideas..............

8. Support your local farmer....their fruit, vegies, eggs, milk etc don't need to travel far, so less fuel is needed to transport them.

9. Plant a bamboo fence.....it looks great, and because bamboo grows so quickly, it absorbs more CO2 than a rosebush!

10. Shut off your computer.......a screen saver IS NOT an energy saver.

11. Switch off power points....75% of all household electricty is from standby power to keep electronics eg TVs, DVDs, stereos etc running when they're "off".

12. Think about packaging....do you really need the plastic covers for blank CDs? Do you really need that many napkins? Why not return the unwanted sugar packets to that cafe?

13. Service your car:

  • Tuning your engine can improve fuel-mileage by 4%
  • Replacing a clogged air filter can boost efficiency 10%
  • Keeping tyres properly inflated can improve mileage 3%
The Result: all these efforts combined may reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by your car by 90kg a year.

Here's to committing to making a change..............it really is up to us as individuals.

Can you commit?????

Spent my morning coffee time flicking through the latest issue of Time Magazine, which I was really keen to read for its article on "51 Things We Can Do (to slow global warming)".....because if we don't do it, no-one else is going to do it for us.

Simple as that.

I've picked out some of the easiest changes to make on an individual basis:

1. Change your lightbulbs......to Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) - they're more expensive than standard bulbs but they use 75% less energy and last (years) longer. CFL's are swirly light bulbs that fit into standard sockets.

2. Do smart laundry:
  • Wash clothes in warm or cold water instead of hot
  • Wash a few big loads instead of lots of small ones
  • Use the most efficient machine you can find
  • Ditch the dryer and hang your clothes on a line to dry naturally
The Result: Reduce the CO2 created by laundry by up to 90%.

3. Ride the bus....transport accounts for 14% of global greenhouse-gas emissions.

4. Pay your bills online:
  • Saves trees
  • Reduces fuel consumption
According to a US study, if every US home viewed and paid its bills online, solid waste (paper etc) would be cut by 1.45 billion tons a year, and greenhouse-gas emissions would be curbed by 1.9 million tons a year.

5. Open a window......instead of running the air con.

6. Skip the steak.......the international meat industry generates about 18% of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions. So if you've ever considered vegetarianism, now's the time to give it a try!

7. Just say no to plastic bags.......more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed annually, and less than 3% are recycled! There are now so many other options, the only trick is remembering to take those options with you on your shopping trips!

I'll post Part 2 tomorrow.................heaps more ideas!

Saturday, 14 April 2007

Shanghai Surprise...

Does this photo of Shanghai remind you of sideshow alley? For me, it's the bright lights.

It really is a spectacular city of enormous contrasts.

From remnants of the past (the bikes, the bikes)...


To something so futuristic, it looks just like a movie set...

Have you been to Shanghai? What did you think? Did Flash Gordon come to mind???

Tuesday, 10 April 2007

Going to the Chapel...

My boyfriend of 8 years proposed on December 26.....so we (or I) now have a wedding to plan.

I AM FREAKING OUT as I don't know where to start.

Maybe if I just find the perfect dress, everything else will fall smoothly into place?

Friday, 6 April 2007

Monday, 2 April 2007

Who's more confused - them or us?

When did rehab become "cool"? I always thought alcohol and drug addiction were serious forms of self harm, and that seeking help to overcome them was a very personal matter.

It seems the more addictions you have these days, the more press you get, and the more press you get, the bigger your celebrity status, and the bigger your celebrity status....you get the idea.

And each and every one of us who hands over our $5 note each week to buy our favourite trashy tabloid filled with grainy shots of celebs on the inside (of the rehab centre de jour), is contributing to this vicious cycle of making serious personal health issues, seem "cool and trendy".

Is it any wonder that the world is in the state it's in when we pay more attention to Britney shaving her head, than to the 1000's killed daily in places like Darfur.

What's happened to our perspective?