“WE ARE ALL ALONE”. Loneliness is such a Big, Ugly Word.

Read hard into the lines of this popular vintage song “WE ARE ALL ALONE” and you will envision what loneliness can do to damage the unprepared soul:

“Outside the rain begins

And it may never end

So cry no more

On the shore, a dream

Will take us out to sea

Forever more, forever more

Close your eyes and dream

And you can be with me

‘Neath the waves

Through the caves of ours

Long forgotten now

We’re all alone,

we’re all alone ….”

LONELINESS is one big, ugly word. No one can escape from it.

It stabs you deep with a sinking feeling, bringing along a strange sense of  foreboding.

You can be oh-so-lonely, even in the midst of a swelling crowd.

You can certainly be lonely when no one understands you, much less want anything to do with you.

You can meet a special someone and suddenly this sense of loneliness assails you.

 It saps into you like a physical pain because you long to be with that person all the time. Yes, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

LONELINESS is a salient, crushing word.

It gnaws at your heart inciting a tinge of apparent hopelessness.

There’s only so much work you can do to paint a vivid landscape of abject loneliness.

A painter can dabble with a thousand hues.

A poet can put a special burn to the sunrise and the solitude.

But will all these effectively eradicate the illusion that we are not alone?

Every one gets lonely, now and then, for different reasons.

Some turn to friends, relatives or seek solace in prayers.

Whatever it can be, we just have to deal with the destructive power of loneliness. We are born alone and die alone.

Only divine friendships can see us through.

Mother Teresa had long advised us that the most terrible poverty is loneliness, the feeling of being unloved.

The eternal quest of a human being is to shatter his loneliness.

Sure, there are those who  put up walls not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break these wall down.

As the old song says, “WE ARE NOT ALONE.”

YEO YANN YANN (Part One). It’s UP, CLOSE and PERSONAL with this magnanimous ACTRESS.

My favorite Asian actress?

It has to be YEO YANN YANN, two thumbs up!

It was in 2006 that I caught her acting prowess in an understated feature on DVD called SINGAPORE DREAMING.

In it, she played a downtrodden daughter whose parents only cared about her less-than-capable brother to perpetuate the family lineage.

I was immediately hooked to this personable actress, and since then I made a point to always check her other acting performances.

YEO YANN YANN is a renowned actress of stage and screen.

She certainly needs no introduction.

It had been reported that it was a blessing-in disguise she did not become a contracted artiste with the Singapore Mediacorp or else she would be seen in the station’s oft predictably scripted, regular drama series, as with thespian Huang Biren who is no longer in the scene.

Not YEO YANN YANN.

She’s one tough cookie, she crossed the causeway a few years ago to meet new challenges, to enter the Malaysian Chinese drama market.

Here, she made her mark in a lead role of THE IRON LADY, where she was personified as a teenager right through old age, defying conventions than a female in a Chinese traditional family can give the male gender a run for his money, can be as capable in heading a corporation like any other.

She earned the prestigious Malaysian Golden Award for Best Actress for THE IRON LADY in 2010.

She had not look back since and has gone from strength to strength in a slew of other demanding performances.

Her notable big screen roles were SINGAPORE DREAMING, 881, BEING HUMAN and PETALING STREET WARRIORS.

Her drama series THE IRON LADY and THE DESCENDANT will always be my firm favorites.

This online article pays homage to her many talents.

She is my “on-top-the-list” Chinese actress.

Immensely approachable, unpretentious and self-deprecating in some of her jokes, she is great company to be with.

 YEO YANN YANN, I salute you here with this timely piece before the NTV7 2012 Golden Awards this September where you have achieved two nominations for BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS in your recent drama roles.

May the force be with you in love and career!

A COLLEAGUE OPINES:

LEE MING ZHONG is not just a goodlooking face. He can be a fun guy who’s sincere and will let his hair down given the right company. He is passionate about his acting craft. If you check with him on how he reacts to criticism in the show business, he will say sure, criticism hurts, but it is the last thing you should worry about. You only judge people if you know them well. And what is his opinion of YEO YANN YANN whom he has partnered in a slew of dramas and a feature film?

“She’s a very competent actress, a die-hard perfectionist, but she is also a caring and fun colleague to be with. She’s able to tackle tough roles, be it comedic or dramatic, with aplomb.”

Here are the two trailers showcasing YEO YANN YANN’s Best Supporting Actress nominations for the NTV7 Golden Awards 2012:

SEX? EASY DOES IT

I roared when I read this gal saying:

“My boyfriend always want to take things further in sex, but the missionary position is just fine with me.

I have never been really confident in handling a penis.

It is all a bit alien.”

Folks, what say you all?

LONG, SLOW WALKS CAN BE THERAPEUTIC. Try It.

More oft than not, I am so stressed after a hard day’s grind.

So what should I do to address this situation?

My pal suggests that I go for long, brisk walks as they are really good for the mind, body and spirit.

Keeping the limbs in motion helps to ease a writer’s mental blockage.

She suggests that I bring along my dogs as a source of accompaniment and encouragement.

What would you say?

“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” Movie Review. Behold the Dark Forces in this Terse, Tense and Chilly Thriller.

“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” PRESS PREVIEW

Stretching for almost 3 hours long, there must be a helluva lot going for the DARK KNIGHT.

For sure.

There’s every reason for its succint long-windedness.

With this long-awaited actioner from ace director CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, our helmsman draws the drapes to let the light in, to assure us that there are no holds barred, no shortage of surprises, dark secrets are strewn like red herrings to lure us straight into the plot.

With him you’d have to trust his creation, see it, feel it.

So hop in!

“THE DARK KNIGHT” has finally arrived in grand fanfare, a resounding gong to peel the layers  of mounting suspense off the Pandora’s box.

It’s saving the best for last, so be braced to expect the unexpected.

Here’s a triumphant cinematic experience for your eyes, ears and heart that will capture audiences of all sizes.

Charming and chilling, this top-notch thriller boasts strong performances from an awesome all star cast, notably CHRISTIAN BALE, MICHAEL CAINE, TOM HARDY, JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, ANNE HATHAWAY and MARION COTILLARD.

No one likes spoilers, so here’s a quick tread on the plot line:

Eight years have rolled by since the disappearance of superhero BATMAN.

He is now BRUCE WAYNE, living as a recluse, hobbling  around in his mansion, mourning for a lost love.

Gone forever, is his fearless hero persona.

BRUCE has taken the blame for the death of district attorney HARVEY DENT.

Meanwhile, everything is going wrong in Gotham City.

It is crushing under the weight of the anti-crime Dent act.

In time, a crafty female cat burglar appears, with a mysterious agenda.

Far more dangerous is the emergence of a dangerous rogue called BANE, a masked terrorist.

BRUCE is therefore forced to return as BATMAN to save the masses.

But given the hapless physical state he is now, can he ever be a sparring match for BANE?

 Behold action galore via kidnappings, colossal explosions, shootings, death and mass destruction. The film’s villain, Bane, is monstrously muscled, is ghastly sadistic, adorning a grotesque mask that is enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

The cinematography, visual effects and production design are way over the top.

Let’s pay homage to this third and final installment of the Batman saga.

At curtain call, take a bow.

Lights out, the legend ends.

And the act is over.

There’s NOTHING WRONG in BEING SELFISH, is there?

I am standing here in a quiet corner, during a busy lunch hour, observing and feeling the pulse of the city, watching the world go by.

In the near distance, you can espy a pool of office workers scurrying to a nearby food center.

Life can be a song, if you will it to be.

But where did I read the line that life can be mundane one moment, and yet pulsates with music and proclamations, rage and moral pretensions next?

Ever so often, just when you are thinking that you are treading on cloud nine, reality bites:

Sure, you don’t simply throw your life away for other people.

It’s not worth it.

You come first, so you gotta do what’s right for yourself – just you and yourself alone.

That’s smart.

Saying “no” can be a rejection for some people you really care about.

So can we afford to hurt them?

In life, you win some and lose some.

Life rollercoasts in a strange way, down the fast lane, waiting for no one.

Life gonna pass you by unless you take the initiative to make the first stop

and look around in wonderment once in a while.

It’s therapeutic to embrace the simple pleasures such as savoring the moment

and watch people and their expressions.

Observe the frowns and smiles, catch the hustle and bustle of people doing their chores.

Take a deep breath and ensure that you are not going to miss the life’s amazing goodies.

The choice is entirely yours.

The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY in the SURVIVAL GAME.

I can vouch that anybody, in his right frame of mind, would not want to be caught dead with a grisly porcupine.

Why don’t you try to pat one?

A porcupine incites fear and disgust with its thorny skin and would not be your standard idea of a beautiful pet.

It’s classified under the endangered species and only survives in the wilds.

I have been told that, during the Ice Age many animals died because of the cold. Seeing this situation, the porcupines decided to group together, so they wrapped up well and protected one another.

But they hurt one another with their thorns, and so then they decided to stay apart from one another.

They started to freeze to death again.

So they had to make a choice: either they vanished from the face of the earth or they accepted their neighbor’s thorns.

They wisely decided to stay together again. They learned to live with the small wounds that a very close relationship could cause, because the most important thing was the warmth given by the other.

And in the end they survived. Is there a moral to this story?

Yes.

Aboard this turbulent planet, there are all kinds of despicable rogues. If you want to survive, you will have to learn to adapt and live in harmony with the good, the bad and the ugly.

 A lesson in kind will be this story of the ugly porcupine.

Beauty is but skin-deep.

My DOG is, and ALWAYS will be, my BEST FRIEND.

I have said this umpteen times and I will repeat it here, all over again:

FRIENDS come, FRIENDS go.

But my loyal dog stays, no matter what.

A dog is, and always will be, your bestest of friends.

He is your pal, your partner, your defender, your dog.

And you are his life, his love and forever his leader.

Don’t ever forget.

“ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT” Movie Review. An icy SEAFARING franchise DRIFTS on.

“ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT” PRESS PREVIEW

Quite honestly, you don’t have to be a die-hard fan of animation flicks to thoroughly enjoy this summer offering of “ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT”.

But you’ve to contend with scattered reviews from all over the globe.

Whatever works for the West may fail in the the East, and vice-versa.

This one aims for the entire family, specially the kids.

The contents can be said to be a tad silly, profoundly fun-provoking, nonetheless highly entertaining.

It has the right blend of cute semi-prehistoric characters to keep you enthralled.

SID the sloth, MANNY the mammoth and DIEGO the sabre-toothed cat returns to incite ridiculous jests and hilarious actions all the way.

Just stay braced.

Now, here’s a twiddling on the plot line:

When the ice-shelf cracks in two rapidly resulting in their continent being set adrift, the three lead characters MANNY, DIEGO and SID embark again, upon another seafaring adventure.

Using only an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates in their quest to explore a brave new world.

They have to revoke the evil plans of a nasty pirate primate named Captain Gutt who rules the vast expanse of ocean with his iceberg ship.

This is an ideal family film with enough gags to keep everyone entertained.

Not a classic among animation features, it still carries a chockfull of amazing features and unbridled imagination.

To exercise objectivity, you go figure for yourself.

and here’s the amazing MUSIC VIDEO called “CHASING THE SUN” from the ORIGINAL soundtrack of the Movie: