Wrap of the day

Quick wrap up for the day - I'm gonna keep this short and sweet coz my sister is watching "Days of Being Wild" and I can't be in the same room and not watch it.

Saw "The Da Vinci Code" today -- we bought tickets at 4:30pm for a 5:35pm show, didn't want to be part of the crowd but when you have nothing to do on a Friday afternoon, why not watch a cheap Ron Howard movie? Here's the thing, if you went in the theatres expecting a Ron Howard, Tom Hanks or Audrey Tautou, you will be disappointed. If you go in expecting to be entertained by a Catholic church conspiracy movie, then you'll probably get your money's worth. I have not read the book, and if I judge the book by the movie (which I won't), I don't see what the hype is about the Brown's book. I mean, what he did well was probably connecting the dots of rumors, conspiracy theories and historical incidents. I seriously don't think the movie deserved the serious bashing that critics have been giving it. To add to the fun, when I left the theatre, there was a handful of weird looking people prostesting the movie with stupid signs that read "Stop the blasphemy. Stop the Da Vinci Code." Here's what I think -- if your faith is so weak and fragile that you're offended by a piece of fiction, then man...you have serious issues. Seeing Audrey Tautou reminded me of how much I loved her and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, so I'm rewatching some of their old movies -- Delicatessen, A Very Long Engagement...

Cool news of the day -- Apple opened their super cool store on Fifth Avenue in New York. It's a 32-foot glass cube! The best part about it, it's open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Woohoo, go Apple! Check out the live video of the line outside of the store at www.apple.com




Oh, and I had a shrimp, sun dried tomato and mozzarella cheese pizza for dinner, and I laid my toaster to rest today, no thanks to my sister.

It can only happen to her

How bad can it be living with a 19-year-old? It can't be that bad if she's your sister right? Wrong. Don't get me wrong, I like my sister -- she's blood after all, but after living with her for five months, it really makes me wonder if we share the same genes.

Incident #1: She incurred a $25 penalty for overdraft in her checking account, all to pay $13 lunch bill. Totally normal, right? Yeah, if no one told her about it. But after repeatedly explaining to her how a checking account works, she still goes ahead and does it, but hey, it's happened to other people, although Zhuang and I have been here for three and half years and it never happened to us. Go figure.

Incident #2: I hear frantic banging on my room door in the middle of the night. See, when you're a deep sleeper like me, it's really easy to ignore noises but sigh, again -- I walk out of my room, only to realize that my sister standing at the doorway of our bathroom screaming. Yes, screaming at water that's flooding our bathroom, the corridor and slowly creeping down the stairs. Did she throw a towel to stop the water? Nope. Instead, she chose to stand there and scream. And, let me say that she's been using that bathroom for more than four months, and she knows that the toilet clogs easily and you should never flush repeatedly. Does she care? Nope.

Incident #3: I've always wondered why university housing don't allow students to cook in dorms, now I know. I hear my sister slam the kitchen door open, and guess what, she's standing at the kitchen doorway screaming and pointing at a fire in the toaster. Yup, Ms. Brilliant decided to leave bacon in the toaster oven on the highest broil setting about 500F and leave. Does she unplug the toaster to lower the temperature and stop the fire? Nope. She screams. And screams. Fine, she opened some windows. So there you have it, my $40 toaster oven is now a bacon crematorium. I've said it once, I'll say it again -- it can only happen to my sister.

I meant to do this weeks ago...

It's official - I'm extremely lazy to blog when I have too many things to say about something. So, I'm gonna let the photos and videos speak for themselves -- Zhuang and my weekend with Andy Lau, director Daniel Yu, Lorna Tee (Focus Film's Marketing & Distribution Manager and all round superwoman) and Joe Yeung during the 49th San Francisco International Film Festival.





Andy FAQ:
Q. Is Andy just as good looking in person?
A. Yes, even better looking in person than on screen if you ask me. Great bone structure, helps that he has amazing posture.

Q. Is Andy obnoxious, pretentious or just Mr. All-Round Nice Guy?
A. Definitely a Mr. Nice Guy. How many celebs do you know would sit around with fans for an intimate meet-the-fans session to chat about their day and go bowling with them the same night? Andy does all that, and more.

Q. What is Andy's favorite film?
A. THE GODFATHER. Favorite film he's in - LOVE ON A DIET.

Q. What is Andy's bowling average?
A. 180-190

Q. What was the best part about the experience?
A. Discussing politics and film with Andy and Daniel over a cup of Peet's Coffee. Attempting to act nonchalant while strolling down Fillmore Street with Miguel the bodyguard and an entourage in tow. Andy bursting into song while we were waiting backstage in the dark (he sang as the ALL ABOUT LOVE credits was running). Laughing...a lot, over erm..."tong shui" (Sorry people, inside joke. Ask me about it when you see me in person)

Q. What was the worse thing about the experience?
A. The extremely rude manager at Cliff House at Sutro Baths who refused to give us a table by the window even though it was policy to give tables to customers on a first come first served basis. I definitely DO NOT recommend it.

Q. What do I personally think about Andy?
A. Extremely easy person to work with, surrounds himself with intelligent, hardworking people that he can trust. Charming, down-to-earth, and is very opinionated (in a good way) about film, directors and the Hong Kong film industry.


From L-R: Joe, Lorna, Daniel, Lin-Zhuang, me and the man himself, Andy Lau


Photo shoot




Daniel trying to teach us amateurs how to bowl


Andy in front of the ALL ABOUT LOVE poster


Andy's meet-the-fans session

More photos courtesy of superfan Jane:

Introduction for screening of ALL ABOUT LOVE at Kabuki Theatre, April 23


Q&A with director Daniel Yu and Andy Lau after the screening





Last words - Lotsa thanks and big hugs all round to Lorna, Joe, Ella, Graham, Jane & Thelma, Chi-hui and everyone else who made this unforgettable experience possible!

I finally got my cupcake fix!

cupcake
Originally uploaded by audreytmv.

I think I'm a little obsessed with cupcakes. Yummy things do come in small packages! Finally went downtown to Citizen Cupcake today. Had a Limonade cupcake, delicious lemon cream on top with lemon sherbet sticks and utterly lemonly cream in the center! Mmmm...