Grace of Spades

Invasion of the G-kind

karmern

G? Smart? Sexy?

Who says Einstein and Monroe are dead......

Crazy G tells us about her virgin hair

G? Crazy?

KAKAKAKAKA!!! am i the banner master or am i the banner master....

karmern

The Wood between the Worlds

Greetings, fellow geekos!! Sorry for not posting sooner!! Anyway, the real name of the book I’m reviewing is “The Magician’s Nephew”. It’s the first of the seven books of the Chronicles of Narnia.

Firstly, I’m going write a bit about the author. His name is Clive Staples Lewis and he is a Christian. You may think this small piece of information insignificant but it’s quite the contrary really… It actually explains a great deal about the Chronicles of Narnia.

The Magician’s Nephew tells about the origins of Narnia and how it came about. There was this magician who created two types of rings; yellow and green. These rings enable you to travel to other worlds. But before going to another world, there’s this transitional space you’ll disappear to first. Ahh… that would be The Wood Between The Worlds.

Narnia is a world on its own. The ultimate Ruler of Narnia is Aslan, a lion, and every time he appears in the book, I get goosebumps, I kid you not… In the beginning before Narnia was made, the magician’s nephew accidentally unleashed Jadis, the most evil Queen in the world who wreaks havoc wherever she goes. When Aslan made Narnia, Jadis fled only to return when everyone thought she was gone.

I think it is so unbelievable how these 7 books are so relevant in our lives. First, the wood between the worlds… I guess to me, it sort of reflects the position you find yourself in when you’re deciding between two different things and how you must face the total consequence of your choice. And in the beginning even before the world was made, evil already existed. I guess it made me realize that although we are super susceptible to ever present temptation, His grace is really sufficient for us.

Well, I think you guys should read it! Honestly speaking, it’s the most boring of the seven but you kinda have to read it to understand how it all began.

The verdict :




P/S : My review is so lousy!! I’m so sorry if I bored you all to death….=(
I’ll try harder next time I promise!!! I don’t know how to write la..
Don't hate me pls!!

n a d i a

Streams of Euphoria

since NOBODY EVER POSTS anything...i've decided to help save our bookclub reputation. ( our "bookclub" now transformed into a freelance review club )

Today, i will post about beer. Whilst i am aware that many of our readers do not really fancy beer...or consume much of beer by any chance, i must share with you the types of lager that have come across my taste bud.

I remember the first time i actually enjoyed beer. 2003. It was at a barbeque in Melbourne, when my sister said "Oi. want some stella's?" I was like..."no thanks." without really knowing what she was talking about. Boy oh boy. do i really regret saying 'No' to Stella. She was a diamond. To speak metaphorically, she was a bowl full of yellow piss in disguise. When i found out that it was actually beer, my heart was racing ecstatically in the knowledge that a type of beer could actually have such a fancy, sexy name. To be honest, i took my first sip and i couldn't stop pouring it down my throat ever since. Stella Artois, that is. Unlike Carling the taste of Britain (harhar) Stella has really got the groove goin on, not just in Belgium, but everywhere else around the world! (pun intended for those of you who know what im talkin about or watch alot of Astro) It's really smooth, and it gives you the right after-effect you're looking for. It's like ...swimming in a chocolate river. Imagine - thick, milky and always ever so soothing. You know the beer advertisements you see in movies? YES. the way the guy has his eyes closed after he finishes the whole pint. the way the lady runs down the Great Wall of China. the way the sunlight touches your skin on a breezy afternoon. the way the hot air balloon floats around the horizon in Southern California and the way the geographical silhouette looks in the Cairngorm Mountains. I wouldn't call it an acquired taste...it's either you like it, or you don't because it's really, really that straightforward and distinct.

Carling. It's the cheapest, and has the highest alcohol content of all, what i'd like to call 'B-grade lager'. Most students get it because it's cheap, and it's always on the tap ready to be pulled in almost every pub. It's a bit more bitter, it's not as smooth as Stella, almost as if it has shards of plastic slightly lacerating your oesophagus... BUT... i have always been a big fan of Carling simply because it's cheap and not as bad as Guinness. Guinness....is just so wrong if there isnt blackcurrent cordial in it. Blackcurrent cordial? in STOUT? yes. to get rid of the brawny frizz in your mouth but it's usually for uncles who are over 60. Are you over 60? NO. Hence, no point consuming such harsh liquids. Don't bother, really.

Then there's Fosters. Which falls into the same category as Castlemaine XXXX - both tastes like piss.

the ULTIMATE PISS of the world would have to be Carlsberg. Honestly. What was i thinking when i consumed Carlsberg? It's like summing up 1+1 then realising that the answer 5 doesn't make sense. For those of you who have been deceivingly PERSUADED into thinking Carlsberg is your only ever choice of beer just because there's just too much advertising going on and on about it, my friend, all i have to say to you, is to CHANGE YOUR BEER AND MOVE ON! Kind of like life itself, really. You don't like something, think about it, consider your options, pray about it if you must, and then start moving on. Time waits for no one...and certainly not for shitty Carlsberg.

Of course, this is the part where i have to start contradicting myself. i do drink abit of Carlsberg but ONLY when i have no choice. Beer is beer, at the end of the day. But for those of you who are still wandering about trying to decide what your taste is all about, i suggest you take a shot at Carlsberg actually. It sets the boundary between shit beer and GOOD beer when you taste something else other than Carlsberg.

For Carlsberg drinkers, i'm really sorry but your beer sucks. like crap, it does.

ANYWAY, moving on.

Duvel (yet another Belgian beer) has one of the highest alcohol content in the world! yes yes! One pint and you're like... "hey i thought it took me 3?" and it's really just swallowing real shards of metal this time around. It's great and it'll take me awhile to get used to it. It's not something you take after a game of rugby. It's something you take when you want to spend hours and hours chatting and having a good laugh. When i was in Brussels, i tried beer mixed with peach, strawberry, blackberry cordials...and my friends, they were AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! even my mom agrees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i could go on. but i won't. Three reasons:

1) i've only been drinking the aforementioned beers. the rest are only consumed occasionally hence i can't really give proper reviews. it would be inappropriate.

2) it's abit late and there are just too many things about beer to rant about.

3) do not want to encourage weight-watchers to be inclined to drinking beer as it is very pot-belly inducing.



note to readers:
* if you are under 18, you shouldn't have read this. but you already have, so if you get drunk, and you hurt yourself, your best mate, girlfriend, boyfriend or a dog whilst driving under the influence of alcohol, it's your fault...and i will make sure you do not bring this site down with you when you are in court trying to save your sorry, sorry ass.

* if you are over 18 and don't like alcohol (particularly 'beer'), bugger off.

* if you are my friend and you do not approve of this post...well... then what kind of a friend are you?

* if i dont know you and you are over 18 but don't like this post, i don't really care and i will make sure you don't get a membership in this exclusive elite review club.


Till next time....

PEACE!
Karmern

Let's see those hands!

As discussed during the dinner that night, I proudly present to you a new feature of our admirable book club - the rating system.

After each review, you are now required to give a rating between one to five as illustrated below:

Wow! This rating system is great! But how do I upload the ratings?!

Well, I'm glad you asked. The lizard hands/palms/paws(?) are on my photobucket server. All you have to do is to click on the Add Image button (next to the Spell Checker button) and then paste either one of the URLs below.

1 hand/palm/paw(?) - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/ikewauhc/1-star.jpg
2 hands/palms/paws(?) - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/ikewauhc/2-star.jpg
3 hands/palms/paws(?) - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/ikewauhc/3-star.jpg
4 hands/palms/paws(?) - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/ikewauhc/4-star.jpg
5 hands/palms/paws(?) - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v301/ikewauhc/5-star.jpg

The Beach by Alex Garland

[My my, it looks like i have the pleasure of putting in the first geeko post! Am not going to do a review about Medicine and Ethics (though it may be quite useful to some of you, actually, ALL OF YOU, to know your stand in the healthcare area...just in case somebody gives you acid to fry your brain...) but perhaps sometime soon when i come across an interesting topic...]

"The Beach" - the movie with Leonardo Dicaprio, i think, is based on this book. Have heard polarised reviews about the movie...but the book, my geekos, is a book you guys ought to read. It's basically about Richard, this worn out traveller avidly in search for some (any) adventure. Based in Thailand, he meets a weird old man who gave him a map (just before he killed himself) to "the beach", where it's apparently one of the only places in the world which hasnt been covered in thick layers of oil and all sorts of excretion and waste. Richard, being the jaded but hopeful person that he is, goes and takes on this challenge in finding this obscure and so-called 'traveller's haven'...only to find that there are already a bunch of people there. They weren't just any ordinary tourists making their way around Thailand...they were a community.

What attracted me most about the book is how the author splashes his voice in both Richard and Richard's subconsciousness (which happens to be the dead old man); and how he has these internal conflicts within himself about who he is and who the people around him really are. This community at the Beach basically live very simple lives. As each of them have their designated chores to do - farming, construction, cooking, fishing... they don't have much to worry about. No bills, no dogs to bring for walks, no family to feed, no high street shopping for corporate "uniforms", no 8am-beat-the-traffic-rushes, no obligations to anybody else apart from themselves, no real relationships to have heart aches, no laws, no pollution, no tall buildings or car honks....basically the ideal way for those who just want to disappear. The only rule? Nobody else outside the community must know about this Beach. They smoked marijuana all day, went swimming everyday, took showers under waterfalls, picked strawberries for dessert, had shark meat for dinner, coconut juice on a sunny hot afternoon......you have to understand that these people WANT to live simple lives. Think : Ultimate escapism. They don't mind just hanging around doing nothing...being idle doesnt mean you're not doing anything, it means you're free to do anything. They just aren't allowed to go back to mainland to tell the world about this. Selfish selfish...

....But what happens when one of them gets bitten by a shark and is in need of hospitalization? ahh...that's for ME to know and for YOU to find out.

haha TA-DA! i know lah...it's a damn stupid review and written drearily in all ways... but whatever la...im telling you now that it's a good book!!! Talks alot about humanity, relationships, self-discovery and it's also something for travelling enthusiasts to dip their tongue into. Garland wrote it in quite a unique way i can't quite describe. In a way, i think he's depicting how we all are at the end of a busy and abominable day at work, with your boss spitting at your face, and your legs are just too heavy to move from one tile to the other...the phone is buzzing, the house is empty, the landlord's at your front door...with all this happening, and all you can think of is to retreat to that one place in your mind where solitude meets peace...i think that's when you know you've escaped reality.


Fancy going Thailand, anyone? (serious...im thinking about going in January 2006. lemme know!!!)

Till next time...

Karmern