INVITATION

Watched the Hobbit today. What a beautifully crafted movie. From cast, costume, music to story line, everything is near perfect. Martin Freeman is simply fabulous. I totally agree with Peter Jackson that there will not be another person who can play Bilbo like him. Richard Armitage's Thorin is brilliant. He looks so handsomely young and vulnerable among his merry going companions. Whenever he is in, he brings with him the pain, the heaviness and the nobility of a lost prince. The whole movie is fast paced to the end except some scenes like in Rivendell and the Brown Sorcerer.  I hope the 2nd and 3rd movie will give more screen time to Thorin as his character develops. He has yet to show his cunning, calculating side. I become a fan of the Lord of the Rings rather late, 4 years later after they were out. Christmas of 2004 I borrowed the DVDs from a local library, and was totally unprepared for the impact. I believe there will not be another actor who could deliv...

Done Christmas shopping. Simply and easy. It took me a while to find out what I want, though - pink zinfandel nail polish and Rules of Civility. Jacob is promoting 50% off of all items. I was so tempted to buy more, but I checked myself - no, no more, I bought a few pieces two months ago, and that was enough. I know the pink zinfandel will go well with my black dress. Have to admit I am not a fashion pursuer. My best friend used to laugh at my loose jeans and cardigan that only seniors wear. But my taste is not as bad as of those being scrutinized on What Not to Wear . I am just not bold enough to wear bright purple tights, like some people do, out in the public. I did not inherit much fashion sense from my mother. She is a beautiful woman, but unfortunately  grew up in a repressed era of black, grey and white. She never got the chance to dress up to her beauty when she was young. I remember one day, I was probably 3 or 4 years old, watching her trying on a couple of skirt...

I am not trained to appreciate classic arts. From a layman's point, I like paintings that show a balanced and harmonious blend of color and shapes. So when I went to see a collection of master pieces by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and many other modern artists, my eyes naturally set on those with natural appeals. I was awed by Renoir's Boating Party . I stood in front of the painting for a long time. The whole picture is like a movie, a show, so lively depicted that I felt like I could hear the people talking, glass and china wear clinking, and I could swear I saw them moving. Then I set my eyes on Van Gogh's Wheat Fields at Auvers with House. There were several other Van Gogh's paintings in the museum, and this one may not be his best work, but it nailed my eye. If you walk close to it, you could see the strokes, with so much forces, as if the colors were thrown to the canvas, with such urgency, as if this would be the final chance to catch the view, to let ou...

They were a gift to her, five in total, small, in colored glass bottles. She opened each of them to inhale the other worldly aroma. She gave the green one to her best friend and kept the rest of them. Diorissimo is her favorite. It is elegant, classy, clean and slightly ricy, reminder of the mundane world lying beyond. The scent makes her feel like being in love. She brought it from the noisy and dusty city to San Jose, to the snowy lakes up north and from there to the coast mountains. She brought all four of them with her, using each on different occasions. But she was careful with Diorissimo, because of what it could kindle. She was afraid of its power, which would expose her to vulnerable feelings and passions. She would only wear it when there were other distractions, other things that could protect her from being led away, from being lost. She can't remember when she lost the purple Poison. She can't remember when Diorissimo's cap disappeared. But she remembers ...