Seems most people voted for more funny videos and our photos on the blog. I'll try to oblige, so here are some photos taking just this week. Mabel, being inspired recently by our neighbour Jojo, attempted to make her first banana cakes. With the help from friends Mabel.P & Huiming, she succeeded in finally understanding how to best make use of our oven. After several tests and trials, the cakes were finally ready, and I must admit they tasted pretty good. Not too bad for a first attempt.
Mabel prepared the cakes for Jason and Tony's birthday party during the weekend. Together with her 2 buddies, they worked till late into the night just to get the cakes right. Well me and William worked hard too, watching TV while doubling up as guinea pigs for the 1st few waves of the cakes. In the end, the cakes, made using heart shaped and star shaped moulds were given away, to her helpers as well as Jojo for lending her some of the baking equipment. Now Mabel's scouting around looking for more recipes, and also on the equipment needed for her next baking session. She's also keen on Japanese cuisine, and we've bought quite a bit of sushi making stuff from Tokyo from our last trip, yet to be used. I'm looking forward to her Oyako don~!
As mentioned earlier, the Lah birthday celebrations were held at Jason's gigantic house this weekend. As usual, it was done in pot luck fashion and while Mabel brought her home made cakes along, we were treated to other delights such as lemon chicken, coconut tarts, donuts, spagetti, goreng pisang, otah, etc. It was quite a feast in the end, and we had the birthday cake to top of the whole meal. It was one of the most crowded gatherings ever, and thankfully there was even space for the kids to run around. We had the honour of visiting Singapore's very own Bandai museum, right in Jason's home. The amount of stuff he had collected is nothing short of awesome.
As far as I can tell, the ladies or WAGs (wives and girl friends) were having an enjoyable time too. While the guys were engrossed in their toku or gaming talk, they were busy discussing about travelling plans, household tips, and other girl talk. Until the next gathering where we celebrate Dennis and Derek's birthdays, me and Mabel will be planning on what food to bring. :p
Next, H!P news! Last week, I updated that 2 new girls, Jun Jun and Rin Rin from China are going to join Morning Musume as the new 8th generation members. I've also posted a clip showing leader Yoshizawa Hitomi being introduced to them. This week, I will be posting a clip where they meet the rest of the members from MM. Remember, Jun Jun doesn't much speak Japanese, and even has trouble counting up to 10.... Rin Rin on the other hand is a little better. But seriously, with everyday practice and being surrounded by Japanese media, it won't be long before these 2 Chinese girls start speaking perfect Japanese. Check out the part in the clip where Hitomi says they might have to start the dance practices in Chinese, and proceeds to say 5, 6, 7, 8 in Mandarin (wu liu qi ba). Absolutely hillarious. And I thought that Mikitty would give the 2 girls the cold shoulder treatment, reason being because she's one of the top members, but she was really friendly to them, and even gave advice on studying Japanese (yeah check out the last part of the clip for yet another funny scene regarding "Japanese steady"). Till more news and pics of the 2 new members, check out the clip here, which is subbed in English for your enjoyment. Listen out for the parts when the 2 girls reply in Chinese to the other girls' questions.
This week, there's yet another major news being announced on the H!P official website! Kago Ai (加護亜依), ex-MM member and W member, who was suspended last July for being caught smoking as a minor, has been fired by H!P. Here is a translation of the official statement from the website.Regarding our client Kago Ai and the article in the weekly magazine that went on sale on March 26th, the information in the article has been verified with Kago herself, to our regret. One year ago, when Kago was 17 and the smoking problem happened, we still considered her future in this company, and as punishment, she was imposed to house arrest in her parents' home. Seeing how she had progressed over that year, it was decided to start from scratch and start preparing for a comeback by bringing her to Tokyo and having her do clerical and other office duties, starting on January 23rd. Although this worked out well for two months, there was another incident and the comeback plan was abandoned. After consulting with the family, as she is a minor, it has been confirmed, and she has been released from her contract. We're very sorry that it has come to this, and accept full responsibility. We feel a renewed sense of responsibility for the future, especially when it comes to minors. 2007/3/26 Up Front Agency Kawaguchi Yuukichi, Representative Director
It seems that the other incident mentioned in the statement was that Kago was caught by the media (0r paparazzi) holding hands with a middle aged man which apparently was married. Just when her suspension was about to be over, she does something incredibly stupid again. Well, here is a mini tribute for her in the form of a youtube clip:
Good bye, Aibon. You were fantastic till you became fat and had your career self destruct. Now, run along and go smoke by yourself.
My uncle's recently introduced a new anime to me. I've caught up with the series within a day and had a marathon session of up to 13 episodes. It's called Kekkaishi. Story extract from wiki:Five hundred years ago, a landlord was attacked by demons wanting to retrieve his mysterious inner power, the invincible power that can help them take over the human world. The famous mage, Tokimori Hazama, was called upon, and with his 2 students, managed to save the whole land. But due to their sickness, the landlord got killed, his power buried with him at a site called Karasumori. In the present day, Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs of the Hazama clan, became the kekkaishi protecting the land and the power. They use a technique called Kekkai, a form of magical barrier, used to capture and destroy Ayakashi (monsters/demons) that are drawn to this land. Any demons that come near to the power will become stronger and therefore Yoshimori and Tokine are to guard the land from intrusion by the Ayakashi. But the demons form a powerful organization, led by a nine-tailed demon fox to take over that mysterious power. Yoshimori plans to destroy not only the demons, but also the power to completely save the world from being controlled by demons. To do that, he first need to know what the power actually is, and also strengthen his poor kekkai skills. Kekkaishi is translated as "Barrier master".
I've been following up with the new Kamen Rider series for 2 months now. While vastly different from its predecessor, it manages to charm with its unique blend of story and comedy. To be truthful, I still need to get used to the new suits, but the story line is interesting and there are lots of comedic scenes which are hillarious, for example Den-O telling Hana to move out of his way as she was blocking him from doing his post-henshin move. You gotta see this to understand. 
That's it for this update. Until the next big event, or rather the next time I've got time to spare, check back often. And if you've yet to vote in my new poll, take a few seconds and just vote for which item you'd like to see more of in my posts. Believe me, I'll try my best to accomodate..... but no promises, of course. Ja!!
In a shocking announcement from H!P producer Tsunku (the man who gave us Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, Matsuura Aya, and wrote almost all the songs) has added in 2 more members into the current 8 member Morning Musume group. These 2 members will join Mitsui Aika as the Generation 8 members. So, what's so shocking about this announcement? New MM members are introduced every year. Last year we had Kusumi Koharu, and the year before we had Gen 6 members Tanaka Reina, Michishige Sayumi, Kamei Eri, and as well as solo singer Fujimoto Miki. This year..... 2 more new members from China. Yes, I'm not kiddy. 2 new Chinese girls are going to be in Morning Musume!
Our place is around 95% completed now, with only the minor touches left, as well as the much awaited dining chairs. We're going to hunt for them pretty soon, and then the preparations for the house warming can finally begin. Plans for one in February has gone down the drain, so hopefully we can still make it for end March. Mabel's been cooking quite a bit for me in the mean time. Here are a few of the meals that she has prepared for me.
And Jojo's the girl when it comes to food. Check out her blog 
3) Kamen Rider Den-O. With the final chapters of Kamen Rider Kabuto and Boukenger broadcasted last month, a new Kamen Rider series and a new sentai series have surfaced. As usual I'm more interested in Den-O and have no patience with the sentai series, although this year's series looks promising with the focus on Chinese Kung fu, beast style to be exact. For Den-O, I am still trying to accept his design. Just when I finally thought that he default form is acceptable, his new forms looked horribly wrong to me. Well, I'll give it more time. Kabuto looked like crap to me last year, but I've grown to love it as the series progressed. I must say that Tendou (the main character) made the difference, and I'm not sure if this year's Ryotaro can do the same. We'll just have to wait and see.
5) Heroes. I've been having a Heroes marathon lately. Watched over 8 episodes in a day and caught up with where the US are watching in a week. Just watched episode 16 yesterday, much faster than the people who are waiting for the one on SCV to begin. So far I'm liking the series, perhaps because I've always been facinated by super heroes and deep down inside my heart I wish to be one too. But Heroes focus on people who are struggling with their own identities, and their powers bring to them more harm then anything else. My fave characters have to be Hiro and Ando, the 2 Japanese guys who find themselves in Las Vegas and then Manhatten to stop a man from blowing up the whole city. Hiro has the power to bend the time space continuum, and the way he projects a hero image is throughly entertaining. Can't wait for the next episode, especially with all the sub plots happening at the same time along with the twists and turns.
6) Morning Musume's new single: Egao YES Nude. I know the song title doesn't make sense, but that's a norm for these ladies. On my first time listening to this single (it was a live performance on Music Station), I thought the dance was nice, but the song sounded boring and repetitive. I thought that MM music was slowing losing their magic.... but no.... after a few more rounds I was completely hooked! That's always the case with Morning Musume. the music never fails to get inside your head and it'll take a top brain surgeon to extract it out. Now it's on the top of my playlist on my Ipod and I'll never fail to listen to it while on the move. It's the first single for newcomer Mitsui Aika, and she's doing a good job with her individual lines. Last I read this single made it to the charts, and MM has won a award for being consecutively being in the charts with every single in the past decade. Yes, I've been listening to them since I was 17 so even now I don't think I am too old for them..... (erm.... yeah.) 
