Melody

Well, I will be attending a seminar from 28 - 30 March, so won't be doing any blogging within this period. Meanwhile, have fun! :)
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Melody
Ten on Tuesday

This week topic is a tough choice. So many movies, so many characters I like...but of course I have to list only ten. ;P (Please note they are not in order.)
1. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman - X-Men)
2. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe – Harry Potter)
3. Legolas (Orlando Bloom - The Lord of the Rings)
4. Yan (Tony Leung - Infernal Affairs)
5. Laura Chapman (Emmy Rossum - The Day After Tomorrow)
6. Chihiro (A girl in this animation - Spirited Away)
7. Haku (A boy who’s helping Chihiro in Spirited Away)
8. Christian (Ewan McGregor – Moulin Rouge)
9. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks – Forrest Gump)
10. Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio – Titanic)
Melody
You Are Jean Grey

Although your fate is often unknown, you always seem to survive (even after death).
Your mind is your greatest weapon, literally!

Powers: telepathy and telekinesis, the ability to project thoughts into the mind of others, communication with animals

Wow, this is cool!

Melody
Randomness

Week of March 25: A Few of My Favorite Things
What's your favorite.....
1. food I can't decide...I have too many to list ;P
2. movie Spirited Away (an animation - great work, great imaginations!!!)
3. song Tough choice! I have too many favorites...
4. color blue
5. outdoor activity does traveling counts? hehe...
6. season Autumn (although it's always summer here!)
7. book Too many to list!
8. store Bookstores!!! LOL.
9. car Hmm...I'm not really a car person
10. animal Penguin
till next time....
Melody
Oh wow, I can say this is one of the best crime thrillers I have read so far (well, besides Mo Hayder that is IMHO)! It has all the right elements in this book; thrill, action, suspense, emotional intense...you name it, this book got it. Now I just have to look out his two other releases - Flint and Flint's Law, which is part of this series.

The heroine, Grace Flint is the best undercover cop in the business. She changes her identity/personality like a chameleon whenever the job requires her to do so, and she knows she is good at it. But she is tortured by her past betrayals; for she would never forget what her ex-husband did to her and also she is beginning to like and attach to their son, Jack who now facing great danger from her tormentors.

Karl Grober is an ambitious and a vicious East European money-launderer, not to mention one of the Ten Most Wanted criminals by the FBI. Grober's ally, Alexander Carcani, is an Albanian who runs a prostitution business and also selling childrens' body parts around the globe. Flint's assignment is to infiltrate Grober's organization and bring him down. She is also feeding doubts into Carcani's mind by pulling off another stunt, hoping the two men will fight between themselves, but she doesn't expect her cover is blown and now she will try every means to bring the two criminals to justice and to protect her son before all hell break loose.
Melody
These doggies pics make me smile. So cute...




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Melody
Booking Through Thursday
  1. Short Stories? Or full-length novels? Well, I love reading anything - be they short or full length stories as long as I am hooked to the storyline.
  2. And, what's your favorite source for short stories? (You know, if you read them.) Clevermag and shortstories.

Don't forget to leave a link to your actual response in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Melody
I was in a book-shopping mood yesterday. Just look at these titles I bought!!! I am so excited to see Laurell K Hamilton, Karen Robard, Nicci French and Paul Eddy's books on the shelves. (Note: Paul Eddy's Flint's Law isn't a new release, and since I am currently reading his book and am loving it, so I am interested to read his older releases). And as for the rest, they are new authors to me.


Warrior Angel by Margaret and Lizz Weis


Scent of Shadows: The First Sign of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson


Danse Macabre by Laurell K Hamilton


Vanished by Karen Robards


The Dollmaker by Amanda Stevens


Flint's Law by Paul Eddy


Losing You by Nicci French
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Melody
I am in a lousy mood today, and am beginning to get sick of my job. Well, don't get me wrong, the job isn't that bad, it is always the human relationship that sometimes makes the work difficult or even tedious. You can always resolve a work problem no matter how, but you can NEVER resolve the interpersonal relationships. I find that is quite true in my opinion, don't you think so?

Well, I can get along well with most of my co-workers. I believe in trust and sincereity. And personally I feel that a superior and his subordinate should work together with an open mind and sharing their thoughts. And I don't think it is fair if the superior throws his tantrums to his subordinate just because he feels he has the right to, and especially when it is not even the subordinate's fault. Or even worse still, when he is not even your immediate superior and you just happens to be assisting him, and that was exactly what happened to me. Urgh! I just need to get this off... well, have to get back to work now. Hmph!
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Melody
Some of them are job-related, so not much I can do about it. Hmph!
  1. Doing stuff at the last minute (Urgh!)
  2. Proofreading
  3. Ironing clothes
  4. Vacuuming/Spring cleaning
  5. Sorting old stuff
  6. Filing of documents
  7. Queuing at the bank
  8. Scrubbing toilet bowls (Yucks!)
  9. Answering nuisance phone calls
  10. Rushing things
Melody
You Are 40% Left Brained, 60% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

It's no wonder my Mathematics sucks. Hehe.
Melody
Well, I am curious to find out if anyone is addicting to any drinks. Do you have a favourite drink? And what do you drink every day?

I love teas. I have several types of teas in my kitchen (e.g. green tea, oolong tea, white tea and black tea etc). For anyone who knows me well, I am a BIG green tea drinker. I drink it every morning, way before I start my breakfast. (For your info, I have my breakfast in the office. I will come in the office before the official hours and check my emails, read blogs while munching on bread and sipping my cup of green tea.) In the afternoon, I will have jasmine green tea (green tea with jasmine aroma which is equally good to the tastebuds in my opinion), right after my lunch. It has becomes a habit to me, and now I am thinking if consuming too much green tea is bad for health. I have read lots of articles that said drinking green tea is beneficial to one's health, but is drinking too much harmful? I don't know... Or how does too much caffeine do to our health? I need to do a google on this.
Melody

1. Speaking of writing in books, what about writing the entire thing? Do you write? Aspire to write? Dream about writing?

Yes, I love writing. It has always been my passion. I have written a few short stories, and even tried a novella during Nanowrimo last year (you need to write at least 50k words). It was fun, and till now I cannot believe myself completing it. Now a little pressure here and there isn't really a bad thing huh? ;)

2. If you do write, do you do it for yourself, or because you hope to be published? (Or because you ARE published?)

I'm doing it because I love writing. They are my babies, and are like part of me. Some of my stories are based on the things I heard or seen, while some are my thoughts, and the rest...are purely my imaginations. :) Of course I hope to be published, who wouldn't? Two of my short stories were published by Clevermag some time ago, and I haven't been submitting any stories to them lately, but I will try to do so again.

Don't forget to leave a link to your actual response in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Melody
Lately I have been receiving a lot of spam emails - both office and my personal Yahoo accounts. It is really irritating and annoying, imagine every morning you have to spend some time 'sweeping' them away before you can start your work. And it is even worse when you are away for a day or two and go back to find there are a chunk of them waiting for you.

I have tried every ways of blocking them; I called up our IT Support staff to report the spams, and in my own Yahoo email I will click on 'Spam' whenever I see one and the system will automatically file it under Bulk so I don't even bother to check any mails which are listed under this folder. But still, I receive spams every now and then. It is like a vicious cycle, and I am beginning to get tired of all this stuff. So, I am wondering if you have the same problem like this. Usually how many do you receive a day? Does it bother you? And what will you do about it? I would love to hear from you.
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Melody
Dear readers, if you have been following my blog, you should already know that I am also doing reviews for chinese novels, drama serials etc. I am pleased to say I have added a new blog for this purpose over here. There is no change with this blog though, i.e. I will continue to do my book/movie reviews, memes as well as other stuff. I hope you like the new look over there. Thanks! :)
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Melody
Ten on Tuesday
Ha! I have too many favourite albums to list, thus I had a hard time listing this. And you can tell I am most into the 80s songs, hehe. (Please note the list is not in order.)



Bananarama: The Greatest Hits Collection







Debbie Gibson: Greatest Hits






Tiffany: Hold An Old Friend's Hand








The Prodigy: The Fat of the Land







Eminem: Encore







JJ Lin Jun Jie: Cao Cao







JJ Lin Jun Jie: No. 89757






JJ Lin Jun Jie: Music Voyager






Edison Chen: Ed is On







Hanazakarino Kimitachihe Soundtrack
Melody
You Are A Good Friend

You're always willing to listen
Or lend a shoulder to cry on
You're there through thick and thin
Many people consider you their "best friend"!
Melody
OMG, you should read this book with gloves! It is HOT with a capital H! (Not to mention an eye candy alpha male gracing the cover. Note: This is an erotic romance suspense.)

Clint McIntyre, otherwise known as "Iceman" amongst his Navy SEAL mates is a tough warrior. He has destroyed a drug cartel in Columbia and now he is back for a break, but he never expects to run into Morganna Chavez, whom he has lusted for years and also happens to be his best friend's younger sister.

Morganna has been in love with Clint ever since she was sixteen, at that time he was only twenty-five and although Clint discourages her from getting too close to him, she never gives up and wishes one day he will come to accept her. On the other hand, Clint knows he can't give a life she wants for he had experienced a difficult childhood with an abusive father and a selfish mother whom doesn't care about him. He doesn't want to shatter her hopes so he keeps his distance, although it hurts him to do so.

Now Morganna is working with the DEA to uncover a thriving date-rape drug and no one knows her job except her best friend Raven. When Clint sees her mixing around at a BDSM club, he demands her to leave but Morganna refuses to succumb to his "threats". He gets furious when he later finds out Morganna is working in a dangerous mission, but she refuses to back out, saying this is what she has been wanting to do. Then there is a shot of gunfire outside the club and Clint isn't sure if it is aimed at Morganna. He has lost his two SEAL mates before and he wouldn't allow it to happen to Morganna, thus he will do anything to protect her at all costs.

Lora Leigh succeeds in creating an emotional intense and action paced romance suspense story, and other than that I like the characters too. Although Clint gives me the impression he is stubborn and dominant, he does has his soft side when Morganna is concerned. And I think Morganna is a strong heroine who isn't afraid to speak up and follows her mind. I could actually feel their love for each other and have enjoyed the emotional intense while reading it. You may also wish to read the story of Morganna's brother - Reno's Chance in Honk If You Love Real Men anthology, which begins this wonderful series.
Melody
Hello, everyone! I hope you have a great time at the Ultimate Blog Party last week which was hosted by 5 minutes for mom. It has been fun and it is a pleasure to know bloggers around the world.

Susan (one of the hostesses) asked if I was interested to have an interview to be featured on their Readers' blog (Readers' Book Reviews and Clubs), so how could I turn down this offer?! Of course I said yes! (Not to mention I have a fun time reading other interviews too.) :)

Melody

Week of March 11: Bookworms
For this week, lets talk about our fav books.
1. Do you like to read? What is your fav book? author?
Absolutely! I have been reading since I was in Primary School, and I am glad the passion never dies despite all these years. Well, I can't really list out one favourite book or author because I have too many on mind.
2. Do you hate it when they turn a book into a film?
Maybe, especially some parts that are not mentioned in the movie, which I think this isn't entirely unreasonable since we know a movie can't be made into details like a book. Another reason I love reading a book than watching that movie is because it leaves you to your imaginations.
3. Has a book ever changed your life? How?
Usually an inspiring and/or thought provoking story will do that to me. I can't say it will change my life though, but it will definitely set me thinking about it. Some time ago, I read this book: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, where the story revolves around a 13-year-old girl and what/how she feels about giving parts of her to save her older sister who has leukemia. There are family conflict, difficult moral choices and lots of emotions in this story which had set me thinking about the reality of life and the difficult choices we sometimes have to make, and whether or not are they right or wrong.
4. Do you tend to borrow books from the library or do you prefer to buy them?
I have never been to the library for a long, long time (because I don't want to rush a book so I am able to return it on time); I prefer to buy it so I can always re-read it if it is good.
5. Which book are you planning on reading next?
I have no idea. My reading depends a lot on my mood. Sometimes I am into paranormal, at other times I am into romance suspense or fantasy etc.
'Never judge a book by its movie.' J. W. Eagan
Till next time....