[Documentary] BBC The Blue Planet

The Blue Planet is a documentary series revolving around what covers 70% of our planet Earth: water, or rather the creatures living in it. Let me rephrase in a better way with the following wiki quote:

Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans",[1] each of the eight 50-minute episodes examines a different aspect of marine life. The underwater photography included creatures and behavior that had previously never been filmed[2].

The series was first aired in the UK in 2001. The episodes are narrated by Sir David Attenborough, whom I must admt is my favorite documentary narrator. There is something about his voice that's so soothing, and the elegant British accent adds to his appeal (his voice also stirs up a memory within me of a documentary I watched years ago with my Mother. I think it was a documentary about creepy crawlies in the house that are invisible to the eyes. Marked the memory as a "search for" in my to-do list)

I have so far watched two episodes, and throughout each one I was enthralled for entire playtime period. The second episode is espically gobsmacking (bri'ish!). It is titled "The Deep" and it explores the unknown depths of the ocean. I really had butterflies in my stomach as the show displayed deeper and deeper parts of the ocean, along with the (no other way to describe it) freakiest creatures ever. When the camera looked down upon an Oceanic Trench of an Abyssal Plain, my blood ran cold. It was so deep!



I believe Attenborough mentioned that only 1% of the deepest oceans have been explored. WHAT THE HELL COULD BE LIVING DOWN THERE?

Here is a two minute sample from the second episode:

Anyways, I've loved the sea from the first time my Dad threw me into it's water as a baby (am not exaggerating, Dad taught me how to swim in the sea =P) I love snorkelling in the shallows as well, but I have to admit I freak out if one of the large fishes swim close to me xD

I am definatly going to watch this documentary again with my family, espically my little brother who loved looking at pictures and drawings of different sea creatures in my Sea Life Encyclopedia.

5/5.

P.S: The documentary also made me miss my pet Goldfish and Oscar fishes oh so much =(

[Game] Prince of Persia 4

Finally! I got the chance to play this game which I've been waiting for, but sad to say that I'm actually disappointed. I'm such a huge Prince of Persia fan and never thought I'd ever say that about any of it's parts but I guess most games go like this...sadly!

In terms of story, Ubisoft elected to place the Prince in an entirely new canon. You play not as a royal, but a rogue, lost in the desert and searching for your treasure-laden donkey. Swept up in a sandstorm, the wayward hero meets the mysterious Elika and soon becomes involved (albeit grudgingly) in a quest to stop an ancient evil from escaping its centuries-old prison.

To seal evil guy Ahriman in his tomb, the Prince and Elika must travel to each region of her world, ensnared by Ahriman’s corruption, and free it from his minions’ influence.

At your side throughout the journey is Elika, who uses her magical gifts to assist the Prince along the path.

Source

So this is the story for you. It reminded me of Okami (one the awesome-est games I've ever played) greatly because of the way the game is done and story behind it. You know how you have to go to areas with darkness and then heal them...just like that!

It's more of a painting than programming...which looks cool and pretty flash but it really doesn't have the Prince of Persia "feel" to it. Again the graphics are great but I definitely think that the previous PoP's graphics are much more hardcore. I remember how they'd show a scene in the previous PoP's, where it's turned into some kind of high graphical movie...that was pretty cool! In PoP 4 you don't have that at all...it's just full on painted scenes the whole way.

Now the game play; again, the previous PoP's had way better and awesomer game play then the new one. Here, I feel that the moves are limited and slow but the wall running and ring traveling moves are really cool. Also the combo moves you do with Elika are hardcore! I have to give credit for that!

There are less enemies/monsters. Like you don't get attacked by 4+ monsters at once...you just take on one monster at a time. This is where it feels "kind of" empty because most of the time you're just running and jumping around these somewhat similar obstacles...which is absolutely fine but where's the action?!

I did enjoy playing it, but at times I actually got bored. Plus it doesn't make you think. Like there aren't puzzles or stuff of that sort. It's really straight forward!

I give it a 3.2/5 stars.

[Singles] Skillet - Awake

Skillet's new Album; Awake, is due for release sometime in August 2009. How exciting is that!

So far, 2 singles are out; Hero and Monster.

Skillet - Hero


Skillet - Monster

Been listening to both for the past day or two and I love them! Just listening to these 2 songs makes me feel that their new album is going to be awesomer than the first, so can't wait till it's released!!

Way awesome!!

[Music] Staind - Everything Changes

I don't know...but the more I listen to his older albums the more amazing songs that I find.

This is the Acoustic, Live version from the Hiro Ballroom of their 2006 album; The Singles 1996-2006. I've listened to this song a lot lately and it still seems I can't get enough of it.

The lyrics are a mix of heart felt, romantic and sad words. Yet again, this is Staind we're talking about here, it's kind of his thing lol.

Absolutely beautiful!

If you just walked away
What could I really say?
would it matter anyway?
would it change how you feel?

I am the mess you chose
the closet you can not close
The devil in you I suppose
'cuz the wounds never heal

(Chorus)
But everything changes
if I could turn back the years
If you could learn to forgive me
then I could learn to feel

Sometimes the things I say
In moments of disarray
Succumbing to the games we play
To make sure that it's real

(Chorus)

When it's just me and you
Who knows what we could do
If we can just make it through
through this part of the day

(Chorus)

Then we could
Stay here together
And we could
Conquer the world
If we could
Say that forever
It's more than just a word

If you just walked away
What could I really say?
It wouldn't matter anyway.
It wouldn't change how you feel

RIP MJ

This post isn't a review, it's a tribute to the King of Pop. I would be lieing if I said that the news of his death didn't affect me. It hit me like a wall, and though I tried telling myself that this is life, and alot of people die everyday, why don't I feel sad for them ... I couldn't help but feel utter sadness for MJ's early death. His later life was full of controversy, and I don't know how much of the allegations are true, he was acquitted after all. Although I have to admit his facial transformation really creeped me out.

MJ had this child-like aura about him, almost like he is a little kid stuck in man's world. His home was called Neverland, the island in Peter Pan where children never grow up. There was always rumors of MJ being abused as a child by his father, maybe that contributed to his strange behavior as an adult. Never had someone soared so high then sunk so low.

I grew up listening to his music. Both my parents enjoyed his music, as well as my older cousins. I remember being terrified of Thriller's music video, and dancing along to Black and White. When I first watched the video to the Earth Song, I cried because it was so sad! I remember watching one of his concerts, seeing him do the moonwalk and not believing it was real. During a family trip from Muscat to Nizwa, my cousin and I sat in the back of the car discussing MJ the whole way (we were little kids lol). I recall my cousin telling me that MJ has magical powers, that's how he can dance so amazingly, and I believed it xD It made sense that magical powers is what enabled him to do the moonwalk. MJ was always there, a part of my childhood.

I spent the entire day yesterday just watching his music video and listening to his songs. He had some incredibly meaningful songs, you get the sense that he really wanted to make the world a better place.

Here are some of of my fav songs of his


















Best.Dancer.Ever

[Movie] Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Plot:

Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.

--------------------------------

G's thoughts:

And the wait is finally over. One might ask...was it truly worth it?! HELL YEAH IT WAS WORTH IT!! Movie of the year...honestly. There's so much to say, yet one can explain this movie in one word...amazing! Yes! Amazing. The movie is so good, that I actually already miss it and want to see it again.

The first one was definitely something, but "Revenge of the Fallen"...well, I can say that it was definitely awesomer and maybe better than the first one. This movie is not to be missed at the cinema. You HAVE to watch it at the cinema (if there's IMAX then even better) otherwise you'll be missing out on some great sound effects, awesome action and a bigger screen!

Loved the story (the comedy was really good), how it was made and the places it was filmed at. Egypt and Jordan huh?! After watching this movie I gotta visit the Pyramids and Petra <3 Petra looked amazing I have to say! They couldn't have picked a better place to hide...I'll just leave it at that =D

3 actors stood out for me in this movie. First of all, Shia LaBeouf! Honestly, I've complemented him on my other blog (Dream Catcher) and I'm definitely going to do it here. This guy never seems to disappoint. Never fails to impress in every single movie I've seen him in. He's definitely one of the top actors out there...right.now. and he's only getting better. Oh and his screams are just...epic! xD


Next there's John Turturro. Yes! He's back in this one...not going to say much but he's a great actor also. He did a really good job and was funny too!

Last but not least is the new Ramon Rodriguez. I don't know him much...but he did a great job and was absolutely hilarious!

I think the cars got hotter in this one plus some new funky autobots are introduced and the Fallen ;) I'm also more in love with Bumblebee (the Camaro) after watching this movie. What a great car lol.

Great movie, great cast, great music, great graphics and I can go on and on. All I will say is...WATCH THIS MOVIE...at the CINEMA!! It's too good! If you liked the first one...then I'm 110% sure you will like this one even MORE!

11/10 for me =D

Aargh!! LOVED IT!!

Here's the official trailer for you if you need anymore convincing =D

[Recipe] Caramelised Onions

I tried out two recipes in the last two days, each containing caramelised onions as a component of the dish. The first recipe I followed step-by-step from the book (including the caramelised onions). However the second recipe is totally different to the original one. Let's begin with preparing the onions:

Ingredients
4 teaspoons of Olive Oil
2 large white Onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons of Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons of Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon of fresh Thyme leaves

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan on low heat. Fry the onions, stirring alot until they start changing color. At about the 7 minute mark, increase the heat to medium then add the vinegar and brown sugar. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until onions are brown and moist. Switch of the heat, stir in the thyme leaves and leave the caramelised onions to cool.

First Dish [Basic Bruschetta with Onion and Feta topping]

Ingredients
100g of crumbled Feta Cheese
Freshly Ground Pepper
Half a stick of French Bread
1 clove of Garlic
Vegetable Oil Spray (I used Olive Oil)

Heat grill and line tray with baking sheet. Slice French Bread diagonally into 12 slices, spray each side with vegetable oil spray (or olive oil) and place on tray. Toast the bread under the grill for a few minutes until golden on each side. Pull the tray out and, while the toast slices are still hot, rub one side with the garlic glove. Voila! You got yourself a dozen Bruschettas =P

Spoon the caramelised onions prepared earlier unto the Brushettas. Top with Feta cheese, a seasoning of black paper and more thyme leaves. Serve.

Second Dish [Caramelised Onions, Hummus and Chicken Salad Rolls]

Ingredients
2 large Flour tortillas
Hummus
1 small Red Onion finely chopped
1 Carrot grated
1/2 Medium cucumber, very thinly sliced
4 teaspoon Olive Oil
Chicken breast strips (quantity enough for one person, don't remember how much I used xD)
2 teaspoon of Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon of thyme.

Make the chicken marinade by combining the olive oil, brown sugar, and thyme. Spread most, but not all unto the chicken strips and let it marinade for as long as you can. I left mine marinade for two hours in the fridge. Line a baking tray appropriately, place chicken strips on it, and allow chicken to cook for one about 15 mins on one side. Turn the chicken over, and brush the rest of the marinade on it and allow to cook for another 15 minutes, or until golden.

Spread one side of each tortilla with hummus. Place chicken strips, carrot, cucumber, red onions and caramelised onions on top. Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil on each, roll the tortilla tightly, and cut in half. Serve.

Thoughts

I loved both dishes so much! The [Basic Bruschetta with Onion and Feta topping] can be served as a yummy appetizer. The distinction of the sweet onions and salty feta cheese feels awesome on the tongue. The [Caramelised Onions, Hummus and Chicken Salad Rolls] had a sweet and tangy taste to it. You can add more veggies to it if you like, such as tomatoes and mesculin salad and also a drizzle of lemon. Makes a yummy lunch.

[Trailer] Zombieland

In the horror comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus is a big wuss -- but when you're afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying' bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita and Little Rock, who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.

IMDB

The trailer got released on the internet today, and I have to admit I love comedy horrors =P The humor in them is so twisted, and I guess is not appealing to the wider audience of people except for ones with a similar twisted sense of humor.

The movie reminded me of Shaun of the Dead, the british horror comedy remake of the Dawn of the Dead, and an incredible laugh. The zombies in the movie seem to be rather fast pased in movements, which is quite contradictry to the popular notion of how a zombie should move. And Bill Murray is in it, acting as a zombie! =D

Here is the trailer. Love the Purell scene lol.

[Music] MJ vs. AAF - Smooth Criminal

I honestly love this song, never seems to get old. I only listen to AAF's (Alien Ant Farm) cover because it's more 'now' and more rocky. Although I gotta say, I'm having trouble deciding which one is nicer MJ's (Micheal Jackson) or AAF's version. Phat reminded me of this song when he linked me a funny video, that I'll post lastly, which had the MJ's version of the song. It made me go and listen to the full version and I'm kind of shifting to MJ's one because I'm finding it tune-ier/funkier. What I mean is, when he starts to sing the chorus there's the part where he says "he left the signs in the window (that he struck you-a crescendo Annie)"...the last few words are sung with a tune compared to AAF. I like it more that way because it's not plain. I don't know...I guess each one is different and cool in it's own way that we shouldn't compare. lol.

As one of the commenters on the MJ video said "It can be a bit repetitive, but it's catchy as hell. Once you've heard this song, you're never gonna get it out of your head. Such a kick-ass song." I totally agree with them. I've been listening to this song (the AAF version) since 2002 when I first heard about it. It never got bored of it.

Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal (cover)

The kid in the yellow shirt dancing >.< is awesome!!

Micheal Jackson - Smooth Criminal (original)

Never liked any of his work really, actually never listened to anything from him
but I give him credit for this song. Was shocked when I found out it was originally his =\

Smooth Khaliji =P

This is so funny! lol. They are so friggin' in sync and the person the edited the
video did a great job on making the music go with the dancing.

So which one do you like?

[Book] The Historian

Amazing ... I fell inlove with History even more due to this book. Really loved it!

The story deals with vampires, but not Bram Stoker's version of vampires, oh no. This book talks about a real vampire --> Vlad Teppes, or Vlad the Impaler. It also focuses on the connection between him and the Islamic Ottoman Empire dealing with is hatred towards it and the great fued between him and Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople.

Two Historians, Paul and Helena, whom are brought together after a series of unfortunate events,begin to delve deeper and deeper into the history of Vlad the Impaler as well as the Ottoman Empire, in order to save the life of a fellow historian.

The story is fast paced, incrdibly researched and the characters are so real. It is one of those books that I can think back on and see the entire story play back in mind like a movie. It isnt a light read by all means (656 pages) but I did not want it to end at all. To be honest I was really sad when it did lol.

[Movie] The Proposal

Plot:
When high-powered book editor Margaret faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she's actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew, who she's tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own. The unlikely couple heads to Alaska to meet his quirky family and the always-in-control city girl finds herself in one comedic fish-out-of-water situation after another. With an impromptu wedding in the works and an immigration official on their tails, Margaret and Andrew reluctantly vow to stick to the plan despite the precarious consequences.

----------------

So watched this movie today. Been waiting for it ever since I saw it's trailer about a month ago. It was such a nice movie to watch and you've got a nice comedy coming with it. Loved the story even though it's typical and you expect what you expect lol. Still, it's really nice...one of those stories eh!

There were a couple of funny moments yet there were moments where you just go O.o "nooooooooo" in an *ew* way. lol. You'd know what I mean when you watch the movie =P

Sandra played her role really well. She's like this big boss that everyone hates and can't stand her to the point that they call her "it". lol. She's really pretty but damn has she aged. And honestly I applaud her for what looks like a pair of 5 inch high heel shoes that she wore through out the whole movie =O

As for Ryan Reynolds *melts*....who does not like Ryan Reynolds *melts*. From "2 guys and a girl at the pizza place", to "Blade: Trinity" and to a number of other movies, this is another role, where he is this lovable, sweet person who finds himself in a bad yet funny situation in order to keep his job and to reach his ambition of becoming an editor. He was really funny and *cough*hand*cough*some =P

A good, nice, romantic, light comedy for all those who are movie freaks and especially to those that are into romance/comedy. It's definitely a good one, so don't miss it.

8/10 from me.

[Game] Square Enix, The Legacy Falls?

Who doesn't know about Square Enix and their achievements, one of the best Role playing games maker in the gaming history. They almost went into breakdown and the company back then wanted to collapse until they made one and only game; Final Fantasy. The games that was created had continous succeful ratings which made the company bigger and bigger and the series of final fantasy is never stopping since each one is based on a total different story, but with the same elements of the game such as monsters and names of items.

The final fantasy series reached part 13 and is/was supposed to come out by 2008, but unfortunately there was some decaying in the accuracy of the date of release. It seems to me that they are never satisfied with the outcome, the game now is due 2010 and I personally have been waiting since 2007, how amazing. All of you know of E3, the Final Fantasy didn't get the most anticipated RPG game, it seems that people are a bit bored of the false promises.

Here is the trailer:

I, honestly, am more excited about the other Final Fantasy which comes out on the PSP. it basically holds all the characters from 1 till 12, good and bad, and mash them into a new type of a fighting game.

Well I also heard that they are trying to manipulate many games into the anti terrorist theme, for example PACman in taliban:

[Music] Linkin Park - New Divide

Oh yeah! Here it is. After a few listens, it totally grew on me. At first I just loved the music, but now I love the whole song. It's definitely a good one and totally suiting the second Transformers Movie. The music video for New Divide was filmed on the set of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (laaaaah *holy music*) movie and directed by Joe Hahn (who's a band member in LP).

Awesome-ness! Chester's singing in the first verse totally reminded me of the voice of the main singer in 'The Rasmus' (another good band). Still, fantastic song!

Enjoy!

[Recipe] Grilled Eggplant Panini

As an overseas students living on my own, eating well is quite an issue. Takeout is out of the question when it comes to that, and hence I had to turn to cooking. However, some days I would get back home after a long day at Uni and feel too tired to put an effort into preparing my dinner that I end up fixing up the same simple and rather unhealthy dishes, such as fish burgers, pizza or noodles. I honestly was starting to feel sick from repeatedly eating such food. And that's when my obsession with hunting for and collecting healthy yummy recipes started. The main criteria was for it to be simple and with a quick preparation time, since I would usually be ravenous and dead tired when preparing it and hence have no mind for something extravagant.

I'll begin with reviewing my current favorite (how biased is that :P)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 1/2-inch slices eggplant (about 1 small)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
8 slices whole-grain country bread
8 thin slices fresh mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup sliced jarred roasted red peppers
4 thin slices red onion

Preparation:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.

2. Combine mayonnaise and basil in a small bowl. Using 1 tablespoon oil, lightly brush both sides of eggplant and sprinkle each slice with garlic salt. With the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, brush one side of each slice of bread.

3. Grill the eggplant for 6 minutes, turn with a spatula, top with cheese, and continue grilling until the cheese is melted and the eggplant is tender, about 4 minutes more. Toast the bread on the grill, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

4. To assemble sandwiches: Spread basil mayonnaise on four slices of bread. Top with the cheesy eggplant, red peppers, onion and the remaining slices of bread. Cut in half and serve warm.

How delicious does that look? <3 Ok, I have to admit I kinda didn't follow the recipe 100%. In step 1, I combined the mayonnaise with an Italian herbs mixture that contained the following:

• Marjoram
• Basil
• Red Bell Peppers
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Thyme

I left out the roasted red pepper altogether, because I simply do not like it. You could try using Colby cheese instead of Mozzarella, tastes just as yummy (I personally prefer Mozzarella). Lastly, after the final step of preparing the sandwiches, before cutting them in half I placed them back in the oven for another 2 minutes on low, so as to warm the sandwiches up. Oh and, if you are preparing for one, cut the amount of ingredients to a half or a quarter (depending on how much you eat).

Rating: 10/10 *two thumbs up*

Recipe Source (contains more nutritional information about the sandwich, as well as other people's twists to the sandwich)

3 Worlds Collide - An Intro

G says: What else do I need to do?

Phat says:
loool, G you're the leader
Write an intro, make it look professional
And show it to me
Am fixing the twitter page

G says:
I'm not the leader
We all are.

Phat says:
"group hug"

G says: title..3 Worlds Collide - An Intro
Yes! It's finally here.

Basically 3 Worlds Collide is about a diverse number of topics. Movies, Music, Series, Anime, Books, Food Recipes, Programs, Art....you name it, it's all here!

Phat says: add history, mythology, education

G says:
3 Different but very alike contributors bringing the...
complete the sentence
where is Sara

Phat says:
saraaaa
'calls'

Sara says:
here

G says:
yaaallaaa sara
what are you doing!!
help us

Sara says: cleaning my glasses lol

Phat says:
i think both of u should belly dance
and put it in the blog
as a welcome

Sara says:
no

Phat says:
yes

G says:
NO

Phat says:
is nice

Sara says:
no

Phat says:
BOYASHAKA

Phat says:
3 different but very alike contributors bringing the core of all entertainment(to be changed) each on his own way
entertainment = let it be something to ahhh include knowledge
maybe
the core of each one's entertainment
ba6a6a? (translation: Potato)

G says: ba6a6a! (translation: Potato)
how about discovery instead of entertainment
it's better than 'entertainment '

Sara says:
how about the core elements
the core elements of each one's entertainment

G says:
we're just going to review, share
talk about things, lol
I feel like we're researching chemicals or dissecting a frog

Phat says:
somehow yeah and am just playing around, LOL

G says:
yeah it's not playing around, but it's sounding too too serious lol

G says: so far we have this

G Says: "Yes! It's finally here.

Basically 3 Worlds Collide is about a diverse number of topics. Movies, Music, Series, Anime, Books, Food Recipes, Programs, Art, History, Mythology, Education....you name it, it's all here!

3 different but very alike contributors bringing the core of each ones discoveries of these diverse topics."

Phat says:
well, you can add the whole convo if u want
that would be our intro :P

G says: haha, interesting