MONDAY: Beverly Hills 90210

TUESDAY: Dawson’s Creek

TODAY: The O.C.

1. Episode 1.13, The Best Chrismukkah Ever

It’s impossible to look at holiday shows on The O.C. and not include (almost) every one. So sit tight because that’s what I’ll be doing here. We begin in season one where the idea of Chrismukkah is first introduced. Seth explains that with his Jewish dad and WASPy mom, he created the holiday to get the best of both worlds. Ryan has trouble embracing the holiday when he is reminded of his horrible years growing up (via a drunk Marissa) and Seth receives presents from both Summer and Anna, after which they ask him to choose which girl he wants to be with. A pivotal episode for both that triangle and because it sets up the Chrismukkah tradition.

2. Episode 1.14, The Countdown

Like in the real world, the very next week brings New Year’s Eve. Seth plans to stay home so he can avoid the Anna-Summer issue and Ryan is thrown for a loop when Marissa says she loves him and introduces a new friend, Oliver. Sandy and Kirsten end up at a swingers party where temptation just ends up reaffirming their love for each other. The episode culminates in Ryan’s mad dash to kiss Marissa at midnight–and tell her he loves her, making one of The O.C.’s most memorable endings.

3. Episode 2.6, The Chrismukkuh That Almost Wasn’t

It’s a year later and Ryan isn’t with Marissa and Seth isn’t with Anna (or Summer). Seth’s Chrismukkuh dinner gets bigger and bigger with plans for the Cooper-Nichols to attend, plus Marissa, Summer and Ryan’s newish girlfriend, Lindsay. Lindsay’s enthusiasm surprises Ryan, who worries what will happen when a long-hidden truth is revealed: Caleb is her father. When the truth comes out and major drama ensues, Seth thinks they should cancel the holiday–until Summer comes to the rescue. I’ve never been a Lindsay fan but she deserves credit for creating a Chrismukkah prop: the Yamuclaus

4. Episode 3.10, The Chrismukkah Bar Mitz-vahkkah

Though Ryan & Marissa and Seth & Summer are all back together, this year’s Chrismukkah doesn’t seem to be shaping up any better than season two’s. Marissa is preoccupied by a hurt Johnny and Kirsten is sad that it’s her first Chrismakkuh without her dad (despite last year’s drama between them) and her last with Seth and Ryan still in high school. The episode is a win for me because the Judaism factor is at a higher level with the incorporation of both Seth and Ryan’s Bar Mitzvahs. We see Seth’s via flashback, adding a layer of goodness to his lifelong love of Summer, and we see the gang come together to give Ryan one (though it’s real purpose is to raise money for Johnny’s surgery).

5. Episode 4.7, The Chrismukk-huh?

We know I’m a sucker for flashbacks and, by extension, alternate universes, which makes this quite possibly my favorite of all the Chrismukkahs. Ryan and Taylor’s accident turns Newport on its head, looking at what might’ve happened if Ryan never existed. While most of it involves some comedic pairings, like Summer & Che and Sandy & Julie (plus Che & Julie), there’s also a surprising emotional component: Taylor finds out that, in this world, Marissa may be alive. The possibility prevents Ryan from wanting to return to the real world but he ends up losing her all over again when he learns that Marissa never survived her drug overdose several years back since he was never there to rescue her. Intelligent viewers knew there was no chance of Marissa/Mischa Barton coming back but the writing and editing sucked us in anyway, getting our hopes up and our hearts broken.

Tomorrow we look at another alternate holiday universe, this time on One Tree Hill.

]]> http://ngyilian.com/2009/12/21/greetings-from-singapore/ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:00:43 +0000 ngyilian http://ngyilian.com/2009/12/21/greetings-from-singapore/

Haiiii!!

I’m sitting at Starbucks with Matt’s fancy machine while I wait for him to finish his gym session and am catching up on all the twitter and FB updates. Bumped into Aaron (Kong) as he was heading home and caught up for a bit while he dished out some Bali restaurants tips.

The past weekend has been a whirlwind. Got back late Friday night to some major packing (stuff for the Bali trip) and unpacking (all the Xmas pressies) then Sat was a gastronomical brunch session at Peifen’s (Hokkien mee! Chwee kueh! Fried black carrot cake! Carrot cake sticks! Roti prata! Fried beehoon! I was in Singaporean food haaaaven).

Sunday was brunch with the girls at Rider’s Cafe then visiting the cute little Sophie at Debs’. We spent a good 90 mins in Rider’s Cafe doing our individual gifts exchange and we swore everyone in the venue was envious of us. Hahahaha! Well, we all got pretty swell gifts from each other, especially since we all know everyone’s tastes pretty well! Then we headed to Debs’ to ooh and aah over little S. She’s such an adorable wee little thing!!! I had one hell of a time feeling her little tummy under my hand. Mmmm…

Then home to see my two little darlings! They were glued to Gor’s laptop watching Monsters and Aliens. I was feeding Kiks and after a while, she was like: “I don’t want any more lunch (dinner), thank you very much Yi yi.” Prissy, prissy.

And Seth was on drugs that night. He was behaving like a cat and played with a bunch of messed-up black thread for a good 45 minutes and was laughing and yelling away on his own?!?!

I also got the kids some early Xmas pressies from H&M. Kiks got a pretty tutu purple skirt while Seth got a top with a dinosaur print. They both loved it and didn’t wanna take it off. Didi went around the house roaring at everyone like a dinosaur while the drama girl couldn’t stop twirling around.

I got pics! But dun have the camera with me now to upload the images now, so gotta wait!

This morning was catchup with my two fave boys (other than Didi and Matt), Ed and Joel over beef noodles and desserts. After they took off, I headed to Actually… and thank god they didn’t have any interesting stuff from Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair so I stepped out of the shop, unscathed.

Then off to Topshop I went and burnt more than $100 on tights and leggings. I live in Hong Kong, hmmkayyyy…

Then on to ION Orchard to check out Nespresso. I was thinking of getting one for Matt for Christmas but they all looked so tough to dissect! I continued to browse around the mall, entered YSL and after a short period (erm, maybe just 30 secs and one look in the mirror to be exact…), I got myself my Christmas pressie (hee, gotta find a reason to justify it)!!!

OH! OH! Meanwhile, you totally have to check out Seth here. He’s sooo cute!

OK now, where’s that boy? It’s 9pm now and I’m starving!!!

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Finnish
(KEER-see)

The name is Finnish and can either be considered a contracted form of Kirsten, a diminutive form of Kirsikka (which is Finnish and means “cherry,” or from a Finnish word for frost. It is sometimes used in conjuction with Marja, Kirsi-Marja/Kirsimarja, which also happens to be a Finnish synonym for cherry. Its designated name-day is July 24.

Doctor of Science: Allen Gerard

Doctor of Philosophy (excellence): Jennifer Mary, Tennille Elisa, Rueben Joseph, Katharina Naomi.

Doctor of Philosophy: Joon Koo, Penelope Catherine, Katie Kirsten, Steve Alan, Kelly Marie, Melissa Alice Sarah, Volkert (nm), Sanna Katariina, Nathan Perry, Judy Lynette, Kathleen Patricia, Silvie (nm), Ermin (nm), Anne Katherine, Marion (nm), Gwenda Miriam, Garth John.

And so it is that time of year for our Preseason predictions! Sounds almost like a football game calling them winners and los…. well you know what I mean. It’s all just so far removed from Reality but, assuming the process works for our new Bachelor here are our predictions along with some spoilers. You’ll have also visit www.TVFanSpace.com for the latest news and spoilers but from today ahead we’ll take a stab at the whole show so we can look back and see how close we came. … With thousands of Die hard fans sleuthing the net 24/7 the stories you’ll read over at the forum are often what hits newsstands many months later so you really should check it out. 

First of all there is the Bombshell Maxim Model Gia Allemand …..

Now that I have removed my chin from the floor we’ll move on to Sheila a beautiful blond commercial pilot. She’s got the right stuff and should be around a while but we all know that’s far too convenient. When you share too many interests its trouble.

Sheila the bachelor will be around a while! www.JakePavelka.net

Elizabeth is the Brunette wild card which we place at number 2. Jake said he prefered blondes but us guys now that at the end of the day you can have a mohawk and it’s just not gonna matter if the chemistry is there!  

Elizabeth Bachelor Spoilers

Rozyln the make up artist and Ali Fedotowsky the 25-year-old Advertising Account Manager from Williamstown, MA though are our picks this year for the top 5 with Ali being the next Bachelorette. ( Note, we are also anxious to see how the story line plays out with Ella Nolan though as well because it’s about time we had a single mom for the next Bachelorette!) Ali though seems to be the natural fit though if early predictions are worth anything.   

Ali Fedotowsky from the Bachelor

As far as an early prediction we are going for surprise even ourselves and drum up a really surprise end being that Jake Pavelka chooses Gia. Yup, I said Gia.  We also think there may be a chance that Gia turns the rose down and thats a wrap folks! I know, what a bummer that might be, right? ….but folks it’s also the only ending we haven’t seen yet so it sure would be shocking TV! Someone smiling down on Brad Womack right? LOL

It’d be a bummer for us viewers who love the happy ending sure so let’s hope whether it’s Gia and Jake in the end or one of the other ladies that there is a happy ending after all. Look a few of these ladies for sure to be amongst the last on Season 14 of the bachelor! If your curious to see how the spoilers come out join the TV Social Network and get in on the fun!

Bachelor Spoilers are at the TV Social Network www.TVFanSpace.com

A comparison of two scenarios to drive home a point:

The cricket scene is probably imaginary. There is in all likelihood, more strategy that they use. And when they still fail, it is only a matter of a win or loss on cricket field.

The political scene is probably more real. Unfortunately. In a high command led dictatorial regime full of sycophants, political mileage is the only motivation. Even at the cost of random slicing of the country into states, notwithstanding public opinion. And when such knee jerk movements from the centre do not work, it is a serious matter of loss of lives. But then are Indian lives any more valuable to a politician than 4s and 6s on a cricket field??

Are we wrong to expect from our politicians, more responsibility of action, more foresight, some concern for the country and its citizens, and less for their personal political gains??

Rune watched the girl with interest. When the downpour had begun, most everyone had run inside or under the shelter of the pavilion. He’d opened his umbrella. It was the only concesion he’d made to the weather. This girl, however, was dancing and playing in the water.

“Aren’t you cold?” he called, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

She stopped and beamed at him. Then she shook her head. “I love this weather,” she said. Then she went back to her game. “How’d you do it?”

“Beg pardon?”

She stopped again and then danced over to him. She pointed at the umbrella. “How’d you make it rain, mister?” she asked.

Rune laughed aloud at the question. “I’m a light elemental,” he said, shaking his head. “I didn’t make it do this. I haven’t got that power. I just crafted an illusion so that I wouldn’t get soaked to the skin.”

The girl laughed and danced back out into the shower. “She’s a storm elemental,” a soft voice said. He glanced back at Yori. Wind swirled around his shoulders and head, keeping the moisture away and ruffling his hair.

Rune nodded. “She’s got no idea of the sort of power she weilds,” he said. He laughed and waved at the storm. “She thought I called this. She couldn’t concieve of the truth.”

**

Comment, so I know you exist…

Indoor game today after Church.

I get to wear my sparkly flats.

And then I get to wear my PUMAs.

I want to play another game for Miss Kirstie Rae.

I think she’ll be written on my arm again.

LOVE that girl♥.

She’s my favourite.

-Bella(Koala Bear)

xoxo

That girl hasn’t even turned four yet (3 Jan – Capricorn like me!) and she’s getting seriously smart-mouthed for her age!

Last weekend when Sue was still in HK, I asked her before we headed out for dinner: “Kirsten, have you had your dinner?”

K: No.
Me: Why not? Don’t you wanna grow bigger?
K: No I don’t want. My legs are already very long.
Me and Sue looked at each other, wide-eyed: OMG.

Seriously, OMG. Where did she learn to talk like that? I asked Che but she was equally shocked like me when Kiks told her the same answer before.

Then just now:

Me: Kirsten, do you love Yi Yi?
K: Yes. But I love Mummy better.

Bloody hell. Fine. I geddit! I’m not the mother! But do kids have to be that honest?!

We started pruning the shrubs. The tick branches are to be cut in small pieces for the fireplace.

“¿Te sientes bien? Te veo medio palida”  -  “Toi bien  (hip) solo un poquito mareada”

“Ayyy wey..¿quien me esta (hip)… moviendo tanto el piso?”

“¡Puta madre, ya me vomitaste mis botitas nuevas!”

“No me aprietes la panza que vomito otra vez”

“¡No usen flashes que me revienta la cabeza!”

¡Ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,!

¿A poco no es chingon cuando las zorras esas que se sienten divinas e intocables pierden todo el glamour? ¡Ja,ja,ja!, esto sirve para que ellas mismas se den cuanta de que son como cualquier otra putilla de los callejones, que duermen, comen y cagan, como todos.

Y gracias a nuestor queridisimos paparazzos, tenemos la fortuna de contemplar fotos de famosas saliendo hechas piltrafas de bares y antros, todas borrachas, drogadas y seguramente, bien revolcadas. Y es que en realidad, no hacen algo diferente que todas las gringas (que se pasan la vida embriagandose, drogandose, revolcandose y abortando), lo unico interesante es que son celebridades, y al ser mujeres, se siente hechas a mano por los mismitos dioses y por eso, para ellas es la mayor humillacion que la perrada en general se den cuenta de como son en realidas: unas putillas briagas que pierden todo el encanto con tres o cuatro copas encima. Si no me creen, miren a Mary Jane, ¡digo! Kirsten Dunst, siendo sacada casi a rastras de un antrucho de moda y con cara de que no puede ni con su alma. ¡Salud, Kirsten!

All

I can’t believe that it is 6 weeks since I last posted on the blog.  In that time we have had a trip to San Diego which just was not long enough and had John’s parents out to visit too.  This Thursday is Thanksgiving and John gets a long weekend off work (Thursday – Sunday off).

So what has happened during the course of the month.  We had a wonderful trip to San Diego where we stayed in the Grand Pacific Palisades Hotel and Resort and Carlsbad (http://www.grandpacificpalisades.com/).  They actually bumped us across to their sister resort which is timeshare only called the Marbrisa (http://www.marbrisaresort.com/index.aspx).  We had booked ourselves a 2 bedroom villa and ended up with a studio apartment attached to a one bedroom apartment so plenty of room.  The Marbrisa also shared a back entrance to Legoland with the Sheraton which meant we could walk from our room into Legoland California (http://www.legoland.com/california.htm)  We had a wonderful day exploring Legoland arriving just after they opened and leaving as they closed.  We drove across to San Diego on the Sunday having booked the dogs into the Raintree Pet Resort (http://www.raintreepetresort.com/).  We visited Legoland on Monday; explored downtown San Diego, Seaport Village (http://www.seaportvillage.com/) and also went on the ferry from Coronado Island across the bay and back with Kirsten on Tuesday.  Wednesday we spent the day at Seaworld (http://www.seaworld.com/sandiego/) and then on Thursday we explored the local vicinity which meant Carlsbad itself and it’s beaches and also the Outlets (http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=66).  We will definitely be going back to San Diego in 2010 but maybe at the start of summer rather than the end this time.

John’s parents arrived a week after we returned and left last Monday.  Hopefully they enjoyed their trip even if they went home a little exhausted.  During the visit I (Sigrid) participated in my first 10k together with my neighbours/friends, Nicole and Amy.  I set myself a target of completing in 90 minutes but actually finished in just under 83 so was really pleased with myself.  Nicole and Amy both finished a few minutes ahead of me (http://www.zazoosh.com/photos/249142443).  The 10k was part of my training for the half marathon in January, but the last 2 weeks I’ve not been so good at keeping up the running.  I got back to it today, but took it gently only running about 2.3 miles.

We also now have Kirsten’s headshots from the modelling agency and her picture has also been posted online on their website (http://www.theyoungagency.com/models/babies/displayProfile.php?idl=W&idf=Kirsten).  We have been given about 50 copies of the picture to use at auditions etc and I also need to pull together a stat sheet for her to be attached to the pictures.

I know this doesn’t bring you fully up-to-date, but at least it gives you a little more information as to what has been going on.

Best wishes for the upcoming season.

kirsten and andi cleaned jars and bottles and cellar. Looks perfect again and i can finally  find the jellies back again. Thnx!

This is the best moment of the year to replant the hedge in the new garden. The soil was already prepared last summer by Mike and Tristan.

Teagarden hedgeteam (Kimmi, Kirsten and Benedetta) planted fase II of the hedges. Acer campestra and fagus sativa. Next fase: sowing grass in spring!

Doug Bollinger takes 5 to hand India a series defeat

India lost yet another bilateral series to Australia yesterday after an inept batting display by the home side. The Indian batting display in this series would be a great cause for concern in the Indian camp. The Australian team though has done a wonderful job with a depleted side, missing almost 7-8 regular players in the squad. The Indian captain would be very disappointed with result as after the first 3 games it seemed as though the home team were the frontrunners.

The Indian problems though are 3 fold, batting, fielding and bowling. Australia were better in the above three disciplines. This has been the problem with the Indian team over the past few months. When the batting clicks, they are a very hard team to beat as they usually rake up a huge total but if it fails the bowlers are not good enough to win those games. The fielding has been a problem too, lots of drop catches and misfield punctuates Indian efforts in the field these days.

When the team was doing well all these faults were overlooked as winning was more important at that time but recently we have seen that this team is far from becoming the number one team in the world. India has to seriously look into their ODI combination as we are just over a year away from the WC. The bowling looks thin and the batting inconsistent and this in addition to poor fielding makes India’s chances in the 2011 WC very slim.

A 4-2 series loss against a severely depleted Aussie team will not go well with the fans and the management alike but Dhoni and Kirsten would be relieved that the Sri Lankan series starts right away.

Kirsten is now one year old! She is doing all kinds of fun things now, but my brain is too tired to try and recount them all. So for now, I am sharing some photos that we took on Sunday.

Know how I always insist Seth is quite the (cute) loser by following his sister everywhere and doing and saying everything that she does? And also how Kiks is the drama mama? This video proves my point:

(Sorry for the rubbish quality. I accidentally arranged the video setting to ‘compact’. Sucks.)

But Seth, if you do read this when you’re all grown up, please know that I love you in your own way, loser or not. <3

Kirsten spotted Martin near the headquarters for the Violet Division. Clutching the papers to her chest, she hurried towards him. She skidded to a stop as she saw him drop to his knees. Her brows furrowed and she watched him.

Martin eased a metal box out from under the building. He lifted the lid and drew back what looked like a large handkerchief or scarf. Finally, he paused and looked at something in the palm of his hand. After a moment, Martin set the object in the box. Then he covered it with the cloth and closed the lid carefully. Finally, he tucked it back in its hiding place. He sighed softly, as he straightened. Only when he’d stood, did Kirsten come out of hiding.

“Hey, Martin,” she called.

He spun to face her, his eyes wide. He looked as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. After a moment, with great effort, he schooled his features. “Hello, Kirsten,” he said. “What did you want?”

“Captain Wolff asked me to bring these,” she said, handing him a pile of papers.

He took them from her, giving the place where he’d hidden the box a sidelong glance. “Thank you,” he said, a bit stiffly. Then he spun and headed inside.

Kirsten giggled and hurried away.

**

Comment, so I know you exist…

Ajatukset risteilevät Kirstenin päässä pyörryttävää tahtia ja minuutti, jonka aikana hän käy mahdolliset vaihtoehdot mielessään läpi, tuntuu pidemmältä kuin onkaan. Nyyhkäykset laantuvat pikkuhiljaa ja kun ne lopulta lakkaavat, Kirsten säpsähtää äkillistä hiljaisuutta. Kirsten ymmärtää, että hänen pahin pelkonsa on juuri käynyt toteen ja hän hiljentää mielessään kuulemansa äänen, joka yrittää piipittää, että kyseessä täytyy olla virhe, sähköposti on tullut väärään osoitteeseen tai koetulokset ovat sekoittuneet laboratoriossa.

Kirsten kumartuu noukkimaan puhelimen lattialta muistaen, että on siivouspäivä eikä hän halua keksiä selityksiä Lucialle. Kirsten tietää näyttävänsä vähintäänkin hieman räjähtäneeltä istahtamaan neuvottelupöydän ääreen punaisine silmineen ja kyynelien raidoittamine poskineen, joten hän rullaa kylpyhuoneeseen harvoin käyttämänsä meikkipussin luokse. Ehostus vaatii Kirstenin keskittymisen, mikä oli toinen syy, miksi hän vaivaantui kaivamaan koko meikkiarsenaalin esiin.

Käytännön toiminta on aina saanut Kirstenin rauhoittumaan, oli hän sitten järkyttynyt, peloissaan, vihainen tai muuten vain levoton. Saatuaan meikillä piiloon kaikki tunteenpurkauksen mahdollisesti jättämät jäljet, Kirsten kirjoitti siistillä käsialallaan ”Soita Alannalle.”, tietäen, että voisi olla vaikea saada aikaa niin pienellä varoitusajalla. Tämän tehtyään Kirsten toteaa, että voisi yhtä hyvin lähteä jo. Hän rullaa ovesta ulos ja sulkee sen perässään tuntien surun ailahduksen mielessään.

Bajji walks back after playing a blinder against the Aussies in the first ODI in Vadodara

In a recent interview Bajji (Harbhajan Singh) told the media that his captain Dhoni had told him to concentrate on batting a bit more. This shows Dhoni’s desperation for a good all rounder in the team. Bajji for his part has done a brilliant job as he has been contributing consistently in Tests and scored 4 fifties last year. But is this the right path for the premier spinner in the Indian team? Bajji’s primary role in the team should be to take wickets and help his side to win more games and anything other than that should be a bonus.

Since Kapil retired from all forms of cricket in 94/95 the Indian team has been in search of an able all rounder to replace the legend but has been largely unsuccessful in doing so. India tried out various options in the mid and late nineties but none of them were able to fill the big void Kapil had left in the squad. In the last 15 years the only player who came close to filling that spot was Irfan Pathan. Irfan was a brilliant bowler when he made his debut in 2004 and was more than useful with the bat.

But unfortunately things went downhill for Irfan after his first year in International cricket. During “Guru” Greg’s tenure as Indian coach things changed for Irfan as he was used more as a batsman in the ODI squad. He bowling declined due to that switch and Irfan now is no more a regular fixture in the Indian team. Dhoni and Kirsten need to be careful as they wouldn’t want Bajji to follow that route.

India needs to unearth a bowling all rounder from the domestic scene to fill the all rounder spot. Irfan himself is an option. In the recent ODI against the Aussies, Bajji and Praveen almost pulled off an improbable victory. Can Praveen Kumar be a candidate for the all rounder spot? You never know. The Indian think tank need to make sure that they don’t put too much pressure on the Indian bowlers to perform with the bat, since that may affect their bowling. Yes the bowlers need to contribute with the bat but should be a bonus and not their primary role.

Australia during their prime played with some bits and pieces all rounders but was still able to win due to a good bowling attack. India needs to keep that in mind, even though an all rounder is an important cog in the wheel of a successful team, specialists are essential too. As the Indian team continues to search for an all rounder, the Bajji’s and Praveen’s can concentrate on what they do best that is to win games with their bowling and their batting contributions should just be a bonus.