Time for the 4th installment of why I love movies, namely the greatest characters that still linger years after coming to the screen:

76) Jim Carrey as ‘Joel Barish’ in ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’
77) Kate Winslet as ‘Clementine Kruczynski’ in ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’
78) William Hurt as ‘Richie Cusack’ in ‘A History of Violence’
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Cape Town is the southersmost city of the African continent and has lots to offer to a wide variety of tourist and travelers. It is a must visit city and many consider it the first place to visit and experience in Cape Town.

I’ve been to this city many times and have spent months there. It is on my short list of cities to be enjoyed over and over and a must visit every few years.

Here are the top 10 things I love about Cape Town:

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These are my 20 favourite movies of 2008:

The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionnaire
Tropic Thunder
Burn After Reading
Quantum of Solace

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2008 promises to be a blockbuster year with a string of fabulous movies that deliver.

I will touch on these favourites of mine (no specific order) in upcoming posts:

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
HellBoy 2
Hancock
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Wanted
The Visitor
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Here are some of what I consider as the most memorable movie scenes of 2007 in no particular order:

The bath house fight in “Eastern Promises”: Some may complain that there is too much gratuitous violence here (Was it really necessary to bloodily poke someone’s eye at the end? ) but all agree that this is one heck of a scene (prison tattoos /male nudity and all).

Frank Lucas taking care of business while his brothers watch from the restaurant in “American Gangster”.

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I started posting about Kuala Lumpur travel tips few weeks ago. I’ve been now in Kuala Lumpur for few weeks and have settled in quite nicely. As my stay is quite long, I decided I needed more than what a hotel can offer and ended up calling my KL home an excutive suite in one of the many brand new highrises within a very short walking distance from the extravagant KLCC. I believe renting a modern furnished apartment is without doubt the way to go whenever one’s stay exceeds one week in a cosmopolitan city. I am extremely pleased with my new place and appreciate the pleasure of settling down for a while after having been on the road for so long. I have great amount of comfort and all the amenities I would enjoy in Vancouver or Toronto including high speed internet, cable TV, large LCD screen, and the luxury of having all I need within a short walking distance.

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Among the myriad of movies that marked 2007, a number of performances stand out as simply unforgettable. Every year has it share of great performances but 2007 has many that will actually mark movie history and are easily among the best movie performances ever, which in the recent past would include Phyllis Seymor Hoffman’s Capote and Jamie Foxx’s Ray.

Marillon Cotillard as Edith Piaf in “La Vie En Rose”: Marion Cotillard literally becomes Edith Piaf and renders a flawless performance that reincarnates the great french singer almost half a century after her death. We see Edith with her diminutive posture, her flaws and vice, her love and passion, her ups and downs, and her emotionally charged fading self. We observe Cotillad merge into a near crippled Piaf with her back hunched and barely able to walk and then marvel at her perfectly synching of Piaf’s performance at the Paris Olympia. We hear every cry of help, see every look of despair, and understand what Edith was going through various parts of her life.

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Dark chocolate, unlike milk or white chocolate has been proved to have a myriad of health benefits.

1) Many dark chocolate bars are sugar free and offer excellent alternatives for anyone on low glycemic diet. As a matter of fact, dark chocolate is a perfect dessert for those that love chocolate but are at risk for metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance.
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In one classic episode of Seinfeld, George Castanza is sternly reprimanded by another party guest when caught double dipping his chip in the salsa sauce:

“That’s like putting your whole mouth right in the dip.”

A recent study has confirmed that indeed this could well be the case.

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Here is my take on what made 2007 memorable from the movie point of view. In other words, 5 years from now, this is what I believe I will still remember. This is what made movie history in 2007.

Greatest Villain: Javier Bardem chills to the max in his amazing portrayal of Anton Chigurh in the simply awesome “No Country for Old Men“. Flipping a coin and calling head or tail has a complete new meaning now to say the least. Mr. Bardem is my pick for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ and I will be quite disappointed if he does not nail it.

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For those not familiar with the term, Insulin Resistance is a status where one’s body does not have a healthy sugar metabolism resulting in continuous presence of above normal insulin levels in the blood. That in turn leads to a fat deposition and a myriad of health problems. It is completely curable and reversible early on with lifestyle changes, such as healthy eating and exercise, but left unattended, can lead to full scale diabetes.

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I am currently in Malaysia in the city of Kuala Lumpur and will be here for few months. I have many posts planned for this wonderful city with practical tips and lots of useful info that would help future visitors.

Kuala Lumpur is the largest Malaysian city and home to 1.6 million Klites (residents of Kuala Lumpur). Read the rest of this entry »

Here are my favorite movies of 2007 in no particular order:

American Gangster
No Country for Old Men
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
The Mist
Atonement
Lust, Caution
Mr. Brooks
I am Legend
Into the Wild
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In preparation for the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I recently organized a Harry Potter week during which I watched the first 4 installments of the Harry Potter series. Having thoroughly enjoyed these, I decided to write a number of Harry Potter themed articles that would offer a tiny glimpse into the amazing fantasy world of JK Rowlings.

Mumble some words, point your wand correctly and voila! That’s all it takes for those Hogwarts to get some great things done. Had we had those spell casting powers, there is no limit to how our life would be better.

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Aspirin is well known to protect against heart disease and stroke and it is currently recommended that all individuals above 40 take one aspirin tab a day. It seems however that not all aspirins are created alike. A Stroke Journal study recently noted that coated Aspirin may not be as effective as plain Aspirin in preventing coronary heart disease. Doctors normally prescribe coated aspirin to protect the stomach lining, and thus prevent ulcer.

The journal however recommends taking a smaller dose (75 mg) of uncoated aspirin instead of the usually prescribed 350 mg (1 adult tab) as the lower dose provides all the benefits with less likelihood of side effects.