Seachd - The Inaccessible Pinnacle

I watched this movie when it was released at a local cinema here last month. This is a movie that caused quite a bit of stir at the end of 2007, not because of any objectionable content but because it is a highly praised movie from Scotland (shot almost entirely in Gaelic) that the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) refused to nominate for the Academy Award’s Best Foreign Language Film category. Many critics thought this film stood a good chance of winning so BAFTA’s decision not to enter the film came as a shock. As a result, Scottish producer Chris Young quit the BAFTA in protest, stating “not only are they not supporting a British film and a British film producer, but they are actively putting obstacles in our path”. Even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the US demanded an explanation from BAFTA. BAFTA refused to explain why they are not submitting the film. The official website for the film can be found here: http://www.seachd.com/

Snow

I woke up yesterday morning to go to work and when I looked outside my window, I saw a blanket of snow covering the ground. It hasn’t snowed much this year so I was kind of happy to see the snow. I guess since I grew up in the tropics, snow holds a certain fascination for me but after so many months of cold weather, I think I’d still prefer winter to end and have some warm, sunny days.

Me? Addicted to Digestives?

Ok, maybe I do like to eat a couple of Digestive biscuits every now and then. But it’s not, like, an addiction. It’s more like an experiment to see what all the different flavours taste like. So far, I’ve tried the 8 different kinds you see above, plus a limited edition White Chocolate Digestive. There’s no photo of that here because I... er... ate that before I remembered to take a photo. And since it was a limited edition, I can’t buy it anymore.

Chinese New Year in London

Thursday the 7th February was the first day of the Chinese New Year and I went down that weekend to London once again to see my friends Vinod, Annalise and Christine. It was nice to see what the Chinese New Year is like in London but Chinatown was waaaaay too crowded (no big surprise there). At one point, Christine and I literally couldn’t move as we were squashed in from all sides by the crowd.

In the evening, there was a traditional Chinese fireworks display – which basically meant it was really, REALLY loud! So loud, in fact, that a warning had to be given before the show. Chinese music was also heard playing on loudspeakers; songs that used to be played during the Chinese New Year when I was a kid. It was interesting to hear these same songs again, many years later in a country far away from where I spent my childhood.