Durian

I'm pretty sure everyone noticed by now (in Malaysia), it is the durian season.

My mom always tell me that we should never mix durian with alcohol or Coke.

Now, how true is that?

I've decided to do some research in the internet to check whether this is just another myth or indeed a fact.

A study by John Maninang and Hiroshi Gemma from the University of Tsukuba, Japan proved that this Asian folklore could be true.

The durian's high sulphur content actually impairs alcohol breakdown because it turned off the activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase (an enzyme that clears toxic breakdown products) by up to 70%.

Source : New Scientist

While it doesn't say much here, I think it probably meant that it prevents the proper digestion of alcohol?

Even in Wikipedia, it was stated that some said you can't even consume durian with coffee.

Probably this is related to Coke because both contains caffeine.

I was able to find that mixing caffeine and alcohol is deadly but nothing about mixing with durian. Haha.

"A new research suggests that drinking more than 10 alcoholic drinks a week or 4 cups of strong coffee each day can increase the risk of developing an irregular heartbeat.

2 studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona found that alcohol and caffeine intake can affect the chances of developing an abnormal heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation."

Source : India Times

On top of that, too much of durian can also cause death.

A Thai died after eating four durian in close succession.

The Thailand's Ministry of Public Health even issued a warning against excessive durian consumption.

While durians are delicious, it is high in calories.

For 100 grammes of long-stemmed durians, it is 181 calories,

129 calories for kradum durians and 340 calories for candied durians.

A 2-kg mon thong durian, once peeled, weighs 600 grammes with a total of 978 calories.

The Thai ate 4 of these and get an instant energy burst of 4,000 calories, twice the daily requirement for an average person.

People with overweight/obese problem, together with high blood pressure, heart conditions and diabetes should be even more caution when it comes to eating durians.

Source : Give it to Me Raw

Some people even experimented on themselves to check the truth of these beliefs :

Suicide by Durian and Whiskey

There's nothing much to be seen in the video except a few men drinking Whisky and eating durians.

What's important was in the description, it was written that the video was taken in 2006 but only uploaded in 2008

(This probably meant they survived. LOL).

Others also tried Durian + Wine and survived.

Since all these studies, news, and experiments may not be 100% proven due to lack of studies done

(probably because this fruit is not very popular in the West),

*See what they said about it?*

I think whatever it is that you're eating, it's best to just take it in moderation. =)

Fun Fact :

Some Indonesian activist introduced durian-flavoured condoms as a hot new item to fight Aids.

150,000 pieces were sold in a month.

Yummy eh? The bedroom sure smell damn good and appetizing...

HAHA!

Eat safe, play safe!!

Anti Robert Pattinson Part 3

I just read this amazing article on why Twilight is so famous :

link

It is so true!

I read the book and to me, Edward Cullen was supposed to be the most handsome/perfect/best/whatever your fantasies are kind of guy.

That is why I REFUSE to watch the movie because Robert Burger Patty is so damn FUGLY!!!!

And like what this article pointed out, due to the fact that Bella's character is so empty, it could be anyone.

It could even be YOU, up to your imagination.

The article is terrific, you've gotta read it.

(if you hate Twilight like me. XP)

If you don't like reading, they've got a video too but the voice in the video is really monotone, dull and boring.

Haha.

Oh, just so you know, I've received hate messages and comments last time for posting these articles up. Haha.

It was hilarious to see the extend of their imagination and obsession including putting Cullen as their last name in Facebook and things like this :

Have a nice day!

For part 1 : link

ps, All pictures are taken from Tumblr

Inception : Conclusion

"What's the most resilient parasite?

- An idea."

So, I watched Inception a few days back.

It was... mind-fucking!

I must say, this is the BEST movie I have ever watched.

I didn't even realize it was a 148-minutes movie.

It left me wanting MORE.

I couldn't take my mind off the movie even after I left the cinema and even accidently went into the male's toilet.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

*WARNING : Spoilers ahead!"

You wouldn't understand what I will be talking about if you didn't watch the movie anyway. LOL!

The ending of the movie was unclear whether Dom Cobbs (Leonardo DiCaprio) was still dreaming or in a reality because the spinning top did not stop.

I wished that he was in reality because I've always liked happy endings.

Hehe.

Anyway, I researched about it and I don't think the director did published the ending anywhere.

The movie ended in such a way so that we can end it the way we wanted.

Based on many opinions in the web,

these are a few points that needs consideration before making a conclusion :

1. The spinning top is not his, it's Mal's.

In Mal's dream the spinning top never fell, but it could be different for Cobb.

Cobb first touched the totem in a dream world also.

Besides that, remember Arthur (Joseph-Gordon Levitt) told Ariadne (Ellen Page) that you cannot let other people touch your totem because you should be the only one who knows its weight etc?

The older version of Saito (Ken Watanabe) and his security guards also touched Cobb's totem when they captured him.

2. The children did not seemed to age BUT in the credits, there are 2 people hired for both characters :

Claire Geare - Philipa (3 years)

Magnus Nolan - James (20 months)

Taylor Geare - Philipa (5 years)

Johnathan Geare - James (3 years)

However, I didn't see any difference about the kids including their hairstyle and clothes and they were at the exact same position.

BUT, the movie did not specify how long he left his home, maybe it was just a month or so, that is why there were no changes?

I read a comment somewhere saying that the children on the beach looked smaller, maybe that is why they have 2 sets of casts (not sure).

It could also be because the kids in the telephone are different.

3. It wasn't shown whether Saito killed Cobb and himself, 'kicking' both of them into "reality".

4. There are many debates on whether the ENTIRE film was just a dream after all.

Cobb is performing inception on himself.

He is the architect of the dream but he used another architect inside his dream.

Besides that, in the dream phase 1, hitting the water was supposed to be the kick to bring them back to the plane ("reality") and yet we saw them swimming out of the van, sitting on the side of the water and talked some crap.

Not only so, the unstoppable projection army that is just above them on the bridge is letting them be.

This is because Cobb wants to see Robert Fischer come to the decision and it can't happen in the "real" world of the airplane where Robert Fischer will think it as a dream.

On top of that, there wasn't any complete scene in the movie and it kept jumping,

like what a dream is supposed to be.

5. If the whole movie was a dream,

it means Mal jumping down the building 'kicked' her into the REAL world.

BUT, if she really did, why wouldn't she wake Cobb up?

6. The last time we saw the spinning top fall was in Paris.

MAYBE, the master of inception, Miles (Michael Caine) manipulated the whole event so that Cobb forgives himself about Mal's death.

The rest of the crew are not projections but real people probably working for Miles perform inception in Cobb's mind that he is not responsible for Mal's death.

Besides, the rest of the crew also hardly questioned Cobb's decisions although he did put them in danger in the dream.

7. Ariadne could be the movie's real extractor.

Miles hired the best extractor he knew of (better than Cobb) to perform inception on him.

Her skills was so good even in the first exercise and she was able to manipulate the streets of Paris to fold up onto themselves.

How could she be so skilled in the first round?

Because she is a professional extractor of course!

8. It was mentioned that Robert Fischer was trained to protect his sub-conscious

(with the projections of army etc).

Who trained him?

Could it be because they were in Cobb's dream all along and since Cobb is a profession extractor, he has been trained to protect his sub-conscious?

Or, Ariadne trained Robert Fischer?

9. Cobb and Mal were in the dream world for 50 years.

It was said that 5 minutes (real world) = 1 hour (Dream Phase 1).

Thus, the calculation should be :

It would be illogical that they slept for 4 years.

It is also humanly impossible that their body can be at that stage for that long without food and water.

(I don't remember what's the ratio for Dream Phase 2 though, sorry!)

That being said, this means they should be in deeper dream phases.

10. Limbo : a state of uncertainty.

Since the sedate was so high, when they die in the dream, they will not wake up but be in a Limbo instead.

Cobb died simultaneously in four dream stages

(drowned in the second, then blew up in the elevator, blew up in snow place in third, and Mal stabbed him in the fourth).

It means he was in a limbo.

11. It could be possible that Cobb never woke up from the chemist's place in Mombasa.

When Cobb "woke up" after using the new potion, he went to the toilet and tried to spin the top but Saito interrupted him and it wasn't shown whether the top fell.

This is so that Saito learnt about Cobb's plan to incept Robert Fischer and at the same time, make Cobb believe he "returned" home.

12. Cobb performed inception on himself but refuses to accept his current state as a dream because he believes it as a reality.

13. Someone also pointed out that Cobb always has his wedding ring during the dream world but never in the real world.

He did not have the ring in the last scene.

OMG. NEW DISCOVERY!!!

Cobb's wedding ring could be his totem!

Read this!

14. The top wobbled in the end and we did not get to see if it actually fell after that.

Earlier in the movie, it was shown that in the dream world, the top has a perfect spinning motion once it is up to its full momentum.

Flaws :

1. Cobb and his people incepted in Robert Fisher's (Cillian Murphy) mind that his uncle, Maurice Fisher (Pete Postlethwaite) kidnapped him.

So why did Robert still saved him from the sinking van?

Furthermore, Cobb and the gang mentioned that they were destroying one relationship but building Robert Fisher's relationship with his dad.

2. How could Robert Fisher didn't recognize Saito when they are supposingly head-to-head competitors?

3. Okay, this is not a flaw but just another question in my head :

Why was Mal at the opposite window of the hotel room?

4. Why isn't there any other projections in Mal and Cobb's world?

Conclusion :

The director, Christopher Nolan introduced rules and limitations to the story and structured itself within the same confines.

The debates about the conclusion can go on and on and on like the Penrose Staircase.

Personally, I think he was still in a dream. =(

Cobb told Ariadne not to recreate reality in dreams but in the end, he was embedded in a world of his own memories.

He was able to see his children's faces because his sub-conscious was finally free of guilt over Mal's death.

So, what do you think?

Was Cobb awake or dreaming in the end?

"You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You can't be sure where it will take you. But it doesn't matter - because we'll be together..."

Sources : 1,2,3,4,5,6

Sex & the City 2 sucks

First of all, I would like to apologize for not blogging for like "forever". Haha.

I'm very busy with uni, having finals next week. X.X

(wish me luck!)

Anyway, yesterday I watched Sex & the City 2.

It was rather disappointing.

Reasons why it sucked :

1. Half-funny jokes.

They tried to crack some jokes but it wasn't funny enough.

It was like "haha?" instead of "HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!".

(If you get what I mean, LOL)

2. The casts are old but they are trying to be young.

*Put some pants on please, aunty.*

3. Unrealistic fashion.

I mean, I love beautiful clothes and shoes etc but it's just too much.

Even at home or in the hotel room or in the market, they were wearing long gowns that touches the floor, put on heavy make up, wear accessories etc which obviously doesn't make any sense to me.

*Carrie wore this to the market.*

*Charlotte and Miranda in the bar in their suites.*

On top of that, when they were in the deserts, they changed their wardrobe thrice?

a) On the way there 1 outfit

b) When they have to sit on the camel, they had changed to another outfit

c) When they have lunch, change to another outfit again

4. Bad karaoke.

If they can't sing, don't make them sing!

5. The movie did not finish what they started.

For example, Samantha Jones's hottie in Abu Dhabi just disappeared.

So was Carrie Bradshaw's ex-boyfriend, Aidan.

6. Boring.

I found myself yawning throughout the movie (not because I was sleepy).

The first quarter of the movie was boring.

It only started to get exciting when they were in Abu Dhabi.

7. Too dramatic

When Carrie kissed Aidan, she went nuts and had to call all her friends to talk about it.

8. Too fairytale.

Even when Carrie kissed Aidan, Mr. Big forgave her without any fight and bought her a black diamond ring.

Come on, everybody knows that that doesn't happen in the real world?

9. Miley Cyrus was in the movie.

I think number 9 says it all. HAHA.

BUT, to give the movie some credit, I do love a few things :

1. A different scene.

I was quite surprised when most of the movie was set in Abu Dhabi which was unique.

*No, this was not the hotel they stayed. I couldn't remember the name. Haha.*

2. Love the wardrobe, as usual.

Ermmm, that's about it? XP

Movie fact :

The movie was actually not filmed in Abu Dhabi because the officials rejected after reading the scripts. They were also unhappy to be associated with the movie.

The real location was actually Marrakesh, Morocco.

Have a nice week!

=)