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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Death by foie gras

Today on sunday, Sunday, October 2, 2011, Page 10, Speakeasy
From http://imcmsimages.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20111002/0210FFW010.pdf
Source Website: http://www.todayonline.com/Columns/Speakeasy/EDC111002-0000105/Death-by-foie-gras

By Alywin Chew assistant sports editor todayonsunday@mediacorp.com.sg, 04:46 AM Oct 02, 2011

PHOTO: Look, if you’re begrudging every piece of tofu or boiled chicken breast you eat, and incessantly whining about having to go to the gym after work, then forget about it. Just eat and be content. And stop looking at me with those eyes when I’m having my fried chicken.

I live by my palate. Gastronomy is my religion and I'll travel whatever distance and wait however many moons it takes to experience some sort of a divine epiphany (is the sudden realization or comprehension) with my tongue.

I once embarked on a pilgrimage just to try this amazing doughnut we now all know as Krispy Kreme. As simple as it looked, it was without doubt the most amazing piece of dough I had ever eaten. As calorie-laden and saccharine as the icing was, the experience was as good as meeting God and having him urge you: "Go on, have another bite."

I did, of course. Whatever God tells you to do, you'd better get on with it.

PHOTO: London 'goose cruelty' protest. Protestors urge end to foie gras 'naked cruelty'.
http://arsiv.ntvmsnbc.com/news/300333.jpg
http://arsiv.ntvmsnbc.com/news/475329.asp

Hedonistic (pursuit of or devotion to pleasure) gluttons like me indulge to the best of our abilities and, inevitably, it comes at a price. There's no such thing as a perfect dish that's healthy. If it's good, you're going to have to pay for it. If it's healthy, you're going to have to cringe (to shrink in fear or servility) at it.

Whenever I'm at my favourite French restaurant in Bali, I always have to myself an entree of two beautifully seared pieces of foie gras (Foie gras French for "fat liver" is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened). The service staff will cast me looks of disbelief, as if I had just made a death wish.

PHOTO: The experience was as good as meeting God and having him urge you: "Go on, have another bite." Whatever God tells you to do, you'd better get on with it.

http://classics.understars.org/jargon.de.jour/content/sense-of-place.jpg
http://classics.understars.org/jargon.de.jour/

A couple of weeks ago, I read a story on chronic diseases in China. It described a woman having a bowl of oily shredded pork noodles, washing it down with alcohol and then smoking a cigarette for dessert. That might sound utterly revolting to many but, to me, it sure sounded like the perfect way to spend a cold, lazy afternoon.

I honestly don't understand why medical experts are raising such a ruckus (A disturbance; a commotion). We foodies fully understand the ramifications (consequence of the action) - we know our arteries are going to be more congested than the entrance to H&M; we know that our livers will eventually go on strike.

But we don't appreciate being told we have an obligation to stay healthy and useful to society. And we'd rather die happy than eat salads or lift dumbbells.

PHOTO: We don't appreciate being told we have an obligation to stay healthy and useful to society. And we'd rather die happy than eat salads or lift dumbbells.

http://s2.hubimg.com/u/772697_f520.jpg
http://goroscopy1.ru/foto-tatu-borodinoy.html

I had tried to lose weight just once in my life and, when I did carry out this insane no-carbohydrate regime, it lasted for all of four days. Looking at that boiled carrot in front of me, I thought to myself: "What if I don't see the light of tomorrow? Do I really want boiled rabbit food to be my last supper?"

At the end of the journey, I'd rather die a full, contented person, than one who boasts a body like Brad Pitt circa Fight Club but has been unhappy his whole life on a repressive diet. Needless to say, I find it hard to comprehend how vegans (a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products) live.

PHOTO: A woman's vital statistics directly corresponds to beauty. Yang Guifei was known to be plump yet the most adored by the Emperor.

http://skazkazagorod.ru/images/dieta/dieta-1010.jpg
http://goroscopy1.ru/foto-tatu-borodinoy.html

What about obesity, you say? Let no one belittle you for not being little. Who's to say what's gorgeous and what isn't? In ancient China, the infamous imperial consort Yang Guifei was known to be plump yet the most adored by the Emperor. In the Indian culture, a woman's vital statistics directly corresponds to beauty. It's not about the size, really - that's just a societal construct. So don't let it bother you.

PHOTO: Toccara Jones By Steven Meisel (plus size is in again)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 12:10PM
http://ralfbecker.com/storage/post-images/2010-04/Toccara-Jones-by-Steven-Meisel-2008-9-600x401.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1272363211497
http://ralfbecker.com/blog/2010/4/27/toccara-jones-by-steven-meisel.html

If you haven't already realised, plus size is in again. Just look at models Toccara Jones, Alexandra Underwood and Whitney Thompson. Fatter is nicer, and fattier is tastier. So if you really want that perfectly seared piece of foie gras, go for it.

PHOTO: Alexandra Underwood (plus size is in again)
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lihte1cOhQ1qgbaad.jpg
http://maxeyday.tumblr.com/page/30

Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating that we should stuff ourselves to death. It's fine by me if you feel compelled to run off what you've just eaten. Just do what you have to do.

My pet peeve is having friends lament to me about how fat they think they are and how desperately they need to hit the gym, only for them to do nothing about it. When they actually do bother to draw up some vague semblance of a diet and workout regime, they continue on this merciless rant about how hungry they always are or how much of a chore it is to exercise.

PHOTO: Whitney Thompson for Diana Warner Jewelry (plus size is in again)
Posted on December 16, 2009, The Long Layering Warner Necklaces
http://28.media.tumblr.com/QpCiQLZ1Sp4h80d7uzWfBbEqo1_500.jpg
http://blog.dianawarnerstudio.com/page/4

Look, if you're begrudging (envy the possession or enjoyment of) every piece of tofu or boiled chicken breast you eat, and incessantly whining about having to go to the gym after work, then forget about it. Just eat and be content. And stop looking at me with those eyes when I'm having my fried chicken.

I totally understand how many people see "healthy living" as a way of achieving longevity but has no one realised how uncertain life is?

PHOTO: Rock climbing, hiking, softball, cheerleading, dancing, snowboarding, kiteboarding, diving, swimming, volleyball and cross country long distance running, in addition to many forms of martial arts and yoga.

http://www.healthy-dietpedia.com/image-files/dashama-konah.jpg
http://www.healthy-dietpedia.com/dashama.html

Some of the healthiest people out there are winning marathons one day and getting killed by a falling flower pot the next. Professional football players, as fit as bulls, can be charging about one minute and suffering a heart attack the next. Alanis Morissette once warned us how ironic fate can be ("Ironic" is a song recorded and written by Canadian-American singer Alanis Morissette, and Glen Ballard, and was produced by him).

I suggest you heed her advice.

By Alywin Chew assistant sports editor todayonsunday@mediacorp.com.sg, 04:46 AM Oct 02, 2011

PHOTO: "Healthy living" as a way of achieving longevity
http://www.imagine-arts.com/images/yoga2.jpg
http://www.imagine-arts.com/

Reference

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Anne's purr-fect as Catwoman

MY PAPER, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2011, PAGE A11, ENTERTAINMENT
From http://epaper.mypaper.sg/cnd/fvxen/fvxp/fvxpress.php?param=2011-09-27
Source Website: http://www.mydaily.co.uk/2011/09/26/anne-hathaway-catwoman-costume-the-dark-knight-rises-film-set/
By AGENCIES

PHOTO: BLACK BEAUTY: Shots of Anne Hathaway on the set of upcoming movie The Dark Knight Rises, which slars Christian Bale as Batman, show her in a suit and utility belt.

Photo:Splash
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.mydaily.co.uk/media/2011/09/annemain1.jpg
http://www.mydaily.co.uk/2011/09/26/anne-hathaway-catwoman-costume-the-dark-knight-rises-film-set/

MEOW! Anne Hathaway has been spotted on set in her full Catwoman costume (and just in time for Halloween, too).

PHOTO: Concept of the burglar/thief versions of the character
http://fanartexhibit.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/catwoman_new1.jpg
http://fanartexhibit.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/catwoman-rises/

The 29-year-old American actress showed off her svelte figure while on the set of the forthcoming and hugely anticipated Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.

Hathaway has a huge task ahead of her as she slips into Catwoman's skin.

PHOTO: Anne Hathaway showed off her curves in her sexy Catwoman outfit for Batman: The Dark Knight Rises.

Photo:Splash

Anne Hathaway hits Dark Knight Rises set in leather Catwoman suit

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.mydaily.co.uk/media/2011/09/annemain2-1317031054.jpg
http://www.mydaily.co.uk/2011/09/26/anne-hathaway-catwoman-costume-the-dark-knight-rises-film-set/

The character, a supervillain in the Batman comics, was reportedly modelled after actress Jean Harlow.

Actress Eartha Kitt played the character as a vamp, bringing Catwoman to the small and silver Screens in the 1960s.

Michelle pfeiffer donned the famous black leather costume for the 1992 film Batman Returns, with Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito. Then, Pfeiffer was pure purr-fection in the role, combining camp with sexiness in her portrayal of the whip-carrying jewel thief.

Berry proved that not any actress can slip into the role, when she starred in the 2004 Catwoman movie, which was panned by fans and critics alike.

PHOTO: Anne Hathaway's career is accelerating. This year, the actress received her first Oscar nomination, and certainly this is not the end of her successes.

She hit the big screen, thanks to her role in the film The Princess Diaries. Even then, critics agreed that he has an irresistible charm and talent.

From year to year, Anne is growing more and more and not just professionally.

http://e.lansik.pl/la780/bc7a1ee50018278c49ca416b
http://www.lansik.pl/12404/rozne-wcielenia-anne-hathaway/

In the upcoming film, Hathaway stars alongside Christian Bale, who plays the Bruce Wayne superhero for the third time, with British actor Gary Oldman reprising his role as police chief James Gordon.

The shots of the actress show her in a suit and utility belt that somewhat echo Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow costume in Iron Man 2. Hathaway is kitted out in all eye mask similar to what Kitt wore with the classic Catwoman costume.

Compared to the kitschy 1960s costumes, Hathaway's is streamlined and modern.

PHOTO: First Look of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. A much different look from what we have seen in previous films.

http://filmfix.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/anne-hathaway-as-dark-knight-rises-catwoman-first-look-01.jpg
http://filmfix.wordpress.com/

The new Batman movie, expected to be released in the middle of next year, is generating huge buzz, with the spotlight on Hathaway as a new character in this Christopher Nolan-directed franchise with Bale.

PHOTO: The star vowed to stay single after her dramatic break-up from Italian property developer Raffaello Follieri in 2008 after he was jailed for fraud.

However, she barely had time for a breather before she was swept off her feet by her current lover of three years.

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/01/article-1312228654456-0D40F39600000578-897863_636x673.jpg
http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/871069-anne-hathaway-i-wanted-to-stay-single-but-then-i-met-adam

The star who will next appear in drama and romance flick One Day, which opens next month has been keeping mum about the plot of Dark Knight Rises, but has told reporters that playing Catwoman is a dream come true.

PHOTO: Biker babe: Anne sits atop Catwoman's motorbike as she films scenes for the new movie

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/09/26/article-2041664-0E12D7CE00000578-416_634x436.jpg
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2041664/The-Dark-Knight-Rises-Catwoman-Anne-Hathaway-shows-figure.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

"When I started out, with my first role in The Princess Diaries, one of the questions people kept asking me again and again was 'Did you grow up dreaming about being a princess?' And the truth was, no, I wanted to be Catwoman," Hathaway told the UK Press Association.

"It is pretty cool that has worked out," she added.

PHOTO: Anne Hathaway is 'Purrfect' as Catwoman
http://www.parade.com/images/-v5/celebrity/2011/0227/personality-parade/main-anne-hathaway.jpg
http://www.parade.com/celebrity/personality-parade/2011/02/27/anne-hathaway.html

Asked if Nolan and Bale plan to go out with a bang in this third and final instalment of the Batman franchise, the actress said: "I can say nothing. He (Christopher) will have my head if I say anything, anything at all."

By AGENCIES

PHOTO: This statue of Catwoman is just amazing.
Catwoman statue by Kotobukiya, Posted by LiveFor on February 10, 2010
http://liveforfilms.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/catwoman-kotobukiya.jpg?w=545&h=600
http://liveforfilms.wordpress.com/tag/catwoman/

HELPDESK
我的字典: Wǒ de zì diǎn

Constume: 服装 - fú zhuāng
Supervillain: 主要的反面人物 - zhǔ yào de fǎn miàn rén wù
Eye mask: 眼罩 - yǎn zhào
Streamlined: 使成流线型 - shǐ chéng liú xiàn xíng