WHO WILL TAKE THE ONE MILLION RINGGIT HOME IN ONE IN A MILLION ON TV8 SINGING COMPETITION TONIGHT

Can't believe it, I was just about to enjoy myself
listening to all the three songs Ayu and Shila singing
for tonight Grand Finale and it is coming to an end
already.

Who do you think will take the one million ringgit
home? Is it Shila? or is it Ayu? The results will be out
very very soon.

DRINKING ABC SOUP TONIGHT

ingredients are cut and prepared

for the soup except for the potatoes

they are in the pot filled with water now ready to be boiled

but where are the potatoes?

hey!! can you see the potatoes?

They are in the pot boiling along with the rest.

a bowl of soup specially for baby Aeryn.

It's nutritious for growing up babies.

Will have mine later tonight for dinner.

Let's have lunch together

It's lunch time

the chicken and mushrooms are half cooked

still under low flame - simmer till everything is well cooked

Braised Chicken Mushrooms served in a bowl

Simple way to cook nasi lemak

Who likes to eat nasi lemak for breakfast

This is what I ate this morning for my first meal of the day. Yesterday I had noodle for breakfast so I was thinking of eating nasi lemak for a change this morning.

The nasi lemak bought from 3rd. mile market at Sungai Maong cost RM1.50 per packet. From the snapshot here you can imagine how the taste is like.

Simple recipe to cook nasi lemak for 4 person:

- 2 cups of rice
- 3 to 4 cups of santan
- pandan leaves to give fragrant smell (tied in knot)
- a pinch of salt

Ingredients to eat with nasi lemak:
- 4 hard boiled eggs ( shelled and cut into halves)
- ikan bilis washed clean and toss dry (fried till crispy)
- cucumber cut nicely for garnishing
- some veges., chicken rendang, ayam masak merah, prawn sambal tumis, fried ikan kembung ( all these are optional)

1 - Use rice measuring cup to fill in 2 cups of rice from the dispenser.
2 - Next wash and clean the rice and put it in the rice cooker. Add in together the santan and tied in knot pandan leaf.
3 - Let the rice to be cooked in the rice cooker and the light indicator button will auto pop up.
4 - After a few minutes loosen up rice so that it will not be too sticky.
5 - Boil 4 eggs till they are hard boiled and shelled them. Then cut the eggs into halves and leave aside on the plate.
6 - Wash the ikan bilis clean and toss dry using a strainer. Heat up some oil in the wok to deep fry the ikan bilis. Fry the ikan bilis until brownish and crispy.
7 - Cut the cucumber for garnishing on the nasi lemak and to eat with it later.
8 - Nasi lemak is ready to be eaten for breakfast, tea break or any meal time as you wish.

Happy trying out this simple nasi lemak from sapphire blu corner.

LYDIA SHUM DIN-HA WAS BURIED IN VANCOUVER ON WEDNESDAY, 27TH FEB 2008 - A DAY TO REMEMBER LYDIA SHUM - "MS. FEI FEI DAY'

Remembering Lydia Shum

Lydia Shum, who has passed away on 19th February 2008 of liver cancer was buried in Vancouver, Canada on Wednesday (Thursday in Malaysia) at a private funeral in Canadian city of Burnaby.

On the same day, Vancouver, Canada mayor Sam Sullivan honored Lydia Shum Din-Ha by declaring her birthday as 'Ms. Fei Fei Day,' where people used to call her by that nickname before she died. She will always be remembered to many people as one of the best artistes and entertainer The late Lydia Shum leaves behind her beloved daughter Joyce Cheng Yan-yee.

May Lydia Shum Rest In Peace. Farewell to "Fei Fei". When she laughed, people who watch her on tv just felt the joy together with them. Although she has forever left us, her laughter will always be remembered eternally and we will miss her. I used to watch her acting, entertaining and was a MC in Hong Kong talk shows Without her, cantonese entertaining programmes will never be the same again to me.

A memorial service will be held at Hong Kong Coliseum on 2nd March 2008. The fans of Lydia Shum are invited and it is also open to the public. This memorial service is hold to bid farewell to comedienne Lydia Shum Din-Ha and it is said that a special award will be dedicated to her in April's Hong Kong Film Awards 2008.

MI SUA SOUP AND PAN MI SOUP - MY LUNCH AND DINNER ON 28TH FEB 2008

My lunch and dinner for the day

mi sua soup for lunch

pan mi soup for dinner

ANOTHER METHOD OF COOKING INSTANT NOODLES

Since years ago till now, instant noodles are referred as "fastest menu". Many peole find the idea of eat instant noodles to be convenient, saves much time and money. Instant noodles take the top position in the list of fast meals as it only required very few minutes for the noodles to be cooked and it will make a hot and tasty noodles as a meal for the day.

Instant noodles were originated from Japan and Momofuku Ando, born in Taiwan in 1910 and died at the age of 96 in 2007 was the founder and chairman of Nissin Food Products Co., who was also well known to many people as the inventor of Nissin instant noodles in 1958.

These days most instant noodles are packed together with dried pieces of meat, vegetables, chicken and even shrimps. It also comes with small packets of spices and powder to produce the flavour of the instant noodles. On the packet of each noodles is written the word "flavoured" so I wonder what actually this word means to replace the original meat taste? What are they really made of?

Inside the instant noodles packet, additives in powder form is found in every small packets. It is add in the packets to make the noodles taste good and also as a result for the product to last longer.Additives and powders that can be found in every container or pack of dry noodles simply enrich the taste and make the product last longer.

I used to love instant noodles a lot and eat it quite regularly but now I only eat it when I feel lazy to cook as I am scared of putting that extra kilo in me.

Usually when we cook the instant noodles, we will put the noodles into a pot of boiling water with the powder found in the individual packets and let it cook for about two to three minutes and then it is ready to be eaten or served.

Many people say fast to cook and nice to eat. The additives and powder found in the small packets to make soup/ gravy to the instant noodles can never be boiled in the hot boiling water as it may change it structures in the ingredients and this may cause the soup/gravy to be toxic though I do not know how true it is.

Another reason is lots of wax is coated around the noodles and when we consume that, it will take many days for the body to wash away the wax. For people who has always been taking instant noodles very regularly as their meals, it is better to cook the instant noodles properly.

I used to boil instant noodles like what many people are doing until few years back I try cooking in a better way to cook instant noodles.

Put to boil the instant noodles in a pot of hot water till the noodles is cooked. Put the noodles in a bowl and leave it aside. Pour away the water (containing wax) that cooked the noodles earlier on and put to boil another pot of water. When the water is boiling put the noodles from the bowl in the pot again quickly and strain well before putting it back into the bowl.

Use a strainer to clear the remaining wax water from the noodles. Boil some water enough to make soup for the noodles. Boil the water together with dried vegetables, meat or shrimps found in some packet of the noodles. When the ingredients is cooked, quickly off the gas and put in the powder into the water to make soup. Finally pour the soup on the noodles in the bowl.

For kon lo mi or dry noodles ( if you do not want to use your own recipe in making the gravy) take the noodles out and mix the ingredients found in the packet of the noodles and your dry noodles or kon lo mi is ready to be eaten.

Hope the simple method that I have shared with you will be a little help when cooking instant noodles in a much better way. Happy trying the new method of cooking.

Till another time. Take care.

Soya Sauce Dry Noodles (Kon Lo Mi)

Have you taken your breakfast?
Do pay me a visit and I will cook a meal for you.



This is what I had for breakfast again earlier this morning.
Soya Sauce Dry Noodles or Kon Lo Mi.

Though I have been eating kon lo mi as my first meal most of the days,

I still continue to have it as it is one of my favourite food.

I am never bored with this Soya Sauce Dry Noodles

Eating Yam Rice Again? Is Herbal Chicken Soup Good For Health?

Yam rice has always been my favourite food to take for lunch or dinner. It is convenient and easy to cook though there are so much preparation before you can taste it. Today I am having yam rice again.

The yam that is sold in the East is always tasty. The texture of the yam just makes you want to eat it again even though you just ate it. No matter what way you cook yam here, you will always ask for more.





Herbal chicken soup to eat with yam rice is always
a healthy diet as the soup is good for blood circulataion.

Drinking herbal chicken soup also helps to improve our body immunity.
It is especially very useful if you have just recovered from an illness
or when you are feeling tired.

do continue to visit: www.helloskyblu.blogspot.com

The Asian Film Awards on 17th March 2008 - 33 films to be competed at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Who will win?

Another year has passed by so quickly and before long the second Asian Film Awards is here again. It is said that all together there are 33 films to be competed in this film awards at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 17 March 2008. Who will be taking the awards home?

There are twelve (12) categories all together during this awards presentation that is going to be held for the second time. The awards categories are for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film of the year, Best Director, Best Cinematographer, Best Screen Writer, Best Production Designer, Best Composer, Best Editor and Best Visual Effects.




One of the top nominees are Lust, Caution( with six nomintaions) a film that was directed by famous filmmaker, Ang Lee who was born in 1954, Taiwan. He is an Academy Award-winning Taiwanese film director who won the Best Director Oscar for Brokeback Mountain. Will Lust, Caution won the best film for this coming 2nd Asian Film Awards? The results who will win the awards will be in less than 20 days from today.

The other movie with six nominations is The Warlords (投名状) directed by Peter Chan Ho-Sun. Starring AndyLau, Jet Li, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Xu Jinglei.

Nominees for the coming the 2nd Asian Film Awards on 17th March 2008 are as follows:-

Best Actor


- Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Lust, Caution - Taiwan/China
- Song Kang-ho, Secret Sunshine - South Korea
- Jack Kao, God Man Dog - Taiwan
- Jet Li, The Warlords - Hong Kong/China
- Ryo Kase, I Just Didn't Do It - Japan
- Joe Odagiri, Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me and Sometimes Dad - Japan

Best Actress


- Deepika Padukone, Om Shanti Om - India
- Tang Wei, Lust and Caution - Taiwan/China
- Joan Chen, The Home Song Stories - Singapore
- Jeon Do-yeon, Secret Sunshine - South Korea
- Kim Yunjin, Seven Days - South Korea
- Kiki Kirin, Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad - Japan

Best Supporting Actor
- Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 - Japan
- Chun Ho-jin, Skeletons in the Closet - South Korea
- Sun Honglei, Mongol - Mongolia/Kazakhstan
- Mario Maurer, The Love of Siam - Thailand
- Kaoru Kobayashi, Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad - Japan

Best Supporting Actress
- Joan Chen, The Sun Also Rises - China/Hong Kong
- Kim Hye-soo, Skeletons in the Closet - south Korea
- Kong Hyo-jin, Happiness - South Korea
- Ainya Sakujaroensuk, Ploy - Thailand
- Hiroko Yakushimaru, Always: Sunset on the Third Street 2 - Japan

Best Film Of The Year
- Lust, Caution (Se Jie in Chinese) - Taiwan
- Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame - Iran
- I Just Didn't Do It - Japan
- Secret Sunshine - South Korea
- The Warlords - China/Hong Kong
- The Sun Also Rises - China, Hong Kong

Best Director
- Ang Lee, Lust Caution - Taiwan/China
- Peter Chan, The Warlords - China/Hong Kong
- Jiang Wen, The sun Also Rises - China/Hong Kong
- Masayuki suo, I Just Didn't Do It - Japan
- Lee Chang-dong, Secret Sunshine - south Korea
- Zhang Lu, Desert Dream' - South Korea

Best Cinematographer
- Shanker Raman - Frozen -India
- Hooman Behmanesh, Those Three - Iran
- Chankit Chamnivikaipong, Ploy - Thailand
- Arthur Wong, The Warlords - China/Hong Kong
- Liao Pen-jung, Help Me Eros - Taiwan

Best Screenwriter
- Suo Masayuki, I Just Didn't do It - Japan
- James Schamus and Wang Hui-Ling, Lust Caution - Taiwan/China
- Au Kin Yee and Wai ka-Fai, The Mad Detective - Hong Kong
- Im Sang-soo, The Old Garden - South Korea
- Peng Tao, Little Moth - China

Best Production Designer
- Tsai Ming-liang, help Me Eros - Taiwan
- Pisut Pariwattankit and Thanakorn Pongsuwan, Opapatika - Thailand
- Cao Jiuping and Zhang Jian Qun, The Sun Also Rises - China/Hong Kong
- Kim Yu-jeong and Lee Min-bok, Epitaph (Gidam) - South Korea
- Iwaki Namiko, Sakuran - Japan

Best Composer
- The August Band, Flure, Witwisit Hirunwongkul Chukiat Sakweerakul and Passakorn Wiroonsup, The Love of Siam - Thailand
- Alexandre Desplat, Lust Caution - Taiwan/China
- Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma, Om Shanti Om - India
- Xiao He, Mid-Afternoon Barks - China
- Ringo Shina, Sakuran - Japan

Best Editor
- Lee Eun-soo, The Old Garden - South Korea
- Charliebebs Gohetia, Slingshot - Philippines
- Shogo Hirasawa, Maiko haaaan!!! - Japan
- Wenders Li, The Warlords - Chin/Hong Kong
- David M. Richardson, Eye in the Sky - Hong Kong

Best Visual Effects
- Seshita Hiroyuki, Dainipponjin - Japan
- Takashi Yamazaki, Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 - Japan
- Hyung Rae Shim, D-War - South Korea
- Thomas Duval, The Sun Also Rises - China/Hong Kong
- Ng Yuen Fai, The Warlords - China/Hong Kong

I hope I will get to watch this 2nd Asian Film Awards and it will be aired on tv channel as I have been counting the days for this day.

Jade Chicken Curry - New Invention Recipe By Sapphire Blu

The long awaiting live telecast of the Oscar Awards 2008 that was shown in many countries was finally over yesterday and the winner of the Best Motion Picture of the year is "No Country For Old Man" I have not seen that movie yet so far. For those of you who have seen the movie, do tell me more about it.

This evening I have invented a new recipe for you to try out.

The menu is: Jade Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
- 3 chicken drumsticks chopped into pieces (marinate with soya sauce and pepper) leave aside the marinated chicken about half an hour in the fridge.
- 3 potatoes peeled and cut to wedges (or in cubes)
- 1 large onion cut into cubes
- 3 to 4 shallots chopped finely
- a small portion of button mushroom sliced thinly
- 1 red chilli cut to few pieces
- 1 small portion of ginger sliced thinly or crushed
- a pinch of salt and sugar

Blended ingredients:
- some shallots skin peeled
- daun limau purut （发疯柑叶)
- 2 stalks of lemon grass (take only the bottom portion)
- 2 to 3 green chillies cut and seed taken out
small quantity of garlic skin peeled


Ingredients are cut and put on individual plates


Heat up wok and fry the cut ingredients such
as red chilli, big onion and shallots


add in potatoes and fry again


add in the chicken marinated chicken drumsticks
and button mushrooms.
Continue to fry till a little fragrant


Add in the pounded ingredients and a little water to cook.


Do not let the curry gravy to dry up.
Continue another half a rice bowl of water into the wok
and cook until the potatoes and chicken are tender


When everything is cooked, get ready a bowl


Served the Jade Chicken Curry in a bowl and eat with white rice or noodle


Hope you like this newly invented recipe prepared by Sapphire Blu just for you. Happy trying out this new recipe.

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HAD ASSAM FISH CURRY WITH RICE AS I WATCH LIVE TELECAST OF 80TH ANNUAL AWARDS ON NTV7

I took some rice with fish, brinjal and curry gravy and went in front of the tv sitting down on the sofa and continue watching the Oscar Awards 2008 earlier in the afternoon. Did not want to miss any of the scene of the awards show.

I could have recorded the awards show but it would be a delayed telecast then if I do so. I have always prefered watching it live telecast as I have been waiting for this Oscar Award quite a number of days for this day of award ceremony which only happens only once yearly. This year is already the 80th Annual Awards. Time really passes by very quickly before we even knew it.

Best motion picture of the year:
No Country for Old Men

Performance by an actor in a leading role :
Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will be Blood

Performance by and actress in a leading role:
Marion Cotillard in La Ve en Rose

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:
Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men

Performance By an actress in a supporting role:
Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton

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RESULTS OF THE LIVE TELECAST OSCAR AWARDS 2008 - 80TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS WINNERS ARE:

from the papers that I have highlighted

I transfered the list of winners here

this is what I did from 9.30am to 12.50pm

as I was watching the live telecast of

Oscar Awards- 80th Annual Awards on NTV7 just now.

The live telecast of the Oscar Awards-80 Academy Awards which was aired in many countries has just ended at around 12.50. I have not moved from my seat and was glued to the television on NTV7 since 9.30am with my highlighter and list of nominees that I have printed out.

After finished watching the Academy Awards, I on the computer and then I typed the winners name in bold letters with gold colours as the oscar for these awards is only in gold colour.

The winners have been announced and they are:-

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in "Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
"Persepolis" (Sony Pictures Classics): Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
"Surf's Up" (Sony Pictures Releasing): Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
"American Gangster" (Universal): Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
"Across the Universe" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Jason Reitman
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen"
There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
"No End in Sight" (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production: Richard E. Robbins
"Sicko" (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Omer
"War/Dance" (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
"Freeheld" A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
"La Corona (The Crown)" A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production: Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega"
Salim Baba" A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
"Sari's Mother" (Cinema Guild) A Daylight Factory Production: James Longley

Achievement in film editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Juliette Welfling
"Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment): Jay Cassidy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
"Beaufort" Israel
"The Counterfeiters" Austria
"Katyn" Poland
"Mongol" Kazakhstan"12" Russia

Achievement in makeup
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
"Norbit" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount): Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner" (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) - Best Song
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from"Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from
"August Rush" (Warner Bros.): Music and Lyric by Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas
"So Close" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from"Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
"Atonement" (Focus Features) A Working Title Production: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production) A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film
"I Met the Walrus" A Kids & Explosions Production: Josh Raskin
"Madame Tutli-Putli" (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
"Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)" (Premium Films) A BUF Compagnie Production Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
"My Love (Moya Lyubov)" (Channel One Russia) A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production Alexander Petrov
"Peter & the Wolf" (BreakThru Films) A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film
"At Night" A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production: Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth"Il Supplente (The Substitute)" (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)" (Premium Films) A Karé Production: Philippe Pollet-Villard
"Tanghi Argentini" (Premium Films) An Another Dimension of an Idea Production: Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
"The Tonto Woman" A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production: Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis"
No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate): Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
"Atonement" (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
"Away from Her" (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Written by Diablo Cody
"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
"The Savages" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins

Congratulations to all the winners.

Four contestants from Project Superstar Malaysia 2008 have been elimated on 23rd Feb 2008, Sunday at 10pm and they are...

( Picture taken from: 8tv.com.my)

The top 24 contestants of Project Superstars - 12 females and 12 males

The list of the contestants:-

1) Genie 黄净莹
2) Ellen 徐佩霞
3) Fiona 邬汶凌
4) Pink 方玲妮
5) Alice 林芯糸
6) Shine 王幸儿
7) San 黄惠珊
8) Kay 郭晓薇
9) Apple 邱淑菱
10) Nicole 赖淞凤
11) May May 詹依美
12) Eliza 伊利莎
13)Alvin 马铭泉
14) Jac 林伟明
15)Isaac 张富泷
16) Travis 张福峰
17) Hau 徐仕豪
18) Eddie 赖勇霖
19) Will 郑幸安
20) Elson 戴祺锡
21) Ken 万子健
22) Adrian 陈凯旋
23) Cliff 郑至围
24) Kevin 邓凯文

Two females that have been elimated are:

1) Shine

2) Apple

Two males that have been elimated are:

1) Travis

2) Ken

Who will be next? Let's watch another 12 contestants performing next week on Saturday and Sunday, 2nd and 3rd March 2008.

fried koay teow from sapphire blu to all

Prepare all the ingredients. cut chicken meat, green vegetables (sawi), bean sprout (taugeh), shelled prawns, egg, chopped garlic, fish cake (optional) a packet of koay teow, premium LKK oyster sauce, soya sauce, dark soya sauce, dash of pepper, mixture of cornflour and water in a bowl

Heat up the wok with a tablespoon of cooking oil, Put in chopped garlic and fry until golden brown. Add in the bean sprout, some, dark soya sauce, soya sauce, dash of pepper and stirfry. When fragrant and cooked take the koay teow out and served it on a plate or casserole.

Leave the koay teow aside and wash the wok. Heat up the wok again with a tablespoon of cooking oil and put in the remaining chopped garlic and fry till golden brown as usual.

Add in the rest of the ingredients: sawi, shelled prawns, marinated chicken meat, fishcake(optional) and stirfry for a while. Pour in all the sauces and the mixture of cornflour till a bit tickening. When it comes to a boil crack the egg and mix well into the gravy and switch off the gas

pour the gravy on the koay teow and eat while it is still hot.

Dark Chocolates Lowers Blood Pressure

I used to eat lots of chocolates but now I dare not eat too much as I am scared of putting on more weight each time I consume that mouth watering chocolates. I hardly buy or eat chocolates these days until I passed by the chocolates corner at Boulevard Hypermarket this morning.

I saw this nicely cute packed vochelle chocolate at the chocolates shelf and I just grabbed one and paid it. Took few bites of it and then I start to wonder again. Why do I love eating chocolates so much. Is chocolate really good for health and does it really make us put on weight easily?

Dark Chocolate Lowers Blood Pressure

Dark chocolate contains a lot more cocoa than other forms of chocolate. Taking a little dark chocolate is good for you but as people always say eating lot in anything is not good for you. In fact anything that is consumed too much is bad for health.

Chocolate is infact loaded with calories. If you have in mind to eat a lot of chocolate then it is time for you to cut back somewhere else in other food with high calories.

When I was surfing the net I came across an article by By Karen Collins, R.D. wrting about:-

Is chocolate good for you?

Recent research shows that chocolate can provide natural health-promoting substances called flavonoids.

Since flavonoids seem to help prevent heart disease and cancer, the idea of eating chocolate sounds like a tempting and delicious way to better your health. The complete message is, however, that although chocolate might be preferable to other treats, it is no substitute for vegetables and fruits, which also contain flavonoids.

The flavonoids in chocolate that laboratory studies demonstrate to have powerful antioxidant effects are called flavanols and procyanidins. These two compounds come from the flavonoid “family” that includes resveratrol, found in grape juice, and EGCG, found in green tea. When people consume these substances in chocolate and cocoa, the antioxidant status of their blood increases.

This rise in antioxidant levels helps protect us from damage to the heart and blood vessels, while it also guards our DNA from damage that can lead to cancer.

In addition, the flavanols and procyanidins in chocolate improve the function and flow of blood vessels and help control inflammation.

The antioxidants in chocolate have generated a lot of interest because studies show that these compounds are more powerful antioxidants than EGCG in tea, which is a strong antioxidant.
Scientists have found that eating dark chocolate appears to improve the function of important cells lining the wall of blood vessels for at least three hours.

The study, involving 17 healthy young volunteers who agreed to eat a bar of dark chocolate and then get an ultrasound, found that eating dark chocolate seemed to make the blood vessels more flexible, which helps prevent the hardening of the arteries that leads to heart attacks.

One study that compared the total antioxidant activity in single servings of cocoa, green tea, black tea and red wine scored cocoa markedly higher than the rest.

Yet the flavonoid content of cocoa and chocolate is highly variable. The more cocoa in a chocolate product, the higher the antioxidant flavonoid content is.

Because dark chocolate is more concentrated in cocoa content, it is higher in flavonoids than milk chocolate. For this reason, dark chocolate is used in research studies. White chocolate has no cocoa content.

Beware of calorie. Load a cup of hot or cold cocoa may sound like a health drink loaded with antioxidants, but almost all cocoa drink mixes contain cocoa treated with alkali (also called Dutch cocoa) to produce a darker, richer taste. Unfortunately, this process drastically reduces flavonoid content.

Unless you find a chocolate mix made with untreated cocoa, start with plain cocoa (not Dutch) and add your own sweetener and milk to make a flavonoid-rich cup.

Surprisingly, the fat content of chocolate is not a reason to avoid it. Technically, chocolate contains saturated fat, but the particular type of saturated fat – stearic acid – is unique because it does not raise blood cholesterol.

Studies show that neither dark or milk chocolate is a cholesterol concern in moderate amounts. But keep in mind that other ingredients added to some chocolate candies can change their nutrition impact.

But one of the reasons you shouldn’t rely on chocolate for antioxidants, in the place of vegetables and fruits, is the calorie load. A small piece of dark chocolate has only 50 calories, but most candy bars contain at least 200.

In comparison, a serving of vegetables and fruits contains a generous amount of health-promoting phytochemicals and only 25 to 80 calories. An antioxidant-rich serving of green tea has no calories at all.

Besides, vegetables and fruits have more than flavonoids. They provide vitamins, minerals like magnesium and potassium, and phytochemicals that protect our health in other ways. Some, for example, block the activation of carcinogens, while others interfere with the life cycle of cancer cells and promote their destruction.

Recent research on the flavonoids in chocolate implies that we can enjoy limited amounts of this sweet treat without guilt. But this news shouldn’t discourage us from eating a mostly plant-based diet loaded with vegetables and fruits.

Is chocolate good for you article is taken from: msnb.com

My purple and white hisbiscus flowers continue to bloom

nice purple and white hibiscus (Bunga Raya) bloom again in my mini garden. For the past many days there isn't any flower blooming due to the wet weather. It has been raining nearly everyday during the fifteen days of Chinese New Year. A day ofter Chinese New Year sunny day is back once again and it is time for the flowers to bloom all they can.