The blonde I want - Kim Kardashian's new hair color

Last week I changed my hair color trice. I should have stopped that first time but when I saw Kim Kardashian's fabulous new hair I decided to lighten my hair and worse I decided to try a new colorist. It was a mistake because the colorist wanted her way or the highway and adamantly highlighted my hair beyond what I anticipated. I went back the next day to have it corrected but unfortunately this fine hair of mine did not appreciate the overzealous highlights and protested every time I looked at the mirror.

It looks like I will have to visit Kim's colorist to calm my upset hair!

Look for future post for updates.

Pictures from internet

Michael Jackson's Iconic style

Agyness in Harper's Bazaar
Pictures from Harper's Bazaar

In memory of Michael Jackson

"In my darkest hour,

In my deepest despair,

will you still care........

Will you be there

in my trails and my tribulations,

through all doubts

and frustrations,

in my violence,

in my turbulence,

through my fear

and my confessions,

in my anguish and my pain,

in my joy and my sorrow,

In the promise of another tomorrow........

I will never let you part for you are always..... in my heart"

"I am just a dreamer......dreaming the dream"
At the crack of dawn on June 25, 2009, I woke up to a heartbreaking news on CNN. One imagines that some people are ageless and deathless but sadly that is not the case, of course. Sitting in a daze, my mind preoccupied with a thousand thoughts, tears filled my eyes. I had just lost an uncle recently to cancer. He, like Michael, was only 50 and left this world all too soon.

Michael's music was a big influence in my life while growing up. He was one of my teenage idols and I would dream of one day meeting him. Those teenage yearnings did come to pass when I met the King of Pop in person in 2007.

I remembered vividly his soft voice and his gentle hand shake. Surprisingly he was extremely shy, perhaps hard to understand and therefore easily misunderstood. The public persona that one sees is not the person one meets. Ultimately, he was all too human albeit an extraordinarily talented one. Above all, he was a person who believed very much in his charitable works, especially for the children of the world.

Now as I listen to his music I see a story of his life slowly unfolding before me in the lyrics. Michael will never cease to sing to my heart.

“Because we know the Who, we can endure the What, though we don’t understand the Why”.

A Garden By Night

Garden at The Four seasons hotel - Chinzan-so, Tokyo

Home away from home

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The Four Seasons Hotel Chinzan-so in Tokyo is a refuge in the busy city. This hotel is a seamless blend of classic European style with Japanese influences and modern technology. What distinguishes the hotel is the 7 hectar Japanese garden within which sits a 1000 years old Pagoda as its centerpiece brought in from Hiroshima. Walking the gardens transports one to a heavenly realm of tranquility and peace. In the evening it is lit ever so beautifully.
The service is impeccable, warm and attentive to the smallest details. A wonderful surprise awaits you when you enter the large, spacious rooms and bathrooms filled with all the amenities that one might expect at a Four Seasons hotel.
Take a moment to pamper yourself at the Yu spa where the hot spring waters are specially brought in weekly from the town of Ito which is renowned for its onsen.
For culinary delights the Japanese at Miyuki and the Italian at Il Theatro are to be savored. I spent a lovely evening at the lounge indulging in chocolate fondue while sipping margarita and enjoying the musical respite.
My stay was indeed an experience not easily forgotten.

Tokyo, Japan

~WE NEED A NEW VISION FOR A NEW TOMORROW~

WHAT ABOUT NOW?

Imogen Heap - Ellipse

She is incredibly talented and unique.
You can catch her on David Letterman this Friday.

Uji, Japan - Kyoto Prefecture

Kyoto, Japan

The wonders of the Blue Pea flower plant (Latin name: Clitoria ternatea)

From my organic garden

I did not realize what a gem of a plant I had growing in my garden until one friday Tony, my gardener pointed it out to me. This precious plant can be used in its entirety from the roots to the pods to the leaves to the flowers and the seeds. Here are a few examples I found while doing further research:

The extract from this blue-flowered vine can be used as a food dye.
The pod is very similar to sweet peas and is edible.
The roots, seeds and leaves are used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine as a memory enhancer, nootropic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, antistress, anticonvulsant, tranquilizing and more, to name but a few examples.
The fresh leaves combined with ginger juice controls excessive sweating.
Root juice with milk relieves cough and phlegm.
Seeds mashed with honey, applied topically reliefs tonsillitis.
The root juice instilled into the nostrils can help treat migraines.

All leguminous plants can make organic rich fertilizer from its root nodules.

What's cooking in my kitchen

Bamboo sushi mat (wrapped in cling fill), measuring cup, japanese vinegar, sushi rice, japanese mayonnaise, Nama Misoshiru Asage instant miso soup, roasted sea weed, miso paste, grounded chilli, kikoman soya sauce, wasabe, soya beancurd, dashi or fish stock, wakami (dried seedweed), spring onions

Avocado, cucumber, carrot, crabmeat, cooked eel in dark sweet sauce, fresh tuna or salmon (Albacore tuna as a substitute...forgive me Japan)

There are many reasons why Singapore is a must on your list of travels. Besides its tropical climate, its diversity of culture, it is also a gourmet paradise with mouthwatering varieties of local cuisine comprising of Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan and Eurasian foods. As well there are a wide choice of excellent international cuisines to satisfy any discriminating palate.

I am especially fond of Japanese cuisine and one of my favorites is

Shima at Singapore Island Golf Club in Sentosa. The Chef is apt to prepare a scrumptious meal which never ceases to surprise me. Tetsuya at Goodwood Park hotel is popular for their set lunch menus that are well priced and the newly renovated Sushi Tei at Paragon shopping center serves casual Japanese cuisine with affordable prices.

Inspired by my recent visit to Japan, I made my first attempt at homemade assorted sushi served with miso soup. I think I scored 8 out of 10 when it comes to taste but I have yet to master the skills of how to roll up a sushi!

Singaporeans love their grubs and it is reflected in the way that they greet you.

This is a typical example of how you are greeted here:

"Hi, Lu hoh boh? Chaik pah boy?"

Hi apa Kaba? Sudah makan?
"Hi, how are you? Have you eaten?"

Hida Takayama, Japan

After I visited Kyoto, I headed towards the quaint city of Takayama in the mountainous Hida region.
Every spring, visitors from all over Japan come to celebrate the Sanno festival, a procession with 12 glorious floats some of which have a mechanical doll that can move and dance. The floats are pulled by men on the red Nakabashi bridge followed by performers wearing traditional costume. The audience is also entertained by amazing marionette puppets.
The best two festivals fall on April 14/15 and October 9/10
If you want to have a glimpse of traditional Japan do stay at a ryokan (a traditional japanese inn). You will be provided with a yukata robe to wear and sleep on a futon spread out on a tatami floor. Indulge yourself to an onsen♨ bath (hot springs), some of which are private on a patio in the room. Otherwise some ryokans have common bathing areas either for same genders or unisex.
Feast your palate on a traditional, sumptuous japanese cuisine which the Ryokans pride themselves on.
Hida Takayama is definitely a must on your list should you ever visit Japan.

Lion City

As I was walking along the street of Orchard road, my curiosity lead me to stop and watch these 'car paparazzis' in action. I can't help but to take a couple of shots when the valet attendant came up and asked "Missy, you take picture, you want to buy car cost 1 million dollar, also got Ah moh driver this car" I replied "Unnnncle , I don't have money la... I only taking pictures of the boys cos they look so funny. Ya car very nice and first time see Ah moh driver in Singapore"

Looking at the boys, I realized this is exactly how I look when I am on my photography expeditions... completely oblivious to people around me!

Spring in Osaka

Located in the center of Osaka is the most recognized landmark, the Osaka castle. I was there in April, in time to lie under the fully bloomed sakuras and join the Osakians enjoy hanami at Nishinomaru park.
Hanami is a Japanese tradition when families and friends would sit under the cherry blossoms and have a picnic celebration.
The visit was completed with a walk to the magnificent castle to watch the sunset....I was awestruck from the sheer beauty of Japan.