I Want My Tangloong!

As you may already know that Terese and I went to the Lantern Festival last night and what a nice night it was, warm and balmy like summer already.

Its actually called the Children Lantern Festival and was organised by the Vietnamese Community of Australia. The festival had actually been on all day but we wanted to see the lanterns which started at 6 pm.

Beside the lanterns there were lots of singing on stage but there were all vietnamese songs so I wasn't interested. I've come to see the lanterns!

There were also food stalls selling vietnamese foods and also chips and drinks and everything else. Check out the lanterns they have in this stall here, too bad they're not sharing those.

We opted to have some BBQ prawns and beef coz they're less messy to handle and you can eat as you walk around the place looking for those lanterns. I want my tangloong!

And here they are! They're giving away tangloong to everyone so everyone can participate in the lantern ceremony later when it gets dark. I want my tangloong!

And so did everyone else coz the queue was this long! Better get in line if I want to get my tangloong. While we were waiting in line we didn't know if there would be enough tangloong for everyone and if there's a shortage then big kids like me will have to miss out!

But luckily this uncle told us there's thousands of tangloong so everyone will get one tonight as he handed them out to us and helped lit the candles too. Please uncle, may I have one tangloong?

Soon everyone has their own tangloong and they were asked to wait for further instruction, apparently there's going to be lion dance as well and we were going to follow the lions and they dance along the river bank.

This is the tangloong that kind Uncle gave me. Its a Pikachu tangloong but I didn't want to light mine yet coz I'll be busy taking photographs later so I left it with Terese. At least I have my tangloong!

Soon the lions started to dance and everyone carrying tangloong were told to follow the lions as they moved from the square, down the stairs and long the river bank.

There were so many children with their parents following the lions and everyone had a tangloong with them. My photo doesn't show it but the sight of the tangloong in the twilight was quite amazing.

Every few yards the lions would stop and dance a while at one place before moving further along the river bank all the while followed by the tangloong carriers. It was fun and we had a ball!

Especially me coz I have my tangloong! Not just one but two! I'm the biggest kid in the crowd and after that I went back to ask for more tangloong! We managed to score another three!


When we got home we lit all the 5 tangloong, hung them up indoor so there's no wind and I took some nice photos of them. This was taken in total darkness except for the lights from the tangloong and the camera was seated on a chair and set to timer shot. If I had taken it manually by hand it would never have come out that good.

I wanted my tangloong and now I got my tangloong! Did you get your tangloong?

Saturday Night

Can't remember the last time we went out at night let alone on a Saturday night but that's just what we did tonight. Good night to be out though coz of the balmy warm evening.

I took this picture only a couple of hours ago on the way back to the car. There's Federation Square and the Arts Centre on the left and the Rialto building in the back. This was taken using night mode and extremely steady hand!

We went to the Lantern Festival but I'm too lazy to blog about it now so I'll save it till tomorrow maybe. I can however tell you that I've scored 5 lanterns from the festival and this was taken at home in the dark.


We also went to check out the floral display at Crown Casino. Again I will blog about it in more detail on another day but you can check out the one Alex posted today. It's Saturday night and I need to relax a bit, tomorrow I'm having a lazy Sunday also. You all have a wonderful day now you hear!

Battle Of Utapau

Finally its quiet time and I can get to post what I like today, more clone troopers! Simple American, Dabido and Sengkor...its our time to play now without the whining from the others!

This time I'm going to post 2 figurines from the battle at Utapau in Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith. One of them is the clone trooper with its customised armour suit designed for Utapau and the other one is the leader of the group Commander Cody himself!

This is the clone trooper all geared up for Utapau. It basically has the same uniform as the normal clone trooper but the main difference is in its orange coloured panels to blend in with the harsh Utapauian environment?

I think Hasbro the maker of these figurines finally figured out that these figurines do need some sort of support to keep them from falling over and the display platform is a great idea, every figurine now comes with one. No more blue tack!

This is Commander Cody, apart from the standard issue of blaster that every trooper has he also has a huge rifle blaster! His uniform is slightly different from the normal troopers but the most distinctive feature is his helmet which has a visor over its eye piece.

And you can even take the helmet off to see his face! But we all know that Commander Cody is also a clone so his face is exactly the same as all the other clone troopers. Thats too scary!

One thing bugs me though, if they are all cloned and taught the same skills then why do they have a leader in each group who is supposed to be better than the others to lead them. What makes Cody different from the others?


There's just one Commander Cody but there are so many troopers under his command when he made a surprise attack on Utapau that I had to multiply the clone trooper to get more of him to help Cody. Thank God for Photoshop!

Here's A Game We Can All Play.

Here's a game we all can play. First get yourself a box of washing detergent preferably the powdery type and not for front loading washing machines coz then they don't produce much lather.

Then find yourself a water fountain anywhere you can, the grander the better but make sure it has plenty of gushing water. You can find them in parks, shopping centers or even at the compounds of government or commercial buildings.

Make sure no one is looking your way then discreetly empty the whole box of detergent into the fountain. If there's too many people around during the day, come back when its dark but make sure the fountain is still running when you do it.

After you've emptied your detergent in the water, find a nice spot to sit and enjoy the beautiful side effect you've just created. Watch as the bubbles and lather spill out of the fountain and if its windy, you'll get an even greater effect!


While you're at it, you might as well bring along your dirty laundry to get a good wash in the soapy water. Oh what the hell, bring your dogs as well and give them a good clean in it too! Just make sure you don't get caught but if you do, say you're from the National Fountain Maintenance Corporation and you're here to give the fountain a good clean!

Peruvian Festival Continues

Yesterday I asked you to choose between latin dance and Star Wars figurine and much to my disappointment, 4 of you chose latin dance and only 2 of you chose Star Wars! :( OK nevermind, fair's fair you want latin dance, you got latin dance! Star Wars figurines just have to wait for another time so apologies to SA and Sengkor, they made me do it!

Right, we continue where we left off yesterday when I was about to get my face painted but I later chicken out to go watch the performances instead! These are all dances from Peru which I don't really know what they're called but its probably some sort of folkdance.

Then I saw these 4 lovely Peruvian lengluis shaking their booties in their native Peruvian costumes. They have very colourful clothings and funny cowboy hats that they wear.

I'm not really sure but I think all the dancers belong to this group that calls themselves children of "Chiqitines" and they pretty much did all the dances that day. Here we have the cowboys & cowgirls dance which is very energetic and fun. Do watch the short video clip later.

This I think is some sort of modern Peruvian dance in contrast to the folkdances earlier. They got these sexy voluptuous ladies and their strapping young lads gyrating their hips like Shakira!

Check out the folkdance below:

Do you think you can dance like them?

After all the dances, they took a couple of hours break but they had this Latin Dancing Class for beginners where anyone can join in to learn basic moves of Salsa, Cha Cha and Merengue. The class started with just the instructor and his fellow students at first coz everyone was too shy to join in!


But after watching them doing their grooves it was easy for the instructor to convince the audience to join in the fun and it was really fun! Lucky I was on the bridge or else I'd have been dragged into it. They made it look so easy but I'm sure its not especially for my stiff bones! But do watch the clip below and I bet you'll like to learn salsa too!

~The End~

Peruvian Festival

We went to the Peruvian Festival on Sunday to watch the celebration of Peruvian culture including dances, songs and handicrafts. Peru in case you don't know is a country in South America and there are a lot of Peruvians living here in Australia as well.

The Festival is organised by Caritas Australia, a catholic organisation to help celebrate the culture of this remarkable country and to raise funds to support programs that address women’s, children’s and community needs in Peru. There are still a lot of people living in poverty in Peru and profits from the event will be donated to Caritas Australia for its programs there so must go support!

There's an exhibition of paintings, mostly oil paintings by 25 artists depicting Peruvian cultures and people. Feel free to buy an original masterpiece to support the event!

There were also Peruvian handicraft stalls selling all kinds of art and craft like panchos, clothings, hats, gloves and everything in between!

More handicrafts made by hands..

Peruvian indian hand woven materials..

Jars and urns and other timber handicrafts..

And of course dancing! Heaps of Peruvian folk dancing followed by Latin dance lessons which I may post in my next post of you want me to.

Of course there's something for the kids as well, face painting..hold on a minute. Hey buddy, aren't you a bit too old to have your face painted? You gotta let the kids..err, sorry. My apology, I can see why you wanted to get your face painted now..


Check out the cleavage on her! Lucky guy! I'm next please!

So while I'm getting my face painted, why don't you decide whether I should post the Peruvian folk dance, latin dances like salsa, cha cha and merengue tomorrow. Its either that or another Star Wars figurine post! So you tell me what you want to see.

77 Pairs Of Shoes

This post is for all you ladies again because its got shoes, shoes and more shoes! Not only that I promise you a special celebrity will be making an appearance as well! So keep reading to find out who it is.

OK first the intro, the YWCA have organised an exhibition of 77 pairs of shoes to promote awareness of domestic violence and to take a stance against it. Why 77 pairs you ask? Because that's the average number of cases of "intimate partner homicides" in Australia and the majority of whom are women. So prominent Australians have been asked to donate their old shoes for this exhibition.

It was certainly a good turn up as people started to gather at the Atrium of Federation Square for the exhibition. Anyone and everyone can come, there were drinks and snacks served while you check out the exhibits.

Here's the celebrity I was telling you earlier, its Tara Moss who also donated a pair of her shoes for the exhibition and she has turned up to promote the exhibition. Tara Moss in case you do not know who she is, is Australia's number 1 crime writer, she used to be a supermodel before she turned writer and she came from Canada but has made Australia her home.

She stands out in the crowd with her tall statute figure and good looks that most women would just be envious of. She's just like a living life size Barbie doll! She's quite a looker don't you agree? I noticed that everyone wanted to talk to her and the guys were just oggling her from everywhere!

Right! Let's get back to the shoes, here we have a pair of golden slippers from Sally Power from Nilou Designs at number 61, a pair of black business shoes by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja at number 64 and a pair of red Nike sprinter from Jason Gillespie a criketer at number 26.

Nicola Roxon the Federal Shadow Attorney General's shoes is at number 57, Missy Higgins' runner at number 53. Missy Higgins is a famous Australian pop star, you may have heard her songs. At number 41 is the shoes of Kirsty Sword Gusmao the First Lady of East Timor who is also an Australian.

Number 56 belongs to Nathan Bassett of Adelaide Crows Football Club, number 58 is Pru Goward the Sex Discrimination Commissioner and number 29 belongs to Jennie George MP.

This pair of old tired work boots belongs to Bill Shorten the National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union. Hmm..how come no one ask me for my pair of old boots? Guess I have to take the initiative to make it happen so I've added 1 more to the list!


At number 78 is my very own smelly old boots! Made by Rivers and worn for many years, still wearing it when I do the mowing thus the grass stains! I support the exhibition!

Wedding In The Park

Today I'm going to write a post that would please all you women! Today I'm going to post a wedding which I'm sure most of you women would melt just hearing the word!

I was in the city today and came across some people setting up a marquee with chairs, flowers, red carpet and champagne glasses and I thought to myself, hmm..wedding in the park, how very public!

They even have a sign complete with veil telling everyone who walked past that its the wedding of Raff & Lisa. Since its such a nice day & such a public park, I decided to stay for the wedding!

Soon the guests started arriving, they even have an entertainer strumming his guitar while the caterer served the guests champagne. Even the marriage celebrant had arrived and waiting for the wedding couple.

At this time an eccentric woman walked up to the party and started chatting with everyone and later started singing and dancing to the annoyance of the guests! That's her with the arrow pointing at her. Well thats what you get when you want a wedding ceremony in a public park where every Dick and Harry can invite themselves to the ceremony! But luckily she backed away so the ceremony can continue.

Not long after that the groom arrived in his Porsche. That's him there talking to the celebrant. My goodness he's bald already! And that's his Porsche at the back there, not sure its a good idea to park it there..

Here comes the bride, all dressed in white! All the women go "Awww..." Escorted by the father of the bride to be given away to the groom. The father is so happy his grin can be spotted all the way here!

Lets start the wedding ceremony, do you take this woman, yadda yadda yadda... Not many people opt for a church wedding nowadays instead they go for a simple civil ceremony like this one. I married my wife in front of a celebrant as well but not in a public park!

Then the couple said their vows, exchanged rings, the celebrant pronounced them husband and wife, they kissed and hugged to the applause of the guests and finally the moment of truth! The signing of the marriage contract! This is when they make it all legal in the eye of the law! Signing their lives away!

But then hor..I think this marriage started off on a wrong foot! The marriage is very "suey" for the groom coz right after they tied the knot the groom's porsche got booked by the park ranger! WTF! Give the guy a break, its his wedding day and you have to spoil it for everyone by giving him a parking ticket! The park ranger was about to book the bride's car also when the driver saw what she did & quickly moved it away!


What a killjoy that nasty park ranger is! Not happy people get married issit? Wahlau-eh! ngam ngam got married already kenak booked pulak! Pukimah! How would you feel if this happened to you?