Animal activists might cry foul at this and I suppose I do feel a little sorry for the cows, but I can’t deny that I was quite delighted to see cows at the temple.

This photo was taken last Sunday night at Loyong Tua Pek Kong, where me and my friends went to start our Chinese New Year celebrations.

A pair of cows were brought in to usher in the Year of the Ox. (They do this every year, bringing in different animals each year.)

The temple was so crowded this year I almost hyperventilated.

The above photo is the only clear one I managed to snap of the cows before the crowd pushed in and blocked my view.

I think they were a bit traumatised. I mean the cows.

The crowd totally owned me.

The smoke from the joss sticks, too. I couldn’t stop crying.

Here’s the God of Wealth by proxy:

We kinda missed the deitifying ritual because it started early this year. It was total, total madness. Here’s the queue of people waiting to shake hands with the God of Wealth:

I didn’t hang around inside for too long. For some reason, there was no concert and no countdown this year, like they have every other year. So, after paying our respects in the temple, we escaped outside to eat ice cream.

That’s my favourite part of the celebrations every year. There’s always at least one ice cream man outside the temple selling traditional “home made” ice cream, the no-brand kind we used to eat when we were kids.

After the temple visit, we went to watch Ip Man at VivoCity.

Ip Man is really, really good. I never used to like Donnie Yen but now I do, although I think his hairstyle in the show is super dorky.

I feel the urge to learn Chinese martial arts all over again. Except I still don’t have the time to. =(

The movie ended at 4:30 am. I went to bed at 6:30 am. Fell asleep maybe 7:30 am.

Slept all the way till 3 pm!!

Haha. Did my first CNY visiting at 5:30 pm.

Except for the temple visit, CNY this year is pretty quiet for me.

Nine more days of Chinese New Year to go!! Still got chance to collect ang pow!

By the way, tomorrow is 人日, which is supposed to be everyone’s birthday. I can never understand this concept, but who cares. It’s the day when we are supposed to celebrate by eating yu sheng. Anything that involves yu sheng works for me!

So, happy birthday to you and me!

One more day to February! One more day to a month full of exciting games! Whee! I can’t wait!

Actually, I can.

I wish they’d stop making games so fast. I don’t have time to play everything!

I only have time to drool at them and then move on. Here’s a quick look at titles to look forward to in February 2009.

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Table of Contents

1. Ninja Blade
2. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
3. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
4. Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?
5. Street Fighter IV
6. The Sims 3
7. The Godfather II
8. Killzone 2
9. Results of last week’s contest
10. Win a S$10 IAHGames iCash card!!

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Ninja Blade

Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Action
Release Date: Mid February (Singapore)

Ninja Blade was ranked 6th in the Top 20 Tokyo Game Show list by Edge and seems to be a promising replacement for the popular Ninja Gaiden series.

Not that we want to make comparisons, but Ninja Gaiden creator Tomonobu Itagaki did say he’s had enough of the series and wants to move on. So we should all get our ninja fix with Ninja Blade now.

I’ve downloaded the demo on my Xbox 360 but haven’t tried it yet. (I keep forgetting. Too many games to play.) It looks very much like NG2 except a lot more cinematic. Well, it has garnered rave reviews around the world so that should say something.

Singapore gamers, why not pre-order a copy now and receive a free Ninja Blade letter opener? More details here.

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F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Survival Horror FPS
Release Date: February 10 (USA)

I love survival horror but I don’t want to play them. They make my nape feel prickly and I keep getting the urge to turn around and look over my shoulder.

I didn’t play the first F.E.A.R. but I think I want to get this and force the Goonfather to play it. I will watch hidden under the safety of my comforter.

This game kind of reminds me of The Ring because they both feature a little psychic girl unleashing her powers in a venging crusade. I can’t imagine how little girls could logically be scary, but they are.

Like when I’m playing Left 4 Dead and we encounter the witch, my skin crawls.

Damn.

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Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Platform: DS
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: RPG (Turn-based)
Release Date: February 16 (USA)

I must not have played enough games when I was younger because I never heard anything about this series even though it has been around for almost 20 years and has had 11 instalments since.

Well, it’s good that the first time I hear of it is also the first time it’s released on the DS, although it must be noted that the DS version is a remake of the first ever Fire Emblem game.

But that’s all good. My DS needs more games and old-school RPG is good.

The game is already out in Japan and Europe and reviews sound promising. Good sign!

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Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?

Platform: PSP
Developer: Nippon Ichi
Publisher: NIS America
Genre: Action
Release Date: February 17 (USA)

Whee! A calefare character becomes the hero! Prinny, the exploding penguin from Disgaea, takes the lead in this silly game.

Following an urgent order, a lowly Prinny rushed to meet his boss, Demon Lord Etna, in her chamber. He arrived to see Etna beating his fellow squadmates to a pulp!

She was definitely in a bad mood, being even more abusive and violent than usual. As it turns out, someone had snatched her favorite dessert from the fridge!

Eager to vent her frustration, she orders Prinny to hunt down the Ultra Dessert. And if he doesn’t deliver the goods by the next morning, he’ll learn what eternal suffering REALLY means.

Um… okay. If you say so.

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Street Fighter IV

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developer: Dimps/Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Fighting
Release Date: February 17 (USA) (Q2 for PC)

You don’t need me to tell you anything about this game. It’s Street Fighter, for goodness’ sake.

Well, okay, there’s this new thing called Focus Attack, which allows you to absorb your opponent’s attack to launch a counter attack. How cool is that.

I’m not a Street Fighter fan, but the Goonfather is.

Last night, he suddenly yelled out, “Yay! Tomorrow is February!”

I was, like, “So?”

“February is the month Street Fighter 4 comes out!!!! RAAAARHH!!!”

Okay. Calm down.

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The Sims 3

Platform: PC
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: Simulation
Release Date: February 20 (USA)

Yay! The Sims 3!! RAAAARHH!!!

I like The Sims so I shall write an essay about it!

I’m joking. About writing an essay, that is. Here’s a developer walkthrough video, instead:

I can’t wait! But I’m scared. It looks like a massive time sink!

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The Godfather II

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: Action, RPG, RTS, TPS
Release Date: February 24 (USA)

Waah! Let’s all be mafia!

I didn’t watch The Godfather movies until after The Godfather: The Game was released, so it never crossed my mind to play the game. In any case, I was busy playing EverQuest II that year.

Maybe I’ll play this sequel if someone gives me a copy to try. Would be nice to experience the world of Michael Corleone.

Apart from it being a multi-genre experience, and totally not a GTA rip-off, The Godfather II also offers four multiplayer modes, allowing up to 16 players per session. Imagine all the mischief you could get up to!

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Killzone 2

Platform: PS3
Developer: Guerrilla Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Genre: FPS
Release Date: February 27 (USA)

This is a damn good-looking game. So how about I show you a whole bunch of screenshots and we’ll call it a day?

Oooh.

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Results of last week’s contest

Last week, I got you guys to guess what game a screenshot was from, for a mystery prize.

The screenshot:

And the game is:

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift.

You know what that means? That means Peaches Mode won a mystery prize because he was the first to get the right answer!

Yay!

I’ll bet you all want to know what the mystery prize is. Well, I won’t tell you cos it’s supposed to be a mystery. Ha-ha.

Wait till after he receives it, at least. =P

Congratulations, Peaches Mode!!

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Win a S$10 IAHGames iCash card!!

Oh, look! I have a $10 iCash game value card, which allows you to buy in-game items from Granado Espada and EA SPORTS FIFA Online 2 (a game which, by the way, launched a week ago in Singapore and Malaysia, to the delight of football fans who can now play FIFA online.)

If you want this, tell me why. What will you buy with this card? Valid entries will go into a pool for lucky draw.

By valid I mean you should say items you can really buy with this card. Like, if you say you’re going to buy a McDonald’s Value Meal with it, I’ll shoot you with a Super Soaker the next time I see you.

I’ll even throw in a set of Granado Espada “red packets” for the winner. How about that?

I’m so nice to you.

Please submit your entries in the comments. Closing date is Feb 5, 2009, 11:59 pm (Singapore time).

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So, what game(s) are you going to get in February?

I’m at a private swimming pool with the Goonfather and Unker Kell.

They had gone to Sentosa earlier, but had prematurely aborted the mission because there weren’t any bikini babes around (although the Goonfather claims that it’s because the water at the beach isn’t nice enough today).

So they decided to come back to the mainland. They asked me to join them at the pool.

When I arrived, they were sitting at the table, making naughty remarks at the people swimming in the pool.

“Why aren’t you guys swimming?” I demanded. “Ask me to bring extra towel for you for fun ah?”

The Goonfather said, “Too many people in the pool.”

I looked.

I counted about seven people.

I looked back at the Goonfather.

“Those people swimming laps lah. I don’t want to go in and disrupt their training,” he said.

Three swimmers were swimming laps. The rest were just frolicking.

“These people ah,” complained the Goonfather, “Swimming laps and preventing people from having fun in the pool.”

There was silence for a moment.

Then, Unker Kell said, “Yes. People should not go to a pool to swim laps.”

“Yah lah!” said the Goonfather, “They should ban these people from swimming laps in the pool.”

“Yes,” agreed Unker Kell, “A pool shouldn’t be used for swimming laps.”

I decided to ignore them. Turned on my laptop and got to work.

Maybe it’s just the men around me.

I had dinner with my friends last night. There were four males and three females.

Most of the three hours, the guys discussed computer parts. Like, what part is better than what part for upgrading now, what is more value for money, is it worth overclocking your CPU, how to raid your hard disk, etc.

Unbeatable Geek Champion Unker Kell even described his old DIY water bong cooling system, which sounds really radical.

In a retro way.

(This isn’t Unker Kell’s system. I found this picture in this forum thread for illustration. I imagine Kell’s looks even worse than this because it involves a shower head.)

Anyway, it was a super geeky conversation. The girls joined in bits and pieces of it whenever it was relevant to us.

Unker Kell: Wang Wang’s computer exploded on me when I turned it on that night! Did you guys see?

The Goonfather: You guys never clean your computer. You must clean the parts once in a while to prevent it from exploding.

Wang Wang: Huh?

The Goonfather: When I’m free, I’ll dismantle my computer, rinse the dust off all the parts one by one, blow dry, then put back again.

Everyone: WTF?

Sheylara: I never clean my computers and they never explode before.

The Goonfather: That’s because I clean for you.

Sheylara: *thinking* Got meh…

Morte (Wang Wang’s hubby): F***! Don’t spoil market!!

Wang Wang (to Morte): Why you never clean for me!

Kerrendor (Minou’s hubby): I also never clean one! Shit, you spoil my market also.

Minou: *kitten stare*

But mostly, the girls just tuned out of the conversation. There was only so much geek talk we could tolerate in a night. Between that and our sporadic discussions about games and cute nieces, we were mostly silent because the guys were noisy.

After dinner, Unker Kell, the Goonfather and myself went to a 24-hour coffeeshop for dessert. (The rest wanted to go home to rest up for work the next day.)

There, the two guys continued to talk about computers.

I surfed the net a bit on my iPhone, but that was boring.

After a while, I rolled my eyes and interrupted the guys, who were comparing the latest computer hardware prices.

“Why must you guys talk about computers all the time? Why can’t you talk about other stuff, like… er… shopping or makeup or fashion?”

Without missing a beat, the Goonfather said, “Hey, Kell, check out the coffeeshop owner. She’s damn lau chio… always wear full makeup and dress very glam like going wedding dinner.”

Ack, the peril of being a Star Blogger; I am forced to make an embarrassing confession! No, make that many embarrassing confessions.

I was 15 when I first learnt about the birds and the bees. It was a very warped education that came out of a conversation with some girl friends.

It happened in class during a free period. One of the girls said, “I was at this park last night. I saw a man doing something to a woman.”

“What?”

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