Sir Ian Mckellen????

Yes. That's my not so glamorous cheek with Sir Ian Mckellen behind it.


For those of you who don't know who he is ... well, here are a few other photos of him which I believe you will be able to recognise who he is:

He's Gandalf in Lord of the Ring Trilogy.


He is Magneto in X-Men


And he is also Sir Leigh Teabing in Da Vinci Code


I can't believe to this moment that I'm in the same room with him. What an honour to be in his presence. Well, he was also enjoying the local production of Happy Endings, well of course he went there with the director, Ivan Heng. Happy Endings is a theatre work based on Singapore first gay novel ever - Peculiar Chris by Johann S. Lee, which was adapted by local playwright, Alfian Sa'at.

How do I rate the show?
9 out of 10.
Why?
For its blatant honesty and like one of my friend put it ... "poignant happy endings".
Eventually, all endings are written by ourselves and we are the decision maker to our happy endings ... no matter how tough the plot may seem like but eventually ... it'll be fine.

Things to Fear

Discovered this beautiful quote while reading Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window ... brilliantly written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi and applaud is equally given to Dorothy Britton, the translator.

"Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear, said the headmaster."

A remarkable book that I hope more people should take on to understand the children which we were once one of them and part of them still remain in our present moment.

What the World Eats?

Ever wonder how other people in other countries are spending when it comes to their food? I got this very interesting forwarded message from my friend and I think it's a great way to be grateful of what we already have. Let's find out how our brothers and sisters eat from around the world. Wanna guess which country spent the most on food? :p


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Chad:
The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favorite foods : soup with fresh sheep meat


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Japan:
The Ukita family of Kodaira City
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favorite foods: sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips



© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Italy:
The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Kuwait:
The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45
Family recipe: Chicken briyani with basmati rice


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
United States:
The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
Favorite foods : spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
China:
The Dong family of Beijing
Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Poland:
The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Family recipe : Pig's knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe: Okra and mutton


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Ecuador:
The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage



© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Mongolia:
The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar
Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe: Mutton dumplings


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Bhutan:
The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Germany:
The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
Favorite foods: fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Great Britain:
The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis
Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15
Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream


© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
United States:
The Caven family of California
Food expenditure for one week: $159.18
Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream