War of the Stinkin' Worlds

Oh Blimey!

I've been waiting for this show for weeks. Weeks I tell ya!! Being a sci-fi fan, any movie about nefarious aliens attacking earth is sure to get my attention. Plus, the movie was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Cruise.

How bad can it be?

Little did I know, before the night was over, I would come to regret ever asking that question.


What in the World was Spielberg Thinking??

The movie started out promisingly enough. Before 45 minutes have passed, you'd have been treated to the sight of great weather special effects, cool alien machinery rising from the ground, and of course, Tom Cruises' dashing mega-watt smile (only for the girlies).

"Wow, what a great show!", I thought.

For the first half of the show, I was riveted to the action on screen. My eyes were wide open and my arse was literally glued to the cinema seat. Eventhough my bladder was screaming to be relieved (the result of chugging down 2 cups of Coke before the show, doh), I courageously stayed seated for I was afraid that I might miss more alien-invading goodness on-screen. (Anyway, I only lasted for approximately 5 minutes before biology took over and I had to make a quick pit-stop in the loo)


Hmmm, That Seems Kinda Dodgy

However, half-way through the movie things began to transpire on-screen which made you think, "Ermm, this seems to be getting dodgier by the minute".

It all went downhill from there; and I'm talking about street-lunge levels of downhill-ness! Bah!

The movie was seriously lame!! The ending has got to the stupidest ending to a movie that I have ever witnessed in my entire 25 years of life on earth!...and trust me, I have witnessed a LOT of lame arse movie endings in my day.

I was crushed and devastated (pissed and annoyed) that the great Steven Spielberg could possibly produce drivel such as this! Whatever happened to the creative genius that went behind classics such as Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Jaws?

Due to the fact that this movie only began showing last night, I won't mention anything which might be construed as a spoiler. However, I just have this to say...

"If the aliens were so darn advanced, wouldn't they have a little thing called antibiotics??"

What a waste of my time and money! Argghhh!



(above : Yes, I had the same expression on my face after watching the movie)

Goodbye My Friend

Auld Lang Syne

To my friend and brother in Christ, Eugene Wong aka Q.T....

Farewells are seldom a pleasant thing, but I'll always thank God for the friend he has blessed me with in you. In the infinite fabric of life, even as we each weave our own respective paths; I am truly amazed and grateful that I've had the honour of crossing paths with you, and having been changed for the better because of it. In the tapestry of my life, you'll forever hold the place of a special friend.


(above: A friend indeed)

I'll look back fondly at the times we spent playing PS2 in your house, the camps we attended, our yam char sessions...oh and the list goes on and on!

I'll always remember you for the inner strength which you've embodied within. Through your actions and your faithfulness in serving God, I've truly been touched and encouraged. All the best even as you embark on your new career in Sabah. You'll be missed!

Juvenile Ignorance

Oh The Young And Naive

I came across this post while browsing through Project Petaling Street a few days ago. Reading it got me thinking (and laughing out loud) at how simplistic some people can be. I guess when you're just a student (and I assume the author is a student, judging from the depths of his views), you can be partially forgiven for such parochial opinions.

Is this a case of 'too-much-Robert-Kiyosaki-and-not-enough-common-sense'?...hmmm.


Where do I begin...

First ofall, education IS important. While it may not guarantee you a cushy job with a seven figure salary, to say it is worthless is missing the point entirely.

Secondly, an income of RM20,000, while good, is not the be-all-and-end-all for salaries. If your life goal is just to earn a monthly salary of RM20,000, then I feel sorry for you. Open your eyes dude, there is serious money being made out there in the world.

Thirdly, how can you compare the price of a bungalow built in some outlying reserve to one that's situated in Bangsar? Haven't you ever heard of the maxim 'Location, location, LOCATION!'?

Last of all, to say that employment will never lead to riches is a bit premature. Here's a question, what do Jack Welch, Meg Whitman and Michael Eisner have in common? Yup, they are all employees. Looks like 'employment' ain't such a dirty word after all eh.

I guess I am being a bit harsh. When it comes to things like this, to each his/her own I suppose.

What do Tau Foos and Cars have in Common?

Fried Tau Foo

Now this is one movie which I am really, REALLY itching watch. Yes, I know that War of the Worlds and Fantastic 4 are just around the corner, but c'mon, alien invasions and super mutants pale in comparison to cars sliding down a deserted mountain road in the middle of the night ya know!


White Tau Foo

For those of you who did not watch the Initial-D anime series (and might I inquire as to which rock you've been hiding under all this while?), the story centers around a young boy who loves to drive really, really fast in an old toyota while delivering his father's tau foo to the top of a hill.

Ermm....alright, that synopsis sounds kind of lame.

While the show does highlight a certain individuals tau foo delivering shenanigans, it also has a LOT more things with which to keep the average guy glued to the TV set (or in this case, the movie screen).


Boiled Tau Foo

First of all, you can always count on Initial-D to have lots of young Japanese school girls clad in sailormoon-like uniforms. As any normal guy with a pulse will be able to tell you, a show with lots of young Japanese school girls in sailormoon-like uniforms can't be that bad right?

Secondly, the show features lots of cool machinery. EVOs, RX-7s, Skylines, Hondas...you name it. Throw in a bunch of testosterone-packed young males who couldn't give a rats arse about road safety and there you have it, instant racing goodness!

Last of all, Initial-D always has, and always will be synonymous with Dorifto!! In english, that would mean Drifting.

If you even need to ask what Drifting means, then you're obviously on the wrong page.

Bubble, Bubble, Toil & Trouble

Castles in the Sand

It sure is a scary time to contemplate buying a house. If one were to believe the articles on the 'Global housing bubble' being bandied about recently, one would think that in 5 years time, all our houses would have depreciated to circa 1997-1998 levels and we'd be forced to live in a wooden box while feasting on rat droppings.

Although the above scenario might be a bit far-fetched (who eats rat droppings anyway?), it doesn't detract from the fact that there are a lot of uncertainties brewing in the property market. I was actually thinking of getting my hands on an affordable lot myself by this year. I went to property fairs, read through housing journals, talked to friends in the property business and did everything else a normal person who wanted to buy a house would.

The one thing I learned from my house-hunting activities is this (those of you who have read my previous posts would find this familiar), properties nowadays are bloody expensive! In fact, according to several sources, the price-to-rent ratio of our houses and condos are at a 30-year high! If that isnt an ominous sign, I don't know what is.

In fact, this article in the Economist noted that the total value of residential property in developed economies rose by more than USD$30 trillion over the past 5 years, to over USD$70 trillion, an increase equivalent to 100% of those countries combined GDP! They likened this scenario to the makings of the 'biggest bubble in history'.

Sounds scary doesn't it? But wait a second, what do the house prices in developed countries have to do with us in little ol', third world Malaysia? I don't want to get into the specifics, but just know this - If they are screwed, We are screwed.

Ahhh, the beauty of globalization.


So how now brown cow?

This might be just another case of many chicken littles running about screaming that the sky is about to come crashing down on our heads, then again it might not. As for me, since my name doesn't begin with a 'Tan Seri', I think I'd sit pretty on my cash hoard (yup, all 100 ringgit of it) and wait this one out.

After all, better be safe than sorry right?

Cursed Domain Parker!

Voogle is gone!

Seems like somebody already registered the domain name www.voogle.com. The annoying thing is, this individual has no use for that domain name whatsoever other than holding it in hopes of selling it to someone at an exorbitant price. Btw, the price he quoted me was USD$3,500. Heck no!

Looks like I'll have to come up with a new name for the service I want to develop. Suggestions anyone? Boogle? Woogle?...hahahah

It's Black, It's White

Knights & Rooks

Awww, look at all of us standing in a row, dressed in white and black. Seriously, place the lot of us on a chequered lawn and you'll have your very own life-sized pawns (or in my case, King..*ahem*. Then again,the king is one of the weakest pieces in chess, darn it).

Props to my friend Chi Yen (the third person from the left) for providing me with this photo. Check out the rest of her pics here.

The Yap 'So-Called-Cousins'

Here's another photo from Chi Yen's collection. This time, it's of a pair of imposters who claim to be cousins, but in actual fact are as closely related to each other as a poodle is to a hair-brush (Why 'poodle' and 'hair-brush'? I don't know, they were the first things that came to mind. Yea, I know...I think scary thoughts early in the morning). Sad to say, one of these imposters is my girlfriend. Looks like I'll have to set her straight *evil cackle*



We're up again!

Woo hoo, the KLCI finally managed to break past the 900 point barrier this morning by clocking a 900.74! Alright, so it's just a measly 0.74 points above 900, but it's still cause for optimism right? It sure beats seeing it languish around the 860-880 mark, which by the way has been really disheartening for the past few months.

The strange thing is, this recent boost in the KLCI was not the result of our local blue chips' performance. Get your hands on a market report and you'll know what I mean. Major counters such as Maybank, Telekom, BAT, Tenaga, and even Resorts (Our dear ol' Uncle Lim's legacy) were categorized as the top losers in our stock market as at Thursday, June 16. Hmmm..maybe this signals a period of renaissance for the little guys eh.

Hurrah for the little guys (I hope).

As Yoda once put it, "Judge me by my size, do you?"

Back to Reality

Good-bye beautiful beaches, hello car-infested highways

Those of you who read my last post would know that I went to Lang Tengah last week for a holiday with a few friends of mine. Well, I just got back yesterday morning and am currently in no mood to get any work done in the office whatsoever! So here I am, on a tuesday afternoon, in my office, spending time blogging when I should really be attending to the piles of documents stacked on my desk. Ah well....


I miss the beach already!

This was my second time visit to Malaysia's east coast and it was just as great as I remembered. The skies were blue, waters were crystal clear and the snorkelling was excellent. What more could a guy ask for on a holiday? Anyway, I won't blabber on too much now.

As the old adage goes, 'A picture is worth a thousand words'.



(above) : This is the beach which fronts our resort. Idyllic bliss.



(above) : Ok, it's not really a 'group' photo due to the fact that I'm not in it. Arggh...the curse of being the one with the camera!



(above) : This is the terrace where we have most of our meals. We Malaysians just love dining outdoors eh.



(above) : I don't like basking in the sun too much, I get dark way too easily (and when I say 'dark' I mean 'charcoal-burnt-bangla-lookalike' dark)



(above) : My girlfriend and I enjoying a peaceful time under the shade of the swaying coconut trees. Thankfully, no coconuts were injured in the shooting of this photo.



(above) : I'm squinting coz the sun is bright. The sun is bright coz we're on an island. Duh.



(above) : Ahhh, isn't this a romantic picture?



(above) : You jump, I jump. My two friends dabbling in a spot of synchronized gay-ing.



(above) : Yes, there were male models on the beach. Obviously, these 2 aren't one of them.



(above) : Yi Yin, Angie & Janice sitting by the sea, K-I-S-S-I-N...ermmm, alright, not quite.



(above) : Arrrr, 2 blood-thirsty pirates! Avast matey!!



(above) : Saturday Night Fever



(above) : Beware the great white shark. It attacks love handles and butt cracks.



(above) : ZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz.....



(above) : Thar She Blows!! Beached whale spotted ahoy!



(above) : There's always time for a good game of Chor Tai Di



(above) : Blue Coral resort at night



(above) : He (Cheng Jin) thought that the ten of clubs is the largest card in Chor Tai Di. He was sadly mistaken.


All good things come to an end?

It sure is tough to get back into the rhythm of work after having spent so many days by the beach. Holidays have a way of making you see things in perspective. You realize that life is truly more than just one huge, giant rat race.

Alas, life goes on. I'm back to my normal routine for now, eagerly looking forward to the next holiday, the places it will see me, the people I will meet, and the fond memories it will bring.

Till then, I'll be right here in my little rat cage, furiously working out on the treadmill of life. Hey you can't blame me, I've got a race to win.

Farewell to Thee

Coz I'm leaving, on an express bus...

Well, this will be my last post for this week. I think I've packed most of the stuff which I will need. Lemme see....

Extra clothes...check
Digital camera...check
Vitagen (hey, the bus ride is gonna be gruelling! I need my nourishment)...check
Extra-tuff sun block...check
Leather whip...check

Alrighty then, I've got all I need for a weekend by the beach. I will be leaving town tonight and will only be back on next Monday. I'll be sure to update you all regarding my trip in my next post.


Battlefield Madness

Till then, here are some screen-shots from the soon-to-be-launched (by next month actually) Battlefield 2. Have a gander at these pics but please be sure to wipe up the drool stains from your keyboard.









Workaholics United

For those of you who will be stuck in the office till Saturday, here's a post from my sisters blog that will cheer you up. Enjoy!...Muahahah

Men are like Sheep

Herd Mentality

I recently came across a saying by Amit Whadhwaney, manager of the New York-based Third Avenue International Value Fund.

"To invest in something that's popular when it's popular is the kiss of death"

That certainly speaks volumes doesn't it. In fact, one doesn't have to think too far back to come up with a few good examples of investor herd-like madness, remember the Internet bubble of the late 90's? Or what about the mad rise of Thai banking stocks before the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis caused the whole house-of-cards to come tumbling down?

You would think that investors would have learnt their lesson by now, but we know that's just wishful thinking. People don't learn, the morons.

3 Days to go...

So long, Farewell

Yup, in 3 days time I will bid thee farewell. Gone will I be from the mundane drudgery of LRT-commute, from the stifling climatically controlled environment known as the office; and from the suicidal motorcyclists known as Mat Motors (who by the way, for some reason unbeknownst to anyone with an iota of intelligence, always insist on jumping a red traffic light JUST as you are about to cross the junction...argghhhhh)

In precisely 3 days time, I will be lying on an idyllic, pristine beach (and no, I don't mean Port Dickson) along the East Coast of Malaysia. It will be heaven, I can't wait!



Only 3 more days to go....


Maestro Hendrix

I've been listening to Jimi Hendrix a lot lately. His signature style of guitar playing never fails to amaze me. One day, one day....I will sound just as good as him (Bwahahahah... you're right, I can't say that with a straight face)

I've been trying to play several of his songs (with trying being the key word), and hey waddaya know, some of my friends could actually recognize the song I was playing! Wow! It is amazing really, considering that my renditions of Jimi Hendrix's 'Cocaine', 'Little Wing' and 'Wind Cried Mary' sound more like monophonic-ringtones than anything resembling the originals.

Oh well, at least they could recognize it.

E3, where the Geeks go to Know

Electronic Entertainment Expo

To the gaming-afficiando, a trip to the E3 is a sacred pilgrimage which is likened to the Muslims' hijrah to Mecca, the Jews return to the Holy Temple, and the bargain hunter's pilgrimage to Sungai Wang Plaza.

Here are some pictures of the expo.

For those of you with a broadband connection, check out this video. The game, Killzone 2 for the PS3 won the 'Best Trailer of Show' award with this clip. Just click on the link and select 'stream for free'. Prepare to be amazed.

Btw, the pictures above weren't taken by me. I found them on Flickr. I didn't attend the event...sighhhh.