When I came back to Malaysia, one of the first things that I saw in the papers was talk of a floor price for petrol. HOW IN HELL IS THIS F***ING HALF-BRAINED EXCUSE OF A PLAN GOING TO BENEFIT ANYONE??
The obvious problem at hand is the fuel subsidy. It should never have happened, but now that it has, there is no viable way to regain the funds sunk into the subsidy. Now that fuel prices are similar enough to the actual price, it is time to remove it, once and for all. Even a first-year economics student can tell you that a subsidy's side-effects are negative for the economy as a whole as it involves a transfer of benefits, with a little lost in transition.
And instead of removing the subsidy for good, we might even have a floor price. What hare-brained thought of that? If that person is in charge of our financial policy, I would be very, very afraid for our country. A floor price means that whenever the price of fuel drops below that set amount, the government or the oil companies gain the difference. There is no limit to the heights that oil prices will reach though. Whatever benefits a subsidy has would no longer exist. The fuel market would be restricted in a way that benefits only the government or the oil companies. Neither of whom I would trust.
One argument I've heard is that it is to protect the petrol station owners as they would have bought their oil at a higher price. Screw that, I say. With a proper system in place with the necessary regulations, a free market for petrol is not unworkable. Have you heard of Weighted Average Cost? Use that, idiots. Weight the cost of inventory, work out a suitable profit margin, and sell your products. Of course that would only work in the case that THE PETROL PRICE IS NOT FIXED.
Rawr. Idiots.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Rambling
Well I obviously haven't been taking very good care of my blog have I? Feeling a little guilty now, problem is that I will only blog when I feel strongly enough about something. Even now I'm feeling guilty about updating because I'm not really thinking about anyhting in particular now.
Enough about guilt then. Onwards!
Back home in Malaysia now (Hurray!! :)) Mixed feelings about that though. When I left IH, I had the privilege of being in the company of very, very good friends. Amazing how a year is enough to create such strong relationships, not that I have not experienced it before (thank you SAM). One, I may never see again. One, I will be living with next year. One, I will be gaming with next year. And one whom I hope I will have the chance to listen to expounding upon his subject of thought again. I will miss your company.
Then again I now know why Malaysia is my home. Awesome friends, the safeness of being close to your family........ things that could never be replaced in Melbourne (or can it?)
Which somehow reminds me of the recent anti-yoga fatwa. When I was out today I counted 5 adverts promoting yoga centers, more than any other type of advert, even cars. The delicious irony........
Oh dear God above........... the slowness of the Internet connection here............. 4mbps is the BEST streamyx has to offer, even then its for companies only, the best households get is a measly 1 Mbps connection............ Not good enough, especially when I have been living with a connection 10 times faster and more stable than this (albeit P2P limited= No pirating....... riiiiiiiight)
Need to go shopping!! Melbourne's largest shopping center, 1 hour (by train) away from the CBD and supposedly the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, is nowhere near as large as my neighbourhood shopping center, Sunway Pyramid, and is 100 times smaller than Mid-Valley Megamall. Even if it's just for the feeling of being in a shopping mall, I need to go shopping!!
Just received news that along with three other really great people, I shall be staying in a premium room in IH. Great going guys! Although the bitchiness caused by the competition to get those rooms may not have been worth it for some, not to mention the feeling that some who did get it did not deserve it. Sigh........ enough for now I think........
Enough about guilt then. Onwards!
Back home in Malaysia now (Hurray!! :)) Mixed feelings about that though. When I left IH, I had the privilege of being in the company of very, very good friends. Amazing how a year is enough to create such strong relationships, not that I have not experienced it before (thank you SAM). One, I may never see again. One, I will be living with next year. One, I will be gaming with next year. And one whom I hope I will have the chance to listen to expounding upon his subject of thought again. I will miss your company.
Then again I now know why Malaysia is my home. Awesome friends, the safeness of being close to your family........ things that could never be replaced in Melbourne (or can it?)
Which somehow reminds me of the recent anti-yoga fatwa. When I was out today I counted 5 adverts promoting yoga centers, more than any other type of advert, even cars. The delicious irony........
Oh dear God above........... the slowness of the Internet connection here............. 4mbps is the BEST streamyx has to offer, even then its for companies only, the best households get is a measly 1 Mbps connection............ Not good enough, especially when I have been living with a connection 10 times faster and more stable than this (albeit P2P limited= No pirating....... riiiiiiiight)
Need to go shopping!! Melbourne's largest shopping center, 1 hour (by train) away from the CBD and supposedly the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, is nowhere near as large as my neighbourhood shopping center, Sunway Pyramid, and is 100 times smaller than Mid-Valley Megamall. Even if it's just for the feeling of being in a shopping mall, I need to go shopping!!
Just received news that along with three other really great people, I shall be staying in a premium room in IH. Great going guys! Although the bitchiness caused by the competition to get those rooms may not have been worth it for some, not to mention the feeling that some who did get it did not deserve it. Sigh........ enough for now I think........
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Was wondering about my friends' relationships lately. With many of us flying off to every which where, those with relationships were forced to rethink and decide on new status for the relationship. One was flying to the US with a girlfriend going to Australia. Another was going to the US, same as his partner, but to different universities in different states. Yet another was staying in Malaysia while his girlfriend went to Sydney.
Would long-distance relationships work? Two of the above couples seem to think not. Considering the latter couple got together a couple of days before the girl went off to Sydney, I think that counts as a perfect score as the relationship had not been consolidated yet. That outcome will be worth watching.
A fourth friend broke up with his first girlfriend after coming here, then hooked up with another girl while in Malaysia for the 1 month hols. I won't reveal more details here but he seems to be extremely infatuated with his new girlfriend, so much so I really think this will have a lifelong effect on him.
Anyways, a fifth friend thinks that long distance relationships will be a true test of the couple's feelings for each other. To me, that may have some grain of truth in it, however in order to maintain and develop a budding relationship over an extended period of time with no physical meetings is a hard, hard task requiring massive amounts of effort. It may be possible, but the strain of a long distance relationship may in fact push the two parties apart, especially if the relationship had only just begun.
Still, it makes me wonder what could have been.........
Would long-distance relationships work? Two of the above couples seem to think not. Considering the latter couple got together a couple of days before the girl went off to Sydney, I think that counts as a perfect score as the relationship had not been consolidated yet. That outcome will be worth watching.
A fourth friend broke up with his first girlfriend after coming here, then hooked up with another girl while in Malaysia for the 1 month hols. I won't reveal more details here but he seems to be extremely infatuated with his new girlfriend, so much so I really think this will have a lifelong effect on him.
Anyways, a fifth friend thinks that long distance relationships will be a true test of the couple's feelings for each other. To me, that may have some grain of truth in it, however in order to maintain and develop a budding relationship over an extended period of time with no physical meetings is a hard, hard task requiring massive amounts of effort. It may be possible, but the strain of a long distance relationship may in fact push the two parties apart, especially if the relationship had only just begun.
Still, it makes me wonder what could have been.........
Saturday, September 27, 2008
I've been talking a fair bit with a new guy at IH. He's an introverted science student who seems to have rather strong views that disagree with mine. Sadly, I don't see him convincing me of anything anytime soon.
Issue 1: Existence of God. Me: Freethinker that believes in a higher power but does not subscribe to any religion. Reason: Intelligent design has to be behind human intelligence and the creation of the universe. Him: Claims to be agnostic but seems to be more atheist. Spouted lots of facts about evolution which to me did not explain the reason behind creation itself.
Issue 2: Malaysian politics. Me: Don't give a f*** anymore, however still supports the BN as the only viable multiracial ruling party. Him: DAP supporter because of socialist beliefs. Unfortunately does not realize the political power of the 65% Malay population. And that the DAP has not done anything concrete for anyone's betterment. Although the BN is corrupted, at least they are doing something.
I'm not sure how many more of those conversations I can take. The more I argue, the more I realize how set in my ways I am, and I also realize that I am not ready to let my views go. That's in my more reflective moments. In my more conceited moments, he's an idiot.
And I realize how attached I am to my group of friends. I find myself unable to join in most conversations at the dinner table now, which is sort of sad, considering I used to pride myself on the ability to make relevant contributions to discussions. Or perhaps I just do not find the conversations interesting.
There's a guy I find myself becoming more and more irritable towards. This is becoming worse and worse everytime I listen to a conversation he's taking part in. He like to think of himself as "cool", yet his actions are just plain retarded. If being retarded were cool, the word cool would be used as an insult. Here's an example of his more brilliant moments. With a microwave in perfect working condition 5 metres away, he puts a bowl of cheese and ham in the toaster to melt the cheese, with the bowl, not just the contents. On a night of a day with continuous rain, he is the one person that does not wear at least 2 layers on an outing. At the tram stop, he complains of the cold. When asked why he did not wear a jacket, he replies, "I didn't know it would be this cold". Dude, this is Melbourne, not Malaysia. When it rains here, it's cold for the rest of the day. And you didn't know this after 6 months? And of course there's his (really, really bad) American accent. If you can't do something, realize it when you fail, and either get better, or DON"T DO IT.
Maybe this is why I am becoming more and more introverted. I am surrounded by idiots.
On a different note, I read a friend's blog post where he touched on Malaysian tertiary education and social policies that are race-centric. In all fairness, Malaysian tertiary education is doing badly because of rubbish selection policies. An absolute lack of transparency and apparently arbitrary distribution of the nation's best STPM scholars among "universities" do not contribute in any way to a university's reputation or achievements. I am lucky that my parents are sufficiently well-to-do that they can afford to give me a choice of where to further my education. When a country sends its best students abroad on full scholarships when it has its own supposedly well-developed tertiary education system, it says a lot about the confidence the country has in itself.
And on socially biased policies, it is perhaps ethically justifiable. There has, and always has been an element of bias in any policy. Take scholarships for example. Between an intelligent young person whose family can afford an education, and a not-so-intelligent one who can't, who should the scholarship be given to? Obviously the intelligent one, in which case the policy is biased against the poor. But if its given to the poorer student, it's biased against the intelligent and perhaps more deserving. Meritocracy has been implemented (I hope), so stop whining. Has it occurred to these policy's detractors that the policies may not be racially biased, but that the majority of beneficiaries are of a certain race because they are in the majority, and hence statistically speaking, are more likely to benefit? This is racial arrogance speaking. Not everyone of your own race is competent and deserves a scholarship, not everyone of other races are incompetent and undeserving. True racism is evident not in Malaysia, but rather in countries such as Zimbabwe, where people's possessions are taken from them on account of skin colour. Malaysia, in comparison, is a paragon of unity. As a nation, we have to realize that the only way forward is to stop looking at our differences, and look at what we share as a nation, how far we have progressed together, and how much farther we could have gone without the spectre of racism hanging over our heads. Let bygones by bygones, and stop thinking that you deserve more. Make do with what you have, and make the best out of it. Do not be defeatist, but do not allow yourself to be oppressed. You may or may not deserve whatever hand you have been dealt, but you have to do the best you can with it. Or you don't deserve being dealt a hand in the first place.
I stand by the view I have expressed in a previous post: dictatorships are the most efficient governments, yet the only way for dictatorships to reach its full potential the dictator has to be an absolutely unbiased person, of which there is none.
Issue 1: Existence of God. Me: Freethinker that believes in a higher power but does not subscribe to any religion. Reason: Intelligent design has to be behind human intelligence and the creation of the universe. Him: Claims to be agnostic but seems to be more atheist. Spouted lots of facts about evolution which to me did not explain the reason behind creation itself.
Issue 2: Malaysian politics. Me: Don't give a f*** anymore, however still supports the BN as the only viable multiracial ruling party. Him: DAP supporter because of socialist beliefs. Unfortunately does not realize the political power of the 65% Malay population. And that the DAP has not done anything concrete for anyone's betterment. Although the BN is corrupted, at least they are doing something.
I'm not sure how many more of those conversations I can take. The more I argue, the more I realize how set in my ways I am, and I also realize that I am not ready to let my views go. That's in my more reflective moments. In my more conceited moments, he's an idiot.
And I realize how attached I am to my group of friends. I find myself unable to join in most conversations at the dinner table now, which is sort of sad, considering I used to pride myself on the ability to make relevant contributions to discussions. Or perhaps I just do not find the conversations interesting.
There's a guy I find myself becoming more and more irritable towards. This is becoming worse and worse everytime I listen to a conversation he's taking part in. He like to think of himself as "cool", yet his actions are just plain retarded. If being retarded were cool, the word cool would be used as an insult. Here's an example of his more brilliant moments. With a microwave in perfect working condition 5 metres away, he puts a bowl of cheese and ham in the toaster to melt the cheese, with the bowl, not just the contents. On a night of a day with continuous rain, he is the one person that does not wear at least 2 layers on an outing. At the tram stop, he complains of the cold. When asked why he did not wear a jacket, he replies, "I didn't know it would be this cold". Dude, this is Melbourne, not Malaysia. When it rains here, it's cold for the rest of the day. And you didn't know this after 6 months? And of course there's his (really, really bad) American accent. If you can't do something, realize it when you fail, and either get better, or DON"T DO IT.
Maybe this is why I am becoming more and more introverted. I am surrounded by idiots.
On a different note, I read a friend's blog post where he touched on Malaysian tertiary education and social policies that are race-centric. In all fairness, Malaysian tertiary education is doing badly because of rubbish selection policies. An absolute lack of transparency and apparently arbitrary distribution of the nation's best STPM scholars among "universities" do not contribute in any way to a university's reputation or achievements. I am lucky that my parents are sufficiently well-to-do that they can afford to give me a choice of where to further my education. When a country sends its best students abroad on full scholarships when it has its own supposedly well-developed tertiary education system, it says a lot about the confidence the country has in itself.
And on socially biased policies, it is perhaps ethically justifiable. There has, and always has been an element of bias in any policy. Take scholarships for example. Between an intelligent young person whose family can afford an education, and a not-so-intelligent one who can't, who should the scholarship be given to? Obviously the intelligent one, in which case the policy is biased against the poor. But if its given to the poorer student, it's biased against the intelligent and perhaps more deserving. Meritocracy has been implemented (I hope), so stop whining. Has it occurred to these policy's detractors that the policies may not be racially biased, but that the majority of beneficiaries are of a certain race because they are in the majority, and hence statistically speaking, are more likely to benefit? This is racial arrogance speaking. Not everyone of your own race is competent and deserves a scholarship, not everyone of other races are incompetent and undeserving. True racism is evident not in Malaysia, but rather in countries such as Zimbabwe, where people's possessions are taken from them on account of skin colour. Malaysia, in comparison, is a paragon of unity. As a nation, we have to realize that the only way forward is to stop looking at our differences, and look at what we share as a nation, how far we have progressed together, and how much farther we could have gone without the spectre of racism hanging over our heads. Let bygones by bygones, and stop thinking that you deserve more. Make do with what you have, and make the best out of it. Do not be defeatist, but do not allow yourself to be oppressed. You may or may not deserve whatever hand you have been dealt, but you have to do the best you can with it. Or you don't deserve being dealt a hand in the first place.
I stand by the view I have expressed in a previous post: dictatorships are the most efficient governments, yet the only way for dictatorships to reach its full potential the dictator has to be an absolutely unbiased person, of which there is none.
Monday, September 15, 2008
First post in a loooooonnnnnnngggggggg time. It's not actually a good thing, just because I have another 400 words to go for my essay which is due tomorrow at 5pm and yet I'm writing this. Procrastination FTW!
So what inspired this sudden burst of blogging activity? A call from a friend to go to the common room to watch something on his laptop. Guess what it was? An amateur porn clip, made in Malaysia, with a very good camera, by Sunway college students, by a Johan and his Chinese girlfriend.
Apparently this video was leaked onto the Net, which is utterly stupid, even more so than posting it on the Net himself. If you don't want to embarrass yourself, bloody well keep it hidden and safe or others will do it for you.
But I digress. The focal point of the invite to watch the clip was not for me to identify the kids (that was the secondary objective), but rather to laugh at the incredibly funny things the girl said during the acts. If anyone's wondering "What's YJ, this really quiet nice guy doing commentating on porn?", please let me inform you that I do not know a single male above the age of 15 who has not watched porn. Anyway, with a really soppy love song blaring in the background, the girl stops performing oral sex on her boyfriend because her throat's too dry.
Wait a minute, that doesn't sound funny enough. Awwww..... guess you'll have to watch it to appreciate the joke.
Or maybe I've just been hanging around b-tards too long. For the unenlightened, 4-chan is an online forum and there's a board on it called b, for random stuff. And by random stuff it means anything that can't fit into the other boards, mostly remotely sex-related.
One of the most dedicated b-tards I know is a medical student, and she happens to laugh most randomly at certain stuff. Maybe that's the beauty of it, your mind becomes so corrupted that anything can be related to procreation and a joke about it.
Procrastinated enough I think, considering I've written more in 15 minutes for this blog post that I've written in my essay for 4 hours. March onwards, my friends, do not let the daunting mountain of work overwhelm you, for the long-awaited saviour of lives and banisher of stress is arriving in 4 days!! holidays soon!! :)
So what inspired this sudden burst of blogging activity? A call from a friend to go to the common room to watch something on his laptop. Guess what it was? An amateur porn clip, made in Malaysia, with a very good camera, by Sunway college students, by a Johan and his Chinese girlfriend.
Apparently this video was leaked onto the Net, which is utterly stupid, even more so than posting it on the Net himself. If you don't want to embarrass yourself, bloody well keep it hidden and safe or others will do it for you.
But I digress. The focal point of the invite to watch the clip was not for me to identify the kids (that was the secondary objective), but rather to laugh at the incredibly funny things the girl said during the acts. If anyone's wondering "What's YJ, this really quiet nice guy doing commentating on porn?", please let me inform you that I do not know a single male above the age of 15 who has not watched porn. Anyway, with a really soppy love song blaring in the background, the girl stops performing oral sex on her boyfriend because her throat's too dry.
Wait a minute, that doesn't sound funny enough. Awwww..... guess you'll have to watch it to appreciate the joke.
Or maybe I've just been hanging around b-tards too long. For the unenlightened, 4-chan is an online forum and there's a board on it called b, for random stuff. And by random stuff it means anything that can't fit into the other boards, mostly remotely sex-related.
One of the most dedicated b-tards I know is a medical student, and she happens to laugh most randomly at certain stuff. Maybe that's the beauty of it, your mind becomes so corrupted that anything can be related to procreation and a joke about it.
Procrastinated enough I think, considering I've written more in 15 minutes for this blog post that I've written in my essay for 4 hours. March onwards, my friends, do not let the daunting mountain of work overwhelm you, for the long-awaited saviour of lives and banisher of stress is arriving in 4 days!! holidays soon!! :)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Batman
The Dark Knight is here! It is MADE of awesome. A very, very good movie, and well worth the ticket price, clocking in at 2.5 hours.
It was a little overhyped though. I mean, how is Heath Ledger's performance worthy of an Oscar? True, he did do a very good job, but Jack Nicholson did one just as good 20 years ago, also as the Joker. But maybe all the movies released this year were so crap that this is the performance of the year.
I have to say that Christopher Nolan, the director is really faithful to the comic. Batman really is this dark hero, willing to do anything short of murder to achieve victory in his one man war against crime. By the way, Batman only used guns in the really early comics, something like the 1950s or so, and even then it was only for a couple of issues. One really minor thing was the Joker's origins, which were not really covered in the movie. And makeup? The only makeup the Joker is supposed to wear is to make sure he looks normal. Oh well, that's just me nitpicking as usual.
This movie drew a lot of inspiration from Batman: Year One and also The Killing Joke. The symbiotic relationship between Batman and the Joker is well documented in the latter. Batman has admitted that their relationship is a fatal one, that he was willing to try to escape it, but it seems as if they never will. Although the Joker is mad, he is neither stupid nor impractical. There have been many run-of-the-mill crimes that he committed, though he leaves a calling card of some kind. One example from A Death in the Family is the Joker replacing medical supplies that he stole with his lethal laughing gas. He tends to go for the spectacular, to fulfil his own ego. Both Ledger's and Nicholson's Jokers were very good, in that they managed to bring out different sides of the Joker. While Nicholson's was more slapstick, Ledger's dark humour is a little more to my liking.
What about Batman himself? In this movie, because of the focus on the Joker, there is less development of the Bruce Wayne/Batman character. Another one of my pet peeves. Then again, how much more could be squeezed into a movie 2.5 hours long?
It was a little overhyped though. I mean, how is Heath Ledger's performance worthy of an Oscar? True, he did do a very good job, but Jack Nicholson did one just as good 20 years ago, also as the Joker. But maybe all the movies released this year were so crap that this is the performance of the year.
I have to say that Christopher Nolan, the director is really faithful to the comic. Batman really is this dark hero, willing to do anything short of murder to achieve victory in his one man war against crime. By the way, Batman only used guns in the really early comics, something like the 1950s or so, and even then it was only for a couple of issues. One really minor thing was the Joker's origins, which were not really covered in the movie. And makeup? The only makeup the Joker is supposed to wear is to make sure he looks normal. Oh well, that's just me nitpicking as usual.
This movie drew a lot of inspiration from Batman: Year One and also The Killing Joke. The symbiotic relationship between Batman and the Joker is well documented in the latter. Batman has admitted that their relationship is a fatal one, that he was willing to try to escape it, but it seems as if they never will. Although the Joker is mad, he is neither stupid nor impractical. There have been many run-of-the-mill crimes that he committed, though he leaves a calling card of some kind. One example from A Death in the Family is the Joker replacing medical supplies that he stole with his lethal laughing gas. He tends to go for the spectacular, to fulfil his own ego. Both Ledger's and Nicholson's Jokers were very good, in that they managed to bring out different sides of the Joker. While Nicholson's was more slapstick, Ledger's dark humour is a little more to my liking.
What about Batman himself? In this movie, because of the focus on the Joker, there is less development of the Bruce Wayne/Batman character. Another one of my pet peeves. Then again, how much more could be squeezed into a movie 2.5 hours long?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
GO WATCH HELLBOY!!
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army rocks!! Go and watch that movie. That's an order.
It was actually as good as the trailer promised, which is more than most films can boast of. You've got a rather likeable main character, humour, superb special effects, and best of all, Guillermo Del Toro as the director.
Have you ever watched El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)? That was an incredibly good movie, surpassing all of Hollywood's pathetic attempts at fantasy (excluding LOTR, of course). Del Toro's fantastic creatures in that movie were dark, scary at times, yet felt right, as if all those could be real. His creations are the stuff of imagination, yet brought to life in such a way that one believes such creatures, if they existed, would look like that. His Prisoner of Azkaban was the best in the Harry Potter movies.
Some of the creatures in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army were evidently influenced by his work in Pan's Labyrinth. The Chamberlain of Bethmoora, for one, looks like the Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth. I personally think that Hellboy's Death is also influenced by the Pale Man.
The action in the movie is really good. It is over the top, like just about every movie nowadays, but since it's done by otherworldly creatures anyway, it's forgiveable. And the action scenes aren't as drawn out as many other movies, making those scenes short and sweet.
At 2 hours long, with healthy doses of humour, action and good acting, and a fair storyline, this film is one of the best I've watched this year. And it's good value for money. Time to look for the Hellboy comics, methinks.
It was actually as good as the trailer promised, which is more than most films can boast of. You've got a rather likeable main character, humour, superb special effects, and best of all, Guillermo Del Toro as the director.
Have you ever watched El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)? That was an incredibly good movie, surpassing all of Hollywood's pathetic attempts at fantasy (excluding LOTR, of course). Del Toro's fantastic creatures in that movie were dark, scary at times, yet felt right, as if all those could be real. His creations are the stuff of imagination, yet brought to life in such a way that one believes such creatures, if they existed, would look like that. His Prisoner of Azkaban was the best in the Harry Potter movies.
Some of the creatures in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army were evidently influenced by his work in Pan's Labyrinth. The Chamberlain of Bethmoora, for one, looks like the Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth. I personally think that Hellboy's Death is also influenced by the Pale Man.
The action in the movie is really good. It is over the top, like just about every movie nowadays, but since it's done by otherworldly creatures anyway, it's forgiveable. And the action scenes aren't as drawn out as many other movies, making those scenes short and sweet.
At 2 hours long, with healthy doses of humour, action and good acting, and a fair storyline, this film is one of the best I've watched this year. And it's good value for money. Time to look for the Hellboy comics, methinks.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Efficient or Lazy?
My first semester university results just came out. As I've been telling people, they were slightly worse than expected. Of all subjects, I scraped a top grade on the subject I hated most, yet barely missed out on a top grade for my favourite. Why couldn't it be the other way around?
The arrogant little voice in my head has been berating me for not doing better, in fact I've been outdone by someone I never expected to beat me in a thousand years. I seem to be a bad loser, a worse loser than I thought I was. When I know I have the ability to beat someone, and I put in the effort so as to be able to achieve that objective, I expect nothing less of myself than total victory. It is when I actually put in the effort (which in itself is a rare occurrence), that I demand absolute, unquestionable proof of my superiority over others. However this usually only occurs only when my competition has proven worthy, that they are of a similar ability. When faced with tougher opponents I actually do not have quite the same amount of competitiveness. I guess that these people have already proved themselves superior to me in that area and I realize that I would be unable to defeat them. Also, when faced with inferior rivals I tend to be fairly complacent. I think this might be because of some inborn need for efficiency. Against superior competition, putting in effort is futile as I know I would be unable to overtake them anyway. Against inferior opponents, putting in effort is pointless as I already know the outcome. Hence only when faced with rivals of similar capability would I maximise my ability.
Of course, the above could also be attributed to sheer laziness. Why put in the effort at all, if I am so secure in the knowledge that I am more intelligent than most? Can't really think of any arguments for or against this point of view......... Fingers feeling heavy......... Why am I typing this?........ Zzzzzzzz........ *plonk**headfallsonkeyboard*
The arrogant little voice in my head has been berating me for not doing better, in fact I've been outdone by someone I never expected to beat me in a thousand years. I seem to be a bad loser, a worse loser than I thought I was. When I know I have the ability to beat someone, and I put in the effort so as to be able to achieve that objective, I expect nothing less of myself than total victory. It is when I actually put in the effort (which in itself is a rare occurrence), that I demand absolute, unquestionable proof of my superiority over others. However this usually only occurs only when my competition has proven worthy, that they are of a similar ability. When faced with tougher opponents I actually do not have quite the same amount of competitiveness. I guess that these people have already proved themselves superior to me in that area and I realize that I would be unable to defeat them. Also, when faced with inferior rivals I tend to be fairly complacent. I think this might be because of some inborn need for efficiency. Against superior competition, putting in effort is futile as I know I would be unable to overtake them anyway. Against inferior opponents, putting in effort is pointless as I already know the outcome. Hence only when faced with rivals of similar capability would I maximise my ability.
Of course, the above could also be attributed to sheer laziness. Why put in the effort at all, if I am so secure in the knowledge that I am more intelligent than most? Can't really think of any arguments for or against this point of view......... Fingers feeling heavy......... Why am I typing this?........ Zzzzzzzz........ *plonk**headfallsonkeyboard*
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Of movies and CGI
Just came back from watching "Wanted" (the movie starring Angelina Jolie. No idea why people say she's hot. I think she's beautiful, certainly, but not hot)
The movie was okay..... Just the usual shoot em up movie, no real plot to speak of. Then there was that rip-off Star Wars moment. Not going to describe the scene but personally it was an insult to the viewer's intelligence. Then there are the ludicrous scenes where the impossible happens. Some how, after watching Shoot 'em up, no other movie can compare.
A bit sad, really, when I no longer feel these special effects are anything but special. I mean it's cool, but I just don't feel awed anymore. LOTR wasn't great because of the special effects, it was great because of a great script, great director and great storyline. Same for Spiderman (not including the 3rd one, that one sucked)
Or maybe that's because I have been reading too many comics (COMICS, not manga) for my own good. I've got something like 13 GB of comics now. Sadly Heath Ledger died, otherwise I'm pretty sure the Joker would reappear in the next Batman movie after The Dark Knight (the movie isn't out yet, I'm basing this on the assumption that the villain will lose and die. Also, I'm hoping for Two-Face to appear, either in The Dark Knight or the one after it). The Joker is the ultimate villain, not particularly powerful, but absolutely psychopathic and this is what is so scary about him. The Killing Joke and A Death in the Family are two of the most brilliant Batman comics.
But I digress.
There are so many movies that are laden with CGI yet fall absolutely flat, especially those that were first created in other mediums, for example The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG) and the more recent Harry Potter movies. LXG was originally dark and dramatic (well, Alan Moore's comics are all like that) and the movie was trying to achive that yet became so campy it wasn't even funny. And the Harry Potter movies just sucked from the 4th one on. Let down by poor acting and the scriptwriter's poor selection of material from the books (not that the 5th book was any good), the movies are just another moneyspinner. I know the Star Wars movies (the newer 3) were pretty bad as well, but then again the story is so original, not to mention the older ones tend to cloud the viewer's mind with nostalgia.
The Rule of Cool states that the cooler something is, the more forgivable the leaps of imagination required. Best example, Transformers (Brilliant on the big screen). Now I find that its effect on me and my movie-watching experience is lessening so much that I feel sorry for myself. Of course it might be attributable to CGI fatigue, but it still seems rather sad.
Oh well...... I don't think that will stop me from being a sucker for such movies anytime soon, not with Hellboy 2 and Journey to the Center of the Earth coming out. (But the Mummy 3 movie seems too much like a theme park ride to consider buying a cinema ticket.) The Incredible Hulk was pretty okay though, up till the final fight scene which reminded me of Peter Jackson's King Kong which also had overlong fight scenes.
The movie was okay..... Just the usual shoot em up movie, no real plot to speak of. Then there was that rip-off Star Wars moment. Not going to describe the scene but personally it was an insult to the viewer's intelligence. Then there are the ludicrous scenes where the impossible happens. Some how, after watching Shoot 'em up, no other movie can compare.
A bit sad, really, when I no longer feel these special effects are anything but special. I mean it's cool, but I just don't feel awed anymore. LOTR wasn't great because of the special effects, it was great because of a great script, great director and great storyline. Same for Spiderman (not including the 3rd one, that one sucked)
Or maybe that's because I have been reading too many comics (COMICS, not manga) for my own good. I've got something like 13 GB of comics now. Sadly Heath Ledger died, otherwise I'm pretty sure the Joker would reappear in the next Batman movie after The Dark Knight (the movie isn't out yet, I'm basing this on the assumption that the villain will lose and die. Also, I'm hoping for Two-Face to appear, either in The Dark Knight or the one after it). The Joker is the ultimate villain, not particularly powerful, but absolutely psychopathic and this is what is so scary about him. The Killing Joke and A Death in the Family are two of the most brilliant Batman comics.
But I digress.
There are so many movies that are laden with CGI yet fall absolutely flat, especially those that were first created in other mediums, for example The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG) and the more recent Harry Potter movies. LXG was originally dark and dramatic (well, Alan Moore's comics are all like that) and the movie was trying to achive that yet became so campy it wasn't even funny. And the Harry Potter movies just sucked from the 4th one on. Let down by poor acting and the scriptwriter's poor selection of material from the books (not that the 5th book was any good), the movies are just another moneyspinner. I know the Star Wars movies (the newer 3) were pretty bad as well, but then again the story is so original, not to mention the older ones tend to cloud the viewer's mind with nostalgia.
The Rule of Cool states that the cooler something is, the more forgivable the leaps of imagination required. Best example, Transformers (Brilliant on the big screen). Now I find that its effect on me and my movie-watching experience is lessening so much that I feel sorry for myself. Of course it might be attributable to CGI fatigue, but it still seems rather sad.
Oh well...... I don't think that will stop me from being a sucker for such movies anytime soon, not with Hellboy 2 and Journey to the Center of the Earth coming out. (But the Mummy 3 movie seems too much like a theme park ride to consider buying a cinema ticket.) The Incredible Hulk was pretty okay though, up till the final fight scene which reminded me of Peter Jackson's King Kong which also had overlong fight scenes.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Profanity Laden Anti-Political Posturing Rant
This post is going to be filled with profanity. I recommend those with an aversion to foul language to avoid reading it altogether.
I am going to contradict myself as this post will be a post based on irrationality and emotion, in absolute contrast to what I had preached about a couple of posts back, where I promoted rationality in the name of efficiency (or at least that was the idea, I might have been rather incoherent).
The profanity starts here.
Fuck you Abdullah Badawi. Fuck you Najib Razak. And in case anyone accuses me of being pro-Malaysian Opposition, fuck you Anwar Ibrahim.
Fuck you Abdullah, for not doing anything to prevent the political posturing from dominating the headlines and Parliament, even though you are the leader of this country, even though you are not directly involved in this farce.
Fuck you Najib Razak, for allowing your good name to be so tarnished beforehand that people believe any allegations against you before they have been provecd/disproved.
Fuck you Anwar Ibrahim, for idly boasting of the ability to topple the government through defecting members of the ruling parties. Fuck you for not having the balls to admit that you have gay, if not bisexual tendencies. Fuck you for shamelessly pandering to the anti-BN gallery and not working your pampered ass off for the people and doing something useful for a change.
Fuck you SAPP for not thinking your actions through. If you have the guts to announce a no-confidence vote, have the balls to try to force it through. If I'm not mistaken it's been 2 weeks since that announcement and now you say you don't wanna do it anymore? You guys had 8 days to at least mention it in Parliament, but noooooo......... Fuck you.
All the incompetent cunts in Parliament right now can go and fuck themselves. If I were a registered voter, and an election were held tomorrow, I would either abstain or send in a spoilt vote, or even stand for election as a candidate. Fuck you self-righteous arseholes.
And all the religious fanatics out there can go hang. If a person is dead, and you take him away to bury him by religious rites when his religion is in dispute, aren't you disrespecting your God, who is supposed to be just (remember what that word means? It's inedible, in case you were wondering) and also the sanctity of the family institution? Does that not go against the very teachings of God you worship? And finally, why do you even give a damn? The poor soul has moved on, for better and for worse, and if you do not know his wishes, would it not, logically, be better to let the people he was closest to decide how to dispose of his remains?
Reminds me of a comic panel I saw in Australia. A Palestinian (presumably representing the current government of Palestine) and an Israeli (also presumably representing the Israeli government) are facing off.
Palestinian: We were democratically chosen!
Israeli: We were chosen 2000 years ago!
I do not mean to insult any religion. In fact I believe that a God exists, however I do not believe in restricting my belief in God to any single doctrine in particular. I just feel that it is amazing how religion has the power to deprive people of rational thought and how easily it can be used to justify morally un-justifiable actions.
Screw all of this. I am just so tired of bullshit. This I think, is why Marx advocated socialism. Because people can just be so stupid sometimes.
I am going to contradict myself as this post will be a post based on irrationality and emotion, in absolute contrast to what I had preached about a couple of posts back, where I promoted rationality in the name of efficiency (or at least that was the idea, I might have been rather incoherent).
The profanity starts here.
Fuck you Abdullah Badawi. Fuck you Najib Razak. And in case anyone accuses me of being pro-Malaysian Opposition, fuck you Anwar Ibrahim.
Fuck you Abdullah, for not doing anything to prevent the political posturing from dominating the headlines and Parliament, even though you are the leader of this country, even though you are not directly involved in this farce.
Fuck you Najib Razak, for allowing your good name to be so tarnished beforehand that people believe any allegations against you before they have been provecd/disproved.
Fuck you Anwar Ibrahim, for idly boasting of the ability to topple the government through defecting members of the ruling parties. Fuck you for not having the balls to admit that you have gay, if not bisexual tendencies. Fuck you for shamelessly pandering to the anti-BN gallery and not working your pampered ass off for the people and doing something useful for a change.
Fuck you SAPP for not thinking your actions through. If you have the guts to announce a no-confidence vote, have the balls to try to force it through. If I'm not mistaken it's been 2 weeks since that announcement and now you say you don't wanna do it anymore? You guys had 8 days to at least mention it in Parliament, but noooooo......... Fuck you.
All the incompetent cunts in Parliament right now can go and fuck themselves. If I were a registered voter, and an election were held tomorrow, I would either abstain or send in a spoilt vote, or even stand for election as a candidate. Fuck you self-righteous arseholes.
And all the religious fanatics out there can go hang. If a person is dead, and you take him away to bury him by religious rites when his religion is in dispute, aren't you disrespecting your God, who is supposed to be just (remember what that word means? It's inedible, in case you were wondering) and also the sanctity of the family institution? Does that not go against the very teachings of God you worship? And finally, why do you even give a damn? The poor soul has moved on, for better and for worse, and if you do not know his wishes, would it not, logically, be better to let the people he was closest to decide how to dispose of his remains?
Reminds me of a comic panel I saw in Australia. A Palestinian (presumably representing the current government of Palestine) and an Israeli (also presumably representing the Israeli government) are facing off.
Palestinian: We were democratically chosen!
Israeli: We were chosen 2000 years ago!
I do not mean to insult any religion. In fact I believe that a God exists, however I do not believe in restricting my belief in God to any single doctrine in particular. I just feel that it is amazing how religion has the power to deprive people of rational thought and how easily it can be used to justify morally un-justifiable actions.
Screw all of this. I am just so tired of bullshit. This I think, is why Marx advocated socialism. Because people can just be so stupid sometimes.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Malaysian Politics
I am disappointed.
I am the type of person who favours stability over free speech in a government. Needless to say, in the March elections, I was a supporter of the Barisan Nasional, even though I was less than agreeable with their government, mainly because I was afraid of that unknown component: the Opposition's unpredictability. At that moment, my view of the Opposition's only contribution to the country was: a) Creating an unfair perception of our country as a backward pro-medieval Islam country through PAS' policies. b) Delaying Parliamentary proceedings as long as possible by indulging in slanging matches.
I do not think I have been proved wrong. 3 months on, the slanging matches are still there, the administration of all States have become much more unstable due to the Oppositions' antics, and the Opposition parties seem more interested in grabbing headlines rather than bloody getting down to WORKING.
Abdullah Badawi is a weak leader. There is no doubt about that. But trying to undermine him in every single decision only makes the country much more instable.
Protest against the reduction of the petrol subsidy, why don't you? Stupid short-sighted people. Petrol prices are going up all over the world. What did you expect the government to do? Give out free petrol? The real problem was that the subsidy has been around so long that everyone has gotten used to the (artificially) low price of black gold. "Kudos to you, if only you had done it sooner." Obviously that would not have been a very good opposition slogan, right? But it would have been the right thing to say. Trying to force Petronas to reveal their accounts are one thing, I agree that there is a sore need for transparency, but trying to get them to give you cheap oil is a bit too much to ask. At the end of the day, Petronas is a company, with its main reponsibility to its shareholders, and not the public.
What else has the opposition done? One of the fools tried to log the forest, saying it was God-given. Well, wake up sir, the world does not just belong to you and your precious State Government. God did not create this world only for humans, otherwise we would not be just one species among millions, we would have been the ONLY species.
The optimal government would be one where there is not only the Opposition and the Barisan, it would be one where ALL points of view are represented, Barisan, Opposition, and Independent alike. We need more people who are truly there to work for the people, and not for mere personal gain. It saddens me that this will probably never become reality, whether in Malaysia or anywhere in the world.
I am the type of person who favours stability over free speech in a government. Needless to say, in the March elections, I was a supporter of the Barisan Nasional, even though I was less than agreeable with their government, mainly because I was afraid of that unknown component: the Opposition's unpredictability. At that moment, my view of the Opposition's only contribution to the country was: a) Creating an unfair perception of our country as a backward pro-medieval Islam country through PAS' policies. b) Delaying Parliamentary proceedings as long as possible by indulging in slanging matches.
I do not think I have been proved wrong. 3 months on, the slanging matches are still there, the administration of all States have become much more unstable due to the Oppositions' antics, and the Opposition parties seem more interested in grabbing headlines rather than bloody getting down to WORKING.
Abdullah Badawi is a weak leader. There is no doubt about that. But trying to undermine him in every single decision only makes the country much more instable.
Protest against the reduction of the petrol subsidy, why don't you? Stupid short-sighted people. Petrol prices are going up all over the world. What did you expect the government to do? Give out free petrol? The real problem was that the subsidy has been around so long that everyone has gotten used to the (artificially) low price of black gold. "Kudos to you, if only you had done it sooner." Obviously that would not have been a very good opposition slogan, right? But it would have been the right thing to say. Trying to force Petronas to reveal their accounts are one thing, I agree that there is a sore need for transparency, but trying to get them to give you cheap oil is a bit too much to ask. At the end of the day, Petronas is a company, with its main reponsibility to its shareholders, and not the public.
What else has the opposition done? One of the fools tried to log the forest, saying it was God-given. Well, wake up sir, the world does not just belong to you and your precious State Government. God did not create this world only for humans, otherwise we would not be just one species among millions, we would have been the ONLY species.
The optimal government would be one where there is not only the Opposition and the Barisan, it would be one where ALL points of view are represented, Barisan, Opposition, and Independent alike. We need more people who are truly there to work for the people, and not for mere personal gain. It saddens me that this will probably never become reality, whether in Malaysia or anywhere in the world.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Politics (in general)
I'm back in Malaysia. And I think I'm finally ready to do a post on politics.
To me, there is no perfect political system, and there will never be one. Why? Because man is essentially an emotional being. When emotion is the main driving force in life, and the key to making decisions, it will be impossible to have a perfect world/administration/leader. Also, every living thing is biologically programmed to be selfish, as a base instinct, so that the species may survive. As the intellect grows, so does the inborn desire to be selfish. What does this mean? It means that there can never be an administration that truly desires to serve the public, out of purely unselfish reasons.
Democracy is a farce. What is democracy? 2 words. Majority rules. The law of the jungle. The law which our ancestors followed while hunting mammoths. There is strength in numbers. Remember the saying "too many cooks spoil the broth"? In a democracy, there is no guarantee that the best, and most efficient solution to a problem will be implemented, simply because freedom of speech and equal rights will give possibly irrational, possibly rational opponents voice, and thus create a society where people muddle along as best they can.
Dictatorships are efficient, but are they equitable? If the dictator were a man who imposes his will with an iron fist, but his policies were equitable and as fair as possible to all, would there be opposition? Yes, from power-hungry opponents. And no man is that perfect. For power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Politics is a game. It has been played by all those who have wanted their say in how things are run, all those looking to seize power, all those who think their opinion is more important than others'. It will continue to be played, so long as man governs itself and does not revert to animalistic behavior. And I think that although dictatorships/socialism can create a truly fair society
To me, there is no perfect political system, and there will never be one. Why? Because man is essentially an emotional being. When emotion is the main driving force in life, and the key to making decisions, it will be impossible to have a perfect world/administration/leader. Also, every living thing is biologically programmed to be selfish, as a base instinct, so that the species may survive. As the intellect grows, so does the inborn desire to be selfish. What does this mean? It means that there can never be an administration that truly desires to serve the public, out of purely unselfish reasons.
Democracy is a farce. What is democracy? 2 words. Majority rules. The law of the jungle. The law which our ancestors followed while hunting mammoths. There is strength in numbers. Remember the saying "too many cooks spoil the broth"? In a democracy, there is no guarantee that the best, and most efficient solution to a problem will be implemented, simply because freedom of speech and equal rights will give possibly irrational, possibly rational opponents voice, and thus create a society where people muddle along as best they can.
Dictatorships are efficient, but are they equitable? If the dictator were a man who imposes his will with an iron fist, but his policies were equitable and as fair as possible to all, would there be opposition? Yes, from power-hungry opponents. And no man is that perfect. For power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Politics is a game. It has been played by all those who have wanted their say in how things are run, all those looking to seize power, all those who think their opinion is more important than others'. It will continue to be played, so long as man governs itself and does not revert to animalistic behavior. And I think that although dictatorships/socialism can create a truly fair society
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Something to think about
This is just highly interesting blog post by someone else. It happens to encapsulate everything I've felt about religion at one point or another, just that maybe I've never liked to put down someone based on their beliefs, nor am I that articulate about my feelings. This is a must-read. trust me.
http://noworld4tomorrow.blogspot.com/2008/04/religion-debt-repaid-no-longer-needed.html
http://noworld4tomorrow.blogspot.com/2008/04/religion-debt-repaid-no-longer-needed.html
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Many Unexpected Happenings
First post in a while, mainly because I haven't found anything worth blogging about. As it is, I'm doing this out of sheer boredom, in the midst of trying to figure out economic costs.
There were quite a few things I didn't expect when I came here. One, most recent one, is that people would watch hard-core porn in the TV room (Hopefully this sentence won't lead to dodgy ads appearing on this blog). I mean, this isn't quite your everyday TV show.
I also didn't expect such wonderful inconsistency from our kitchen staff. Sometimes, they can cook some really nice stuff, worthy of being served in a restaurant, and yet, sometimes, they can fail to cook something as simple as rice, so much so that MiG (Indomee Mi Goreng) feels like gourmet cuisine. One of the best desserts I've had was here, a really nice choc cookie cream cake, as good as Secret Recipe's Oreo Cheese Cake. However I've also had incredibly bad chocolate cake, something that vaguely resembles a chocolate brownie, minus the chocolate. Scolarest (catering company) has us at its whim and mercy, explaining why I have overspent on eating out.
What else did I not expect? I did not expect to learn so many new things from the people around me. For example, I learned that Malaysia blocks torrents from overseas, meaning that all the torrents I receive back home are seeded by only Malaysian seeds. No wonder its so slow. I've learned of Saladin, and why he is considered a great leader. I've learned how to be rude in Thai, Japanese and French.
I've picked up new games. Ever heard of Settlers Of Catan? It's the world number one board game, only recently surpassed by some random vampire themed thing, if I'm not mistaken. It really is a very good game, involving intelligence and interaction in equal amounts. Luck, while a factor, is no longer a supreme decider, unlike Risk or Monopoly. I've played Dungeons and Dragons, a wonderful role-playing game where all you need is pencil, paper, dice and imagination. I've learned to play Magic:The Gathering, although I don't own a single card.
Unexpectedly, I've not done many of my favourite activities in a while. I haven't played pool since 2 weeks after I came here, I haven't played badminton, and I haven't been to a cybercafe.
Really, really unexpectedly, I've met an M2 senior. He's part of the class that made the kangaroo-shaped SAM badges. He's been taught by Ms Logesh, Ms Choo and Mrs Goh. He knows all the usual hangouts near Taylors. He is a slacker, but a closet mugger. In short, he is a true M2-ian.
Miss you guys........
There were quite a few things I didn't expect when I came here. One, most recent one, is that people would watch hard-core porn in the TV room (Hopefully this sentence won't lead to dodgy ads appearing on this blog). I mean, this isn't quite your everyday TV show.
I also didn't expect such wonderful inconsistency from our kitchen staff. Sometimes, they can cook some really nice stuff, worthy of being served in a restaurant, and yet, sometimes, they can fail to cook something as simple as rice, so much so that MiG (Indomee Mi Goreng) feels like gourmet cuisine. One of the best desserts I've had was here, a really nice choc cookie cream cake, as good as Secret Recipe's Oreo Cheese Cake. However I've also had incredibly bad chocolate cake, something that vaguely resembles a chocolate brownie, minus the chocolate. Scolarest (catering company) has us at its whim and mercy, explaining why I have overspent on eating out.
What else did I not expect? I did not expect to learn so many new things from the people around me. For example, I learned that Malaysia blocks torrents from overseas, meaning that all the torrents I receive back home are seeded by only Malaysian seeds. No wonder its so slow. I've learned of Saladin, and why he is considered a great leader. I've learned how to be rude in Thai, Japanese and French.
I've picked up new games. Ever heard of Settlers Of Catan? It's the world number one board game, only recently surpassed by some random vampire themed thing, if I'm not mistaken. It really is a very good game, involving intelligence and interaction in equal amounts. Luck, while a factor, is no longer a supreme decider, unlike Risk or Monopoly. I've played Dungeons and Dragons, a wonderful role-playing game where all you need is pencil, paper, dice and imagination. I've learned to play Magic:The Gathering, although I don't own a single card.
Unexpectedly, I've not done many of my favourite activities in a while. I haven't played pool since 2 weeks after I came here, I haven't played badminton, and I haven't been to a cybercafe.
Really, really unexpectedly, I've met an M2 senior. He's part of the class that made the kangaroo-shaped SAM badges. He's been taught by Ms Logesh, Ms Choo and Mrs Goh. He knows all the usual hangouts near Taylors. He is a slacker, but a closet mugger. In short, he is a true M2-ian.
Miss you guys........
Sunday, April 27, 2008
IH Ball
As mentioned in my last post, it's boring here, hence no updates for almost a month.
Anyway, went to the IH Ball last week. $66 for a non-drinking ticket :'(. But when we went there, we found that the staff didn't really care :):):):):):):):) Finished half a bottle of red wine, a glass of white wine and a sip of beer (beer's disgusting, I'll never drink it again). Was definitely drunk by the end of the night, lost coordination, really couldn't even walk straight. At least I was sober enough not to puke, and to stop drinking. Another friend had at least 10 beers and couldn't walk. He was almost kicked out by the bouncers "You can do this the easy way or the hard way". Cliched, but effective. He had to have us supporting him because he was almost unconscious. He passed out on the bus to the afterparty, then puked when the bus arrived. Puked again when we got off the tram at IH. He wasn't the only one, of course. The usual drunkards were wasted as well.
Anyway, enough about me illegally drinking. The ball itself was basically a party. We had a free flow of drinks, nice canapes as appetizers, a main course that was nowhere near worth the price, and cheap ice-cream. The veg and salad tasted better than the roast chicken they gave us for the meal, calling it some weird French-sounding name, can't remember what it was. No entertainment except the pleasure of others' company and a DJ playing dance music after dinner. And, of course, the dance floor.
The venue was interesting though. Called Red Scooter, it seems to be a party/function venue more than anything else (that explains the sucky food). Pool table, bar, projector, dance floor, tables, a small stage and nice deco. Didn't see a menu (drinks menus don't count) at all. Nice concept, wonder whether there's one in Malaysia. There's definitely one in Thailand though.
Thats about it for now. Can't post any pics because I didn't take much, quite sure there's ssome on Facebook though. Ciao!
Anyway, went to the IH Ball last week. $66 for a non-drinking ticket :'(. But when we went there, we found that the staff didn't really care :):):):):):):):) Finished half a bottle of red wine, a glass of white wine and a sip of beer (beer's disgusting, I'll never drink it again). Was definitely drunk by the end of the night, lost coordination, really couldn't even walk straight. At least I was sober enough not to puke, and to stop drinking. Another friend had at least 10 beers and couldn't walk. He was almost kicked out by the bouncers "You can do this the easy way or the hard way". Cliched, but effective. He had to have us supporting him because he was almost unconscious. He passed out on the bus to the afterparty, then puked when the bus arrived. Puked again when we got off the tram at IH. He wasn't the only one, of course. The usual drunkards were wasted as well.
Anyway, enough about me illegally drinking. The ball itself was basically a party. We had a free flow of drinks, nice canapes as appetizers, a main course that was nowhere near worth the price, and cheap ice-cream. The veg and salad tasted better than the roast chicken they gave us for the meal, calling it some weird French-sounding name, can't remember what it was. No entertainment except the pleasure of others' company and a DJ playing dance music after dinner. And, of course, the dance floor.
The venue was interesting though. Called Red Scooter, it seems to be a party/function venue more than anything else (that explains the sucky food). Pool table, bar, projector, dance floor, tables, a small stage and nice deco. Didn't see a menu (drinks menus don't count) at all. Nice concept, wonder whether there's one in Malaysia. There's definitely one in Thailand though.
Thats about it for now. Can't post any pics because I didn't take much, quite sure there's ssome on Facebook though. Ciao!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Easter Holidays
No idea what to blog about....... Life's actually fairly boring here..........
Easter holidays! The time that almost everyone disappears to other parts of Australia (or the world)........ International House just turned into Malaysian House for a few days, until the others started trickling back in. The only non- Malaysian staying at IH I remember would be.... nope, can't remember anyone besides the staff.
The holidays just came too soon after the start of uni. I'm bloody bored! Finished my 3 assignments in 3 days (even while working on and off). Now I found out that I screwed 1 up only after I handed it in, and I have to redo the other 2 because my original sucked. So much for productivity.
Anyway, went to the Sandringham beach on Easter itself. The water was damn cold, but we probably wouldn't have gone in anyway because of the jellyfish. The jellyfish were basically infesting the waters there so much so that we risked touching a jellyfish if we stayed in the water for 5 minutes, whether the jellyfish were alive or not.
What else did I do? I went into town a couple of times, not really doing anything. I tried Max Brenner's offerings (waffles, chocolate banana pizza). I played Dungeons and Dragons (tabletop fantasy game), Munchkin (great game this, PLAY IT) and Settlers of Catan (great game too, but need experience to play this well).
And I volunteered for the Run for the Kids event last Sunday with about 40 other IHers. This was basically a charity run organized by the Royal Children's Hospital to raise money. I was at Drinks Station 1, just handing out cups with varying amounts of water in them. All for a good cause...... besides the fact that I really didn't have anything better to do with my time.
Easter holidays! The time that almost everyone disappears to other parts of Australia (or the world)........ International House just turned into Malaysian House for a few days, until the others started trickling back in. The only non- Malaysian staying at IH I remember would be.... nope, can't remember anyone besides the staff.
The holidays just came too soon after the start of uni. I'm bloody bored! Finished my 3 assignments in 3 days (even while working on and off). Now I found out that I screwed 1 up only after I handed it in, and I have to redo the other 2 because my original sucked. So much for productivity.
Anyway, went to the Sandringham beach on Easter itself. The water was damn cold, but we probably wouldn't have gone in anyway because of the jellyfish. The jellyfish were basically infesting the waters there so much so that we risked touching a jellyfish if we stayed in the water for 5 minutes, whether the jellyfish were alive or not.
What else did I do? I went into town a couple of times, not really doing anything. I tried Max Brenner's offerings (waffles, chocolate banana pizza). I played Dungeons and Dragons (tabletop fantasy game), Munchkin (great game this, PLAY IT) and Settlers of Catan (great game too, but need experience to play this well).
And I volunteered for the Run for the Kids event last Sunday with about 40 other IHers. This was basically a charity run organized by the Royal Children's Hospital to raise money. I was at Drinks Station 1, just handing out cups with varying amounts of water in them. All for a good cause...... besides the fact that I really didn't have anything better to do with my time.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Koko Black Chocolate
Had a bit of problem uploading a video for the Moomba Waterfest, so I posted this first.
Koko Black is a chocolatier which has a branch about 10 minutes walk from IH, on Lygon Street. Lygon is actually famous for Italian food and gelato (ice-cream, one even has durian flavour!), but anyway this post is a chocolate one.
So anyway I bought 8 chocolates from Koko Black (mostly dark chocolate) and they are:
Belgian Truffle: Chocolate powder on the top. Creamy interior, a soft (but not too soft)exterior. Great texture.
Mint: Thin layer of chocolate with mint cream inside. Tastes like After-Eight, in fact I prefer After-Eight.
Java Dark: Coffee cream inside, with a hint of alcohol. Nice! the coffee wasn't overpowering, and I could still taste the chocolate. Wonderful combo.
Raspberry Ganache: A bit like Java Dark in that there's a filling and a chocolate exterior. I prefer Java Dark though, because I don't really like the berry taste.
Koko Black 44&74 (I think it's called Pure Black as well): The name's because of the cocoa content. Brilliant!! The "nut" on top isn't really a nut, it's chocolate. The phrase "better than sex" could have been invented for this.
Baileys: Nice creamy filling. The alcohol wasn't bitter, the choc taste was still there, nice warm alcohol feeling after eating. The taste of the Baileys was brought out properly, enough to taste and enjoy, but not strong enough to overpower the chocolate.
Creole Dark: Nice, slight tinge of coffee. relatively average but still better than anything I've tasted in Malaysia.
Hazelnut Crisp: Another highly recommended one. Forgot to take a pic of this though. There's a thin crispy wafer top layer, with the usual creamy interior. There's a strong hazelnut taste in the cream which is really good.
Top recommendations:
Note: If there were 2 versions, i.e milk choc and dark choc, I tasted the dark choc version
1) Koko Black 44&74 (may not be suitable for people who don't like dark choc)
2) Baileys
3) Java Dark
4) Hazelnut Crisp
4) Belgian Truffle (not dark choc)
Moomba Waterfest
I have no idea what it is. That's the truth. I hear it's because the Aussies celebrate the start of the rainy season but I have no idea whether it's true.
It started Friday or Saturday, 7/8 of March. Apparently there was a waterskiing competition on Saturday afternoon but I didn't go (because of the IH girls softball)............. However I did go on Saturday night, for the first of 2 visits.
It's basically a fun fair- carnival sort of thing. There were food stalls, selling cotton candy, cinnamon doughnuts, lemonade, toffee apples, "Dagwood Dogs" (basically a sausage deep-fried in batter--- tastes horrible), fruit punch etc. The food was ridiculously expensive, even a bottle of water cost AU$3.50, most other things cost AU$4.
Then there were the games where you win soft toys for beating the establishment. There were a few basic kinds:
Type 1: You throw something to hit a target
Type 2: You sit at a table with 9 other people and press buttons to move a cardboard cut-out in a "race"
Type 3: Scratch and win, except you need quite a few tickets to combine their scores
Type 4: You hit a machine that gauges your strength. Above a certain score you win a prize.
All of them cost at least AU$5 for a real chance at winning
There were also the rides. A Ferris wheel, rides that turn you every which way until you are ready to puke, the Sling-Shot (AU$30, this one, but probably worth it), with most about AU$7 each.
And last but not least, the fireworks. I went there again on Monday, 10th March (Labour Day) to watch the finale.
It started Friday or Saturday, 7/8 of March. Apparently there was a waterskiing competition on Saturday afternoon but I didn't go (because of the IH girls softball)............. However I did go on Saturday night, for the first of 2 visits.
It's basically a fun fair- carnival sort of thing. There were food stalls, selling cotton candy, cinnamon doughnuts, lemonade, toffee apples, "Dagwood Dogs" (basically a sausage deep-fried in batter--- tastes horrible), fruit punch etc. The food was ridiculously expensive, even a bottle of water cost AU$3.50, most other things cost AU$4.
Then there were the games where you win soft toys for beating the establishment. There were a few basic kinds:
Type 1: You throw something to hit a target
Type 2: You sit at a table with 9 other people and press buttons to move a cardboard cut-out in a "race"
Type 3: Scratch and win, except you need quite a few tickets to combine their scores
Type 4: You hit a machine that gauges your strength. Above a certain score you win a prize.
All of them cost at least AU$5 for a real chance at winning
There were also the rides. A Ferris wheel, rides that turn you every which way until you are ready to puke, the Sling-Shot (AU$30, this one, but probably worth it), with most about AU$7 each.
And last but not least, the fireworks. I went there again on Monday, 10th March (Labour Day) to watch the finale.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
IH O-week
Life is nice here.......
Michael isnt soft-spoken, he's a wacky dancer in a studious skin. Found that out during Poor Taste Party at IH. He's a great dancer, completely un-self-conscious. The girl from Mauritius isn't Dorm, it's Dawn, and the Japanese girl's Yui, not Yuni (my hearing sucks, so sue me). Met plenty more people here, but I find that the Caucasians mostly stick to themselves, and the Asians do the same. Emir (Indonesian, studied in Singapore) came up with a theory: The Caucasians find themselves outnumbered and feel that their culture is threatened. My addition : the Asians find themselves in an unfamiliar setting, hence they tend to stick to what they know best, their own people. Of course, everyone gets along pretty well here, it's just that we aren't (and probably never will be) as close as M2 (Hurray. go M2!)
O-week was crazy (at IH at least, uni wasn't as exciting). I'm only going to describe the more interesting ones here:
Room Cram. 23/2/08. 11 pm. Greycourt Building. All the freshers plus the O-weekers (seniors who are responsible for the O-week) in one room as big as say....... a badminton court? naahhhh.... smaller than that. About 150 people in there, with the windows and doors shut. And we learned our war-chants (useful during the Magical Mystery Tour, more about that later) under threat of being watergunned by the O-weekers.
Poor-Taste Party. 24/2/08. 8 pm. Junior Common Room. The pictures say it all:
Basically we had to dress up in the poorest taste outfit you could find. I dressed in drag, but I'm not showing you the pics. This is all you get:
Magical Mystery Tour. 26/2/08. 5pm. All the Ih-ers dressed in their fresher T-shirts and ran around Melbourne. We went to Whitley College and chanted: " You live in a doughnut, we eat them for breakfast" (not true, but fun to say). We went to Ormond College and chanted:
"I don't know what I've been told
Ormond pussy's dry and cold
Mighty cold and mighty dry
'Cos they're fucking Ormond guys
Twice and short and half the time (i think)
somethingsomething something something (can't remember the rest of it) "
We went to St. Hida's College, if I remember correctly , banged on their car park doors and chanted:
"Your old man's a wanker"
Then we went to uni and played Ring-around-the rosies in the courtyard. Next we caught a tram (2 actually) into the city, all the while chanting :
"IH is hot to go,
H-O-T-T-O-G-O,
Awoo,
Hot to go,
Awoo,
Hot to go"
Our main chant, this. Then we reached Hungry Jacks' ( a fast-food restaurant) on Swanston Street and demanded chips (got some, too). Next stop, Mcdonalds' further down Swanston, and chanted: "The burgers are better at Hungry Jacks' " (again, not true, but fun to say). We were jogging/running every opportunity we had. We went to KFC as well, and acted like chickens there. Then we played Ring-around-the-rosies at Federation Square, chanted the main chant again and so it ended.
IH IQ test. 2/3/08 4.30 pm. The biggest darn prank ever. All we freshers were warned all week by the seniors to study for this, getting warnings like:" if you get less than 50%, you might get kicked out if the Head's in a bad mood. If she 's in a good mood, she'll just charge you more". And not just from the O-weekers, but the other seniors as well. So we were there ( I didn't study, luckily, because I felt something wasn't quite right) in the Dining Hall, and the residential tutors were there in their gowns, all with solemn faces. And we were actually given sheets of paper with about 8 subjective questions and 2 essay questions. 5 minutes later, they asked us to complete it outside, in the courtyard, whilst maintaining silence and refraining from copying. 10 minutes after the "test" started, the O-weekers came out and sprayed us all until many were soaking wet, but not me *cacklecackle*
That's about it...... Next 2 posts (not in order) Moomba Festival and Koko Black chocolate.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Melbourne
Just finished enrolment and got my student card. I'm now officially a student of the University of Melbourne.
Arrived here at 10am, Wednesday 20 Jan, and it was raining. Rained until errmmm..... 5pm i think. Then the next day was HOT!! And it's cloudy today. What'll it be tomorrow?
Arrived here at 10am, Wednesday 20 Jan, and it was raining. Rained until errmmm..... 5pm i think. Then the next day was HOT!! And it's cloudy today. What'll it be tomorrow?
My room here at International House. The Internet here is crappy though. The quota's only 200 Mb per week (and A$0.05 per extra Mb). And I can only go online 5 hours at a time. What else? oh yeah, apparently "action will be taken if this limit is unacceptably exceeded". !@#$%
The House has about 240 students here. At today's breakfast alone I think i met more people than I actually want to. There's Shunsuke and Yuni (i think) from Japan, both exchange students, Michael, a soft-spoken Aussie chap, Dorm ( I think, really unsure how to spell it) from Mauritius, Charlie, no idea where he's from, yet, Alex, an American Vietnamese from Seattle, a Singaporean girl whose name i either dont remember or she didnt say. Damn. I'm not even sure I can remember their faces. And that was only half my table of 8. And there are more students coming. Info overload!
The briefings at the University was rubbish. So boring I fell asleep. Met another (!) Singaporean there and saw a few old schoolmates. But it was mostly a waste of time. At least the accounting lecturer was animated and lively, not the dead-man walking for Econs while the Finance fellow was somewhere in between. Too bored to continue after that.
Gonna nap now..... Until next time....
Monday 18th February 2008. The day of my driving exam.
Woke up damn early, at 6 a.m., which was already later than planned (5.30 a.m.). Anyway, since I woke up late, I had to go without breakfast. No problem there. Then the instructor came at 6.30 to fetch me to the office, where we were supposed to wait for the gal who was taking the exam on that day too. She arrived at 7.20. I could have made my breakfast, eaten it, and even slept a fair bit more. But the worst was yet to come.
We left the office at 7.30 (or thereabouts). Then we went on the NKVE. And the car broke down.
We were going for a driving exam and the car broke down. If that’s not ironic, I don’t know what is.
Anyways, turns out the bloody car was out of petrol. Something so avoidable, something so basic, and it happens. Murphy’s Law or Sod’s Law, whichever name you use, was at work. “What can go wrong will go wrong, at the worst possible moment.”
The car finally started at 8.20 or so. Next stop, Transport Department Headquarters. Apparently our request to take the exam on Monday was rejected and therefore we had to appeal. Another hour wasted there.
We finally reached the examination center at about 10. Then another long wait.
At 11, I took the on-the-road test. (I’m not admitting to any knowledge of any bribery or anything here.) The examiner was an idiot with an attitude problem. When I was turning out of the exam center, I had to stop at the junction because there was a jam. There was a garbage truck directly in front of me, obviously blocking my turn to the left. And what did the idiot say? “Move-lah!! What are you waiting for?”
Anyway, I was the last person to finish the exam (at about 3) because I was the last to register, due to the bloody rejection and subsequent appeal.
Passed.
Woke up damn early, at 6 a.m., which was already later than planned (5.30 a.m.). Anyway, since I woke up late, I had to go without breakfast. No problem there. Then the instructor came at 6.30 to fetch me to the office, where we were supposed to wait for the gal who was taking the exam on that day too. She arrived at 7.20. I could have made my breakfast, eaten it, and even slept a fair bit more. But the worst was yet to come.
We left the office at 7.30 (or thereabouts). Then we went on the NKVE. And the car broke down.
We were going for a driving exam and the car broke down. If that’s not ironic, I don’t know what is.
Anyways, turns out the bloody car was out of petrol. Something so avoidable, something so basic, and it happens. Murphy’s Law or Sod’s Law, whichever name you use, was at work. “What can go wrong will go wrong, at the worst possible moment.”
The car finally started at 8.20 or so. Next stop, Transport Department Headquarters. Apparently our request to take the exam on Monday was rejected and therefore we had to appeal. Another hour wasted there.
We finally reached the examination center at about 10. Then another long wait.
At 11, I took the on-the-road test. (I’m not admitting to any knowledge of any bribery or anything here.) The examiner was an idiot with an attitude problem. When I was turning out of the exam center, I had to stop at the junction because there was a jam. There was a garbage truck directly in front of me, obviously blocking my turn to the left. And what did the idiot say? “Move-lah!! What are you waiting for?”
Anyway, I was the last person to finish the exam (at about 3) because I was the last to register, due to the bloody rejection and subsequent appeal.
Passed.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Read a letter to the editor in the papers last week. This Malaysian who had been working overseas was pissed off because he wasn't allowed to bring his nephew and niece in to watch Meet The Spartans. Obviously they were under 18 and thus not allowed to watch it due to the Malaysian 18PL rating for it. In my opinion he was making a mountain out of a molehill. Fool. He said that the impression given by the trailer was that of a wholesome family movie. Idiot. If the cinema people let him and his relations in, he would have complained that he was misled. I haven't seen a movie so full of lewd, sexual jokes in a long while. If he hadn't watched the movie beforehand, why did he want to bring them to watch it? And he didn't check the cinema listings in the papers first. ~speechless~
About that case of the child-porn-possessing pilot, how in the world did they know he had that in his laptop in the first place? Invasion of privacy, that's what it is. Why is there such a fuss? If it was normal, heterosexual porn no one would give a damn. His sexual preferences aren't anyone else's business. Although I agree that child porn is abhorrent and disgusting, the blatant disrespect for his privacy is worse. And don't forget, out of the 3 clips they found, only 1 was child porn. The offence was for that and that alone.
On a lighter note....... WHY COULDN'T JAY CHOU'S CONCERT BE 1 WEEK EARLIER? I wanna go....... TT__TT . It's been ages since he last came to Malaysia for a concert and I have to miss it just because I have to go to Melbourne to start university. The most talented person in the Asian music scene is coming and I'm not going to his concert. WHHYYYY?????
One of my all-time favourite songs (if not THE favourite song) must be Jay's Nocturne. (It's on my playlist, 3rd song). Wonderful tune, combining rap and R&B. Lyrics a little unwieldy, but good enough to bring out the story of mourning for a dead lover. Which reminds me. Sadly, I'm free on Valentine's Day.
WHHYYYYYY?????
About that case of the child-porn-possessing pilot, how in the world did they know he had that in his laptop in the first place? Invasion of privacy, that's what it is. Why is there such a fuss? If it was normal, heterosexual porn no one would give a damn. His sexual preferences aren't anyone else's business. Although I agree that child porn is abhorrent and disgusting, the blatant disrespect for his privacy is worse. And don't forget, out of the 3 clips they found, only 1 was child porn. The offence was for that and that alone.
On a lighter note....... WHY COULDN'T JAY CHOU'S CONCERT BE 1 WEEK EARLIER? I wanna go....... TT__TT . It's been ages since he last came to Malaysia for a concert and I have to miss it just because I have to go to Melbourne to start university. The most talented person in the Asian music scene is coming and I'm not going to his concert. WHHYYYY?????
One of my all-time favourite songs (if not THE favourite song) must be Jay's Nocturne. (It's on my playlist, 3rd song). Wonderful tune, combining rap and R&B. Lyrics a little unwieldy, but good enough to bring out the story of mourning for a dead lover. Which reminds me. Sadly, I'm free on Valentine's Day.
WHHYYYYYY?????
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Fur trade=sick
Pledge to go fur-free at PETA.org
This is NOT recommended viewing. This video just shows how sick people can become when motivated by money.
I remember doing a presentation on animal abuse last year, I thought I was disgusted. I was wrong. This is much, much worse than what I came across during my research.
The sick flers in the video can go to hell.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Cynic,Inc.
Suharto's dead. And what did Badawi say? "We're damn sad"...... I didn't elect him as my spokesperson..... Of course he's sad, without him (Suharto) Indonesia has less political problems. Less problems means less opportunities to take advantage of. Anyway his death was so protracted everyone was just waiting for him to die. How sad. When I go I don't want to go that way. No relying on machines to keep me alive.
We know the election is coming soon. Why don't the BN just announce it and be done with the mess? Set a date and at least we won't have to put up with the hype about nothing. Everyone's already sniping at each other, why not just declare outright war? Or are they scared that they'll lose?
Watched the finale of Amazing Race Asia 1 again. Incredible, not in a good way. Ridiculous, actually. How could the weakest team win? Means that the others sucked, not that the winners were any good.
The Greenpeace idiots protesting against whaling had to turn back because they ran out of fuel. That's the dumbest thing I've heard. Since you guys love the environment, shouldn't you be in a sailboat or something? Not in a ship that pollutes the environment. Then you run out of fuel. Fools. If you want to catch something you've got to make sure you can keep up with it.
Hate first gear, love the third. Of what? Cars, duh! I still don't understand why they need us to learn manual driving. Go look at the stats, probably 80% at least of new car sales are automatic cars. Grrrr.......
To bribe or not to bribe? I can't afford NOT to. I just don't have the time for it. Have to pass before I leave for Melbourne, so I've got 1 shot at the license. Can't mess it up. A shame really, I'd prefer to pass on my own ability.
Suddenly thinking of going to LSE instead of Melbourne. A credit transfer in my 2nd year, maybe? Then I'll get to watch Arsenal in action! :) Any advice?
We know the election is coming soon. Why don't the BN just announce it and be done with the mess? Set a date and at least we won't have to put up with the hype about nothing. Everyone's already sniping at each other, why not just declare outright war? Or are they scared that they'll lose?
Watched the finale of Amazing Race Asia 1 again. Incredible, not in a good way. Ridiculous, actually. How could the weakest team win? Means that the others sucked, not that the winners were any good.
The Greenpeace idiots protesting against whaling had to turn back because they ran out of fuel. That's the dumbest thing I've heard. Since you guys love the environment, shouldn't you be in a sailboat or something? Not in a ship that pollutes the environment. Then you run out of fuel. Fools. If you want to catch something you've got to make sure you can keep up with it.
Hate first gear, love the third. Of what? Cars, duh! I still don't understand why they need us to learn manual driving. Go look at the stats, probably 80% at least of new car sales are automatic cars. Grrrr.......
To bribe or not to bribe? I can't afford NOT to. I just don't have the time for it. Have to pass before I leave for Melbourne, so I've got 1 shot at the license. Can't mess it up. A shame really, I'd prefer to pass on my own ability.
Suddenly thinking of going to LSE instead of Melbourne. A credit transfer in my 2nd year, maybe? Then I'll get to watch Arsenal in action! :) Any advice?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Pangkor + "Cloverfield" + "American Gangster"
Back from Pangkor on a trip with my SAM class. Really enjoyed it, too bad the water wasn’t that clear during snorkeling. Guess you cant have everything . Finally got on a bike after, oh, I dunno… 9- 10 years? Still can’t ride one properly, still having problems with cornering/ changing directions .
Almost got drunk on Saturday night, luckily I didn’t push myself too hard. Learned to play a drinking game, definitely more fun than just sitting and talking , but i really not recommended for those with a low tolerance for alcohol.
Lesson 1: Vodka goes better when mixed with Sprite than when mixed with Coke.
Lesson 2: Flavored vodka is actually a waste of time. The flavor isn’t strong enough for my liking after diluting it with soft drinks. Couldn’t taste the difference between non-flavored and flavored vodka.
Note to self: Bring nose plugs when going to the sea. I think I swallowed enough seawater to fill a 1.5 liter bottle. And that was just during snorkeling. The masks provided were leaky, so I ended up having to spit out seawater every 2 minutes. Then of course I sometimes dove a little too deep, so the water came into the breathing pipe, straight into my mouth. How exhilarating. Of course, it was worse during the banana boat ride. But then again, it’s all in the name of fun.
Fishing would have been really fun had there been more time. I’m still sore about not getting a catch! Can’t remember what happened to the fish my classmates caught though. Don’t think we ate them. Poor fish, dying for our pleasure, not even contributing to our energy reserves. Then again, I don’t really care.
Watched “Cloverfield” on Monday. Great CGI, great acting. Unfortunately, it’s a chick flick masquerading as a monster movie. I really felt cheated ‘cos I was expecting a Godzilla style action movie. Guys, don’t watch it unless you are with a girl (or girls). I went in there after reading a review of the show, so I roughly knew the format the movie would be in (video camera style). I just didn’t expect it to be so sucky. Monster? What monster? Couldn’t see it properly for 3 quarters of the movie. Since the movie is barely one and a half hours long, that really rankles with me. And it cost US$ 30 million to make? That’s $1 mil for 3 minutes! But maybe I’m just griping because it’s really not such a bad movie after all, just that it could have been better by:
1) Making it a little longer
2) Having an ending that gives a few more answers (my main problem with the movie)
3) Showing the monster in its full glory, not the tiny glimpses we got
I sense a huge wasted opportunity in “Cloverfield”. It could have been great, a classic, but ended up as a slightly above average movie.
I recommend “American Gangster” instead. The acting is even better and the movie is two and a half hours long. Denzel Washington is really intense in this show. But if “Cloverfield” was too short, “American Gangster” was too long. And it’s so choppy that I almost got seasick (alright, maybe I’m exaggerating). But if you have to watch a sucky movie, at least you get to enjoy the air-con an hour longer. Just goes to show that great acting can’t save a movie from a lousy script. Another wasted opportunity here. We get a turkey from an eagle egg.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Dork post+nostalgia
Happy New Year! Writing this on 2 Jan, 2:30 a.m., posting it later though. Seems like I'm still functioning on Egyptian time (i.e. 8:30 p.m.).
Got a camera for my birthday. Probably could have gotten one with better specs (on paper) for less money but Sony products always cost more for less. Still, most of us are suckers for Sony. Not complaining here, I got it for free.
Had a nice time using it on tour in Egypt. Thing is, I'm bored of it now. That's the problem with boys' toys. The excitement lasts a maximum of 3 weeks. Then everything's back to normal and the toy ends up in storage, to be used only occasionally. Plus, it's a camera, and:
(a) I'm not a camwhore
(b) I'm not a pro photographer (nor is it a pro's camera)
(c) there's just about nothing to photograph in daily life
(d) I'm too lazy to charge the battery regularly
Getting nostalgic thinking about my toys. Time was when I could while away afternoons playing with plastic figurines... I remember when I was about 6-8, I had 1 Optimus Prime figure (there was another one, but it was too bulky and unposeable to "fight" properly) and 2 or 3 Decepticon figures. Then I could spend hours playacting grand battles which Optimus would always win, sometimes courtesy of Spiderman's or Robocop's timely assistance.
And then there were my Lego bricks. With one big bucket and 1 or 2 small ones, I had an entire space fleet. Built it up, then kept it until I was about 9 or 10. Or was it 8? Anyway, I deconstructed that fleet and built another one, the remains of which are still in my room.
I also had (and still have) this Lego castle with a motley collection of little Lego figures (quite sure I got this when I was 3). I remember mock battles on my bedroom floor during quiet (?) afternoons. That's still in my room, I think I only stopped playing with those in Standard 5.
I could go on and on about my Lego collection. I think my parents must have spent a few thousand ringgit on it. And I don't think even 30% remains. What a waste. Could have become family heirlooms. :p
Ah-ha, I remember when I was 8 or 9, the second (or maybe 3rd) Transformers craze came, around the time of Digimon's first wave too. This time, instead of transforming into vehicles, they transformed into animals! I think I had around 10 of those toys too (including my brother's). Another few hundred ringgit there.
Speaking about Transformers, I used to wonder why there weren't any Megatron figures ( or why I couldn't find any. Or maybe I had eyes only for Optimus). I think I know why now. You see, Megatron used to transform into a gun small enough to fit into another Decepticon's hand. I think those marketing fellows thought it wasn't exciting enough for small kids. Anyway the latest Megatron's a fighter jet (after becoming a cannon, a tank, a dragon and who knows what else), which is easy enough to market.
ADDED LATER: Apparently there WAS a gun-shaped Megatron figure. It was illegal in some Australian states because it looked quite real.
Feeling a little crappy now. The effing Egypt Air flight back from Cairo was delayed by about 1 1/2 hours.(original time:2.50am New take off time:4.15am). The freaking airport was damn small, the airline didn't offer so much as an apology until we were on the plane, and it was 2:20 am when we first found out. Plus there was no announcement of the flight delay.
The flight from Cairo to Bombay was 5 hours, 1 hour plus to stopover at Mumbai/Bombay/whatever and another 6 hours from there to KLIA. Add on another 6 hours (for the time difference), plus 2 hours ( travelling time from KLIA to home+baggage reclaim+Immigration+chocolate/liqour shopping) and I made it home 5 minutes before New Year's Day with an almost dead cell phone battery. Made it to the charger in time for midnight but the New Year SMSes just kept failing to send. Stress after a stress-busting holiday.
Got a camera for my birthday. Probably could have gotten one with better specs (on paper) for less money but Sony products always cost more for less. Still, most of us are suckers for Sony. Not complaining here, I got it for free.
Had a nice time using it on tour in Egypt. Thing is, I'm bored of it now. That's the problem with boys' toys. The excitement lasts a maximum of 3 weeks. Then everything's back to normal and the toy ends up in storage, to be used only occasionally. Plus, it's a camera, and:
(a) I'm not a camwhore
(b) I'm not a pro photographer (nor is it a pro's camera)
(c) there's just about nothing to photograph in daily life
(d) I'm too lazy to charge the battery regularly
Getting nostalgic thinking about my toys. Time was when I could while away afternoons playing with plastic figurines... I remember when I was about 6-8, I had 1 Optimus Prime figure (there was another one, but it was too bulky and unposeable to "fight" properly) and 2 or 3 Decepticon figures. Then I could spend hours playacting grand battles which Optimus would always win, sometimes courtesy of Spiderman's or Robocop's timely assistance.
And then there were my Lego bricks. With one big bucket and 1 or 2 small ones, I had an entire space fleet. Built it up, then kept it until I was about 9 or 10. Or was it 8? Anyway, I deconstructed that fleet and built another one, the remains of which are still in my room.
I also had (and still have) this Lego castle with a motley collection of little Lego figures (quite sure I got this when I was 3). I remember mock battles on my bedroom floor during quiet (?) afternoons. That's still in my room, I think I only stopped playing with those in Standard 5.
I could go on and on about my Lego collection. I think my parents must have spent a few thousand ringgit on it. And I don't think even 30% remains. What a waste. Could have become family heirlooms. :p
Ah-ha, I remember when I was 8 or 9, the second (or maybe 3rd) Transformers craze came, around the time of Digimon's first wave too. This time, instead of transforming into vehicles, they transformed into animals! I think I had around 10 of those toys too (including my brother's). Another few hundred ringgit there.
Speaking about Transformers, I used to wonder why there weren't any Megatron figures ( or why I couldn't find any. Or maybe I had eyes only for Optimus). I think I know why now. You see, Megatron used to transform into a gun small enough to fit into another Decepticon's hand. I think those marketing fellows thought it wasn't exciting enough for small kids. Anyway the latest Megatron's a fighter jet (after becoming a cannon, a tank, a dragon and who knows what else), which is easy enough to market.
ADDED LATER: Apparently there WAS a gun-shaped Megatron figure. It was illegal in some Australian states because it looked quite real.
Feeling a little crappy now. The effing Egypt Air flight back from Cairo was delayed by about 1 1/2 hours.(original time:2.50am New take off time:4.15am). The freaking airport was damn small, the airline didn't offer so much as an apology until we were on the plane, and it was 2:20 am when we first found out. Plus there was no announcement of the flight delay.
The flight from Cairo to Bombay was 5 hours, 1 hour plus to stopover at Mumbai/Bombay/whatever and another 6 hours from there to KLIA. Add on another 6 hours (for the time difference), plus 2 hours ( travelling time from KLIA to home+baggage reclaim+Immigration+chocolate/liqour shopping) and I made it home 5 minutes before New Year's Day with an almost dead cell phone battery. Made it to the charger in time for midnight but the New Year SMSes just kept failing to send. Stress after a stress-busting holiday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)