Avant-Garde

My Team as Samsung's Sponsor

2009-10-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

Why should Samsung sponsor my team for The Sun Motor Hunt 2009?
Personally, I believe this hunt will be a great hunt, especially with Samsung as its prize sponsor. I've witnessed several events with Samsung as sponsor already and it never fails to amaze me how generous Samsung Malaysia could be.

Well, a great hunt deserves a great team just like good food deserves a gourmet and I believe after participating more than a dozen hunts with my team members we could bring out a good show! Not to say we will win, but we will put everything we have as a team into the hunt - The Hunting Spirit! It's the hunt that counts, not the prizes! =P

If Samsung would also be generous enough to sponsor us a flag, we will gladly wave it on the stage IF we manage to get some prizes out of it. =D So please, sponsor us!

Photography + Photomatix

2009-10-22T02:05:00.001-07:00

Recently I've been learning more on HDR. I come to realize that most winning photos in photography competitions are HDR photos. So I'm gonna go out there and get myself some winning edge.

By combining 3 exact photos of different exposure into 1 single photo, we get the best of over-exposure and under-exposure. Not a bad deal.

With photomatix I could easily adjust the photo to make it surreal or realistic. Here's an example of Petronas Twin Tower in HDR.

Another photo in HDR

Nuffnang: XPAX Blackberry Curve 8520 Launch @ The Republic

2009-10-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning and did my usual life's routine other than eat, sleep and s**t - check my mail box. Found myself an email from Nuffnang that goes:

"Thank you for coming to the XPAX Blackberry Curve 8520 launch last Saturday. Did you manage to catch the performances by DJ Lapsap, Joe Flizzow and Twilight Action Girl?"

Well...I didn't literally caught any performances by these artistes, but I did caught some photos like this.

Got there around 8pm+, when I got out of the complex I was surprised, it's like there's a parade going on outside and people were swarming around the Xpax booths.

Celcom XPAX did a really wonderful job in organizing this event, from the venue to the number of promoters. I can tell they are really dedicated in providing great service for Blackberry users.

I took the liberty to check out what they have to offer too. Having the ability to access Facebook, Windows Live Messenger(and lots more)readily, anytime and anywhere is really quite a feat for someone on the go. Best of all it comes with a few plans which allows you to pay for what you need, save the money on what you don't!

Personally, I would like to get a Blackberry Curve 8520 myself (if I could, then I would...) with Xpax's daily unlimited plans. Just that I started DSLR photography recently which drains quite a lot from my "piggie bank".

It's been a fun night even though it was only less than 1 hour for me to be there because of Canon Photomarathon! Always see your beer half full, Hur out!

Some Updates in My Life

2009-09-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

Movies: I've watched both movies that starred Gerard Butler, The Gamer and The Ugly Truth. Trailer for Gamer was good with the Marilyn Manson's Sweet Dreams song, but the real movie itself was short (about 1 hour 15 minutes, probably with quite a few cuts) and messy. Messy as in the camera angle moves alot until it makes you dizzy. Storyline was weird! While for The Ugly Truth, it's surpisingly good and funny. Funny from the beginning and a little touchy in the end. I'll say it's better than The Proposal. Give it a try!

Travelling: I'll be going to China this Thursday and be back on the next Sunday. I know you are gonna miss me people.

Photography: I submitted the photos for environmental concern contest. Hope I could get top 3. I'm gonna forget about the "chemistry in our life" and "youth model" photo contest because of the lack of time. =(

Outdoor: 3rd October will do the pink walk with Miu and friends. 4th October will do the 4th Ekiden Run is Putrajaya.

Personal Growth: Gonna book a Stand-Up slot on 1st of October in some local bar. I don't have alot of sex and sexist jokes under my sleeves, so I'm gonne go for daily happening in my life. Let's see how funny I am. =P

Korean BBQ @ Food Garden, Gardens Mid Valley

2009-09-12T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you feel that food from the food court just sucks. Think again. I was visiting Mid Valley recently and decided to drop by at Food Garden located on 3rd floor of Gardens (Robinson side).

Some Korean auntie approached me and ask me whether I want to try out the Korean BBQ. I have to say it's not cheap, it's around RM20+ for chicken BBQ set and RM27+ for beef BBQ set. Set comes with a bowl of really hawt kimchi soup, korean rice, pickles and chilled water melon.

1st time I tried Beef BBQ set as I had extra cash and trust me, it's bloody spicily good! I don't know that BBQ sauce they are using, but it taste authentic like I had never tasted it before. The kimchi soup was spicy and yet mouth watering good!

2nd time I had less money, financial crisis so I settled for Chicken BBQ set instead. Taste equally good, but my heart is still with the Beef BBQ because of the texture.

Here's how Chicken BBQ set looks like(fruits and pickles left aside):

Service is good too, the other day I met a Korean uncle. After seeing my empty bowl of rice, he actually wanted to refill my rice for free, too bad just the set itself...it's extremely filling!

My 1st Panning Attempt

2009-09-08T05:35:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get a good panning shot, but it ain't easy. The adjustment of the shutter speed must be delicate enough to blur the background image. I guess its a matter of trial and error. Got this after my 3rd try. Can be done better if I had the time. =D

Walk for World Pink 2009

2009-09-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

1. The race is open to all participants of age 13 and above as of 31st December 2009. Children aged 12 and below can accompany their parents but will not be eligible for the goodie bag and T-shirt.

2. T-shirt distribution is on the event day which is 3rd October 2009 from 5.00pm to 6.15pm at Menara Kuala Lumpur

3. Closing date is at 5pm 14 Sept 2009 or upon reaching 1,200 participants whichever that is earlier.

4. RM30.00 for participant age 13 and above. There is RM3.00 transaction fee for online registration.

5. Goodie bag worth RM 100.00. Only given at the end of the walk.

I've paid and I'm going even though the chances of man getting breast cancer is minimal. =D

Plusize Kitten Blogversary & Birthday @ Fireman, Jaya One

2009-09-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

Oh, I've gotta say at first I thought I couldn't make it to her party. Turned out I was free, so I tagged along. However she did warn me before agreeing to let me go, "you are in for a girly night!"

For the night, there's only 2 guys. One married, the other single. The girls were talking about girl science, ya know...cosmetics and stuff. Some even tried recruiting me into the fraternity of make-up. Well, all of them are nice people.

Spent most of my time learning how to photograph indoor. Guess I might be a wedding photographer one day. If I meet those girls again someday, perhaps I'll ask them to teach me how to do make-up. Not for myself, it's an art so why not become a make-up artiste? =D

PS: Uncle Frog didn't come really wasted lah! It was a fun filled night!

A Simple Life

2009-08-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I really do think of living a normal life. A life that I don't have to do alot of thinking. These days I've so many thoughts on my mind, it's hard to remember everything. Wouldn't it be nice if I were farmer, with the a single thought of growing a padi field and that's it?

The thoughest part of having many thoughts in the mind is that they all come from different parts of my life. Some from work, some from Toastmasters, some from personal and etc. Like the Persian Envoy from 300, I really wanna say "This is madness!" And hopefully someone will yell at me "Madness? This is...SPARTA!"

Speaking of 300, Gerard Butler will be having 2 movies soon in September. "Gamer" a must watch action flick and "The Ugly Truth" a chic flick with Katherine Heigl. Sad to say there isnt any nice movies to watch now...=(

Wearing so many different hats at one time is pretty taxing. Sometimes, I don't even know who I am anymore...An identity lost. It would be nice if I could have an identity switch! =D

Losing Myself

2009-08-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Pretty tired lately. Have to work from morning till evening and Toastmasters from evening till night. So much quotations to type, so much speech judging to do. 5 times a week. Sometimes, I feel all this is kinda crazy.

It's so energy draining I feel my soul is flowing out of my body sometimes. And the more energy I lose, the more I lose myself. It's like I no longer have energy to contain my negative emotions. Really feel like breaking this mask of mine and release the insanity hidden behind it.

Oh boy, just wish I could go to the beach and shout as loud as I could...

Check Out the Parody!

2009-08-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

Came across this clip while I was browsing thru James Blunt's songs on youtube. I've gotta say, this guy is pretty creative! Enjoy!

Listen to the lyrics, it's hilarious! =D

A Movie I Look Forward To

2009-08-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing this movie trailer for a couple of times now. Never seems to stop fascinating me every time. This movie will be released on 1st of October in Malaysia with the title "The Time Traveler's Wife".

First time seeing this trailer gives me a feeling that this is a tear-jerking movie, a movie you need to bring tissues along. Interesting storyline too, time traveling with a love story behind it to define love transcends time.

Watch the trailer now, the theme song is performed by Lifehouse, Broken.

Anybody wanna watch this show with me when it comes out? =P

Land of the Lost: Believe

2009-07-29T01:13:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of us have heard of Cher's hit song, Believe. I think I've heard of that since ages ago. If you can't remember, it sounds like this...

Anyway, I wasn't a big fan of that song until recently Will Ferrell & Danny McBride (the explosive guy from Tropic Thunder)did a few seconds duet for that song. It was in his latest movie "Land of the Lost" and it's probably the best scene in the movie. Check it out.

Did you get a good laugh? Haha...if you like it go catch it in the cinema now!

Back With 3 Songs!

2009-07-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a while people, I felt that my life as a blogger died and finally resurrected. I've been listening to the radio recently and have a few comments on a few songs.

First off would be "Takin' Back My Love" by Enrique and Ciara. Personally, I think the music is great. The only thing that I am not so satisfied about would be the duet part. I don't think the two is suitable to do a duet. With Enrique's high pitch voice, I felt he would be more suitable to do a duet with Beyonce. This song right now doesn't sound right, it's like wearing two different shoes.

Next would be Beyonce's "Halo". To me, it's a great song. Beyonce really utilize her voice to the best of her ability. I'll rate it as good as "If I was a Boy". She's real talent, no doubt.

Got to hear this on the radio not too long ago, "Come Back to Me" by Utada Hikaru. Was kinda surprise when a popular Japanese pop artiste appear on the radio singing a full English song. Well, I was listening to her songs since a decade ago. Really like her sentimental style of singing. Good luck in her career in singing English songs in America!

Just a few songs to intro this time. Hope I'll be back soon. Miss the treasure hunts and the gym workout, gotta admit I'm getting lazy.

Movie Review : Terminator Salvation

2009-05-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today's the first the of Terminator Salvation's release. Even though school holidays is still a week away, the cinema was unusually crowded probably because of the high anticipation on the movie itself. When I arrived at the cinema around 5pm, the tickets for the rest of the day had already been taken. Luckily there were 2 cinemas in 1 Utama, although I prefered GSC for its comfortable seats, I had to go for TGV for a better seating position (queue was shorter as well).

Let's take a closer look at Terminator Salvation. This sequel talks about (yet to be leader) John Connor's encounter with Marcus Wright in the year 2018. Marcus, unknown to himself and everybody around him was the perfect terminator, a hybrid made up of half human and half machine. While for John, after listening to the tapes left by his mother, he must now find his father "Kyle Reese" and protect him in order for himself to exist. After Marcus was revealed as a half machine by the resistance, he was immediately arrested and ordered for dismemberment. In his attempt to escape, he made a deal with John saying he would infiltrate Skynet's Headquarters to locate "Kyle Reese" in return of letting him free...

Personally, I felt that every movie that has Christian Bale in it is worth watching. The first movie that I watched with Chirstian Bale was "Reign of Fire" and it was good! In Terminator Salvation, I felt that he did a great job in portraying a paranoid, someone we feel distant away from.

One of the factors about this movie which I liked the most would be the character - Marcus Wright. I felt that he was the center of the Terminator Salvation storyline(even more than John Connor). The story started with him feeling regretful in his prison cell for the crimes he had commited, he wanted a second chance - To do something good for humanity. Sam Worthington did a good job in playing Marcus' innocent role. Towards the ending, he did something really touching, real "terminator" drama! =D

For the storyline, I felt everything was quite predictable (maybe because I've already read the summary before watching the movie). The first half of the movie was actually boring for me, the second half was the blast! The excitement started after Marcus' & John's infiltration to Skynet's Base. Even though the real Arnold is probably too busy with California governing, we did see a few minutes of the fake animated Arnold in action!

All and all, Terminator was never about action for me, it was something else(Arnold? Machines? Story? I don't really know). I felt that Terminator Salvation has something more offer than the previous sequels, it was more emotional appealing to me. I give this movie - 4/5 Stars.

To Give or Not To Give

2009-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Lately I dont even know whether I'm busy or lazy when it comes to blogging. Well anyway, here's the story.

Last Monday, I was on my way to Hospital Kuala Lumpur to visit one of my customers. While I was within the hospital, an old Chinese man stopped me. At that time, I thought he wanted to ask for directions. So I stopped to listen, but he asked for something else.

After going thru a series of unrelated topics, he finally said "I'm hungry, can you buy food for me?" At that time, I felt a little impatient after finding out what he really wanted. I ignored him and left for my work. All the while, I don't believe in helping people through the use of money. I rather help through my actions. There's too many conman out there and that old man's outfit looks pretty decent for a poor guy, why should I believe him?

When I went home and brought this topic up, my parents actually prefered me to buy food for him. According to them, hospital food is cheap that's why I should buy him something to eat. Next time if I encounter this situation again, I might consider buying food for him if I have time to spare or else that's just too bad. =P

Unrest

2009-05-12T09:45:00.001-07:00

Lately, I feel extremely restless. It's like there's so many thing for me to do and I just can't seem to get the time to do it. Having that big "To-Do-List" to remember in my head makes me feel restless. If I were to die now, I don't think my soul could rest in peace...

Sigh, I guess that's what happens when a person wears too many hats. Having a few alter egos, ain't an easy thing to do. As we can see from superhero movies, having 2 hats to wear has already made their life hectic, what do you think if they have more than 4 hats to wear? =D

Star Trek with AMBP?

2009-04-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

Just came back from the DKSH warehouse sale in Jalan Universiti. Even though it is my 2nd time going for the DKSH warehouse sale, I can't seem to find much to buy. They sell all sorts of things ranging from food to electronic appliances. The thing that attracted me the most to go there would probably be the watches (yeah, I need to replace my 9 year old watch). However, one thing that makes warehouse sale suck so much is because of some people who love to hesitate.

The glass cabinet which kept all the watches was basically so small that only 2 people could get a good view at the choices available. The problem is there was a pair of couple doing the "Glass Cabinet Hogging" trick. They were probably there for the past 30 minutes and I have been standing there for the next 15 minutes seeing those two trying out the watches, thinking whether to buy or not. I can't seem to understand why, there were only 2 pricings RM180 and RM110, the choices were pretty limited as well. This is not a million dollar decision, the most is only RM180 (2 meals worth of good food). I wanted to tell them "Make up your bloody damn mind!", but I chose to leave. I think Miu should have encountered more of this situation than me. =P

Anyway, back to topic! It's been a while since I saw my peers from AMBP, wonder anyone else got married. =P As a kid, I use to play at my neighbour's house frequently. Everytime I entered my neighbour's house, I would be seeing Star Trek being played on the TV. However, at that time the Captain was already Captain Picard. No wonder I always felt my neighbour's head looks kinda similar to Captain Picard too. =P

Never got a chance to view the earlier series, so I don't really know how everything started. However, if I get to go for next Friday's movie preview for AMBP First Contact at Studio V, I would be the very few Malaysians who get to watch it first!

Treasure Hunt, Star Trek Q&A Contest, Captain's Chair Auction and Movie Preview on the same day. It sure will be an exciting day!

It's also a good chance to find out whether Vulcans were made this way! =P

Wanna go too? Check out this link before 27th of April!
http://allmalaysia.info/ambp/editor/default.asp#p1

A New Name for Something Bigger!

2009-04-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I've been hearing lotsa news from this so-called "Eye on Malaysia" thing. However, I felt that it was just another wagon wheel you could find anywhere. It's a big name for JUST a wagon wheel.

Anyway, I heard Singapore had one too "Eye on Singapore" if I am not mistaken. And I also heard it's BIGGER than "Eye on Malaysia".

Now the thing is that in Malaysia, we like to have everything "BIG" and "TALL". That's why there's the KL tower and Petronas Twin Tower. We wanna be the best in almost everything, that's how Bolehland aka Malaysia works.

So I've been thinking, since we have been overtaken in terms of the size of the eye. Isn't it time for us to make another wagon wheel which is bigger? The name "Eye on Malaysia V2" won't do, cause it sounds like a robot. Here's my suggestion, behold the "Mouth on Malaysia"!

The rationale behind this is that God gave us bigger mouth compared to our eyes. Why? That's because there's more usage for the mouth, to speak, to eat and even to curse! Wow, that's a complete package! So ladies and gentlemen, let's vote for "Mouth of Malaysia" if we are given a chance to choose the name! =P

Movies I Wanna Watch!

2009-04-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

Alright people, I know Miu wanted to watch this movie called "He's just not that into you". No doubt a star studded movie and lucky for Miu, it's showing tomorrow!

However for my case, I would like to watch these 4 movies. Starting off with probably the most action-packed of the year "X-men Origin: wolverine". Can't wait to see my faverite X-men character of all time - Gambit. Just love his Cajun Explosion!

Next on my list would be Star Trek, looks good with the lasers shooting around space and extra-terrestrial beast attacking. Not to mention, Sylar from Heroes is in the movie! =P

3rd movie would be Terminator Salvation. I've been watching terminator since I was a kid, sure brings back lotsa memories. With Christian Bale as John Connor, it's gonna be a hit! Can't embed a trailer here since those dudes disabled it. =(

Last but not least would probably be the most exciting movie of the year that everyone would like to watch. I present to you...G-Force! =P

The Day I Almost Killed Someone

2009-04-02T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today, I almost turned a little girl into half an orphan by killing her mum in accident. Luckily, my reflex was above an average human's or something terrible would have happened already...

This was situation. I was driving legally along a straight road on my way home, half way through I saw a BMW doing an illegal U-turn at an entrance into a sector of shoplots. At first, I thought she would at least brake her car and take a look at on coming cars before turning back into the road I was on(trust me, this is a very busy road)...

She didn't, she just push her car onto the road without even seeing and I was the unlucky guy who had to hit the emergency brake. At that moment, hitting the emergency brake is the only alternative I had. I couldn't dodge her by swinging my car to the right lane as there were too many cars on it. That was the first time I heard my tyres screeching...

I was only 1-2 cm away from hitting her car, her driver's seat. However, I did some thinking. What if I couldn't brake on time, what if another car hit me from behind and pushes my car towards her? If she's lucky, she would probably survive with half of her body crushed. If she's not, she would probably be dead.

I realise people like to take shortcuts without considering the consequences even though it might only save them a few minutes. If they are the only ones who lost their lives, I don't mind. The truth is they are not only endangering their own lives, but the lives of other as well. People who are unlucky enough like me today could be the one dying instead, although it wasn't my fault. Passengers on board could die as well, imagine the innocent kids sitting behind...

Thankfully, I didn't kill anyone today, but I hope this lady in her BMW won't get herself killed next time. If she meets up with someone who have a slower reaction, that could be her last time driving.

Movie Review: KN0W1NG

2009-03-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

This movie is so amazing that it made me want to blog about it right after I watch it! It's been a while since I've watched any movies worth blogging about, but "KN0W1NG" could simply be throned as "The Best 2009 Movie" yet!

The Story

50 years ago, a mysterious looking school girl who could hear "whispers" wrote a list of numbers into a piece of paper that would be later on be buried for the next 50 years in the school compound as a dedication ceremony.

50 years later (2009), that piece of paper was dugged out and passed on to Caleb, son of John (Cage), a lecturer. As John analyzed the numbers, he made a terrifying discovery that the numbers were dates, death tolls and coordinates of major disasters that happened for the past 50 years.

However, from the list, he discovered that 3 more event had yet to happened. That led him to believe that he could stop the disaster from happening if he knew when and where the event would occur. As the story unfolds, John found out that a group of strangers are trying to make contact with his son and there could actually be deeper meaning behind those numbers...

The Review
I have to say, this movie has one of the best storylines out of all the movies I've seen so far. The true plot of the movie was hidden so well that it made me go "Wow, what the hell!" at the end. Clues were given out from time to time through out the movie, but one of the clue gave the biggest twist to the storyline. That clue is "EE", if you guys could decipher what "EE" means before they mention it in the movie, you guys probably know the ending already!

In terms of graphics, I would say it's 10 times better than "Dragonball Evolution". The last 3 disasters were mouth-opening. Starting with a plane crash, that was so shockingly real! For the next 2 disasters, watch it yourself to know!

The ending was totally amazing and "shocking" as it made everything clear in the end. Truly a movie with suspense at every corner!

The Score
5/5 Stars!

It's been a while...

2009-03-24T05:30:00.000-07:00

Hmm...I'm starting to realize that blogging is something for the people who have extra time so spare. A time to share their daily happenings with others. However for me, I'm starting to get busy.

It's like I'm having 4 different lives, the life of a salesman, the life of a toastmaster and the life of a gamer and finally, the life of a blogger. When everything started this year, my 4 lives were still in a balance. I have the time to handle all 4 of them equally. However when time passed by, some of my 4 lives started to grow...

Like for Toastmasters, I shall become an Area Governor for the next term, probably attending 3-4 meetings in a week. Yes, that means no more contest for me until my term ends. All I get to be is probably the judge. For gaming-wise, I got addicted to this game Ragnarok Online. It's a private server which gets you to maximum level within an hour, but because of my perfectionist personality I find that there is a need to optimize my characters' power. As a result, I've been doing alot of research, item hunting and testing....Pretty time consuming.

Every action has a consequence, because of the time spent more on Toastmasters & gaming, my time for blogging got less. I'll still be here though! =D

I'm Going Kame Hame Ha with Dragonball Evolution!

2009-03-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

Behold...For this is an untold story of the Kame Hame Ha Evolution!

Not so very long ago in a place not so very far away, there lived a man who wanted to master the "STRONGEST" Kame Hame Ha. He started training himself ever since he was a fetus within his mother's womb...

24 years later, he finally mastered his "very own", "self thought" Kame Hame Ha with his own bare hands...

But that wasn't enough, he wanted to show the world that he IS the BEST! And to do that, he had to walk mountains and rivers...to visit the 3 Wise Ones.

The 3 wise ones said to him...

He had a hard time figuring out the "TRUE" meaning behind the words of the 3 wise ones...

One day, "Ilham" turun out of no where and he remembered the visual images of the "Hadouken" from Street Fighter and the "Cero" from Bleach.

Ryu uses his palms like the "Kame Hame Ha", Noitora uses his tongue and Ulquiorra uses the tip of his finger. Base on his deductions, the difference in the 3 energy blasts is the source, the place where it is fired. "This must be it!" He said.

Using his intelligent "Homo Sapien" brain which is far more advance than the brains of the 3 wise ones(chimpanzees), he came up with a new version of Kame Hame Ha...The evolved Kame Hame Ha!

Yuna Ito: Sentimental Pop to R&B?

2009-02-16T01:40:00.000-08:00

A few months ago while going for a movie trip with Miu & friends, I was accidentally exposed to her ringtone. That didn't turn me into "The Hulk" though since it wasn't gamma radiation. However, I realized the song she played as a ringtone was "Endless Story" sang by Yuna Ito, a song taken from Nana the movie. I have to agree that it's a good sentimental song for a drama. Check it out!

She even had a duet with Celine Dion for the song "A World To Believe In".

Anyway, back to the topic. Recently, I was quite surpise that Yuna Ito actually switched her singing into R&B style. Her R&B song "Trust You" was featured in the anime "Gundam 00" as an ending song. With a mesmerizing melody and a dramatic voice, this song is just perfect! Try listening to it...

Well, the song is not release yet. The release would probably be around March 2009. Like every other past Gundam songs, I beleive this song would be the Japan's Top 10 Chart! Kudos, Yuna!