Verdict: Low budget with great output. The director knows how to thrill people. Generally it's better than those ordinary scary movie in the market.
From the director of a short film PMS, Maurice knows how to thrill people with low budget.
I'm sure it will make people think twice to take underground train alone next time.
However, I'm not a great fan of scary movie so it's not really in my favour list.
Nevertheless, I thought the director did a good job with limited budget.
Rating: 6/10
It's been a year since you left us.
Everything is still pretty much the same, except that we can't manage to let you see our new house and yah, we bought a new car as well.
I still miss your food, a lot.
I still remember the moment when I heard the news, I had to wait till the meeting is over, and cried at the staircase (so that no one could see)
You know what, your grandson is getting married next year - hah, that's not me, it's Ah Boy.
Grandpa is doing fine as well, but he had two great fall this year - one when he was crossing the road, and one was in the bathroom recently - but still, he's fine.
I'm sure you're doing fine in another world as well.
And don't worry about us, we will surely be taking care of ourselves.
Verdict: A drama that's suitable for all age. Heartwarming, educational with great acting from the small little girl.
This drama tells a small actress, Sakurai, who's famous in Japan and had an unknown secret by the public - her mum is a famous actress as well.
The main actor, Kotaro, had to take care of Riko because her mum was going to Hollywood to try her luck.
Most of the story tells about the interaction between the adults and children - which is a useful and interesting information.
No, this drama is not boring as it's more than educational film.
More info
Rating: 8/10
Verdict: A drama that has big budget but unfortunately, the story is so unrealistic and made the actors acting unnaturally. Boring.
This drama wasted my time.
It was nice to watch during the first and two episodes because it's big budgeted and everything looks cool.
But well, and wtf, the hacker (main actor) can access to network anywhere (in the lift, deep in the building etc - and perform the hacking.
Plus, the deadly virus actually spread throughout the Tokyo actually - because one of the patient cleaned up his bleeding in the washing basin - so why is the terrorist still negotiating with the government?
Worst, the terrorist took away the virus bomb at the end of drama.
On the brighter side, I used 3x speed to watch in the Media Player Classic. This player is awesome.
More info
Rating: 3/10
Verdict: A drama that's funny but lost the momentum towards the end and had become not-so-funny
This drama is about a filthy rich lady with a very poor guy, who met and the story created during the "collision".
I played this drama using the 2x speed in the Media Player Classic.
More Info
Rating: 5/10
Tried it yesterday. The food is definitely better than Old Town cafe's.
Tried the Nasi Lemak and Cendol - yummy!
Am quite annoyed with the "Old-Town-utopia-or-whatever-lifestyle" advert lately so, all the best to Old Town, even though the credit must to go this successfully restaurant-chain in Malaysia.
Yeah, OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) revived John Lennon to feature in their ad.
Weird but creative in a way. (which will definitely increase public awareness)
Most importantly, I hope their laptop will sell.
Verdict: Predictable jokes but still funny anyway. A good, motivational movie for people at this hard time.
I don't need to tell much about this movie. The jokes are quite straight forward and most of the time, quite predictable.
But what matters is the message that the movie tries to give - if you could help people, it will help you back in a way.
Two scenes that I'll never forget:
i) Jim Carrey persuaded the guy not to suicide (the selection of Third Eye Blind's song is the best choice ever!)
ii) Using the Ducati to make the "fog scene" and its purpose.
Overall, it's good to have some laughs :)
Rating: 6.5/10
P/S: A reference to The Beatles was used in the movie "I've got blisters on my fingers!" is from the song Helter Skelter
Title: To Be Summarised
Music: 2008
Lyric: 2008
Short note: This is a song written on request of a friend, who lost the motivation in the job and even probably the faith.
I hope the song can summarise the friend's feeling at the moment.
Some description of the lyrics:
"When it's harvest time, I thought the time's just right.
Who would've thought the sun is bright, but it snowed at night."
-This refers to the good time during earlier of this year - and suddenly, it's the other way round in the quarter 4.
"Said you had the right to say goodbye."
- The "You" refers to confidence, the faith and the motivation.
"... the way to satisfy."
- It's hard to satisfy everybody, be it in the job, life etc
"Lord please give me the weight that balances the needs and what I want."
- There's a clear difference in needs and wants, so one may wanna relook at the "needs" when the "wants" is making him/her tired.
"I need to light up and seek in the dark."
- When one is down, it's like a restart - to seek for brighter side will need to start in the dark.
Download MP3
Lyric:
When it's harvest time, I thought the time's just right.
Who would've thought the sun is bright, but it snowed at night.
So I said,
Lord please show the light, the path, the way to satisfy.
Could you please
Grant me more than time to find myself & what's lost inside.
Said you had the right to say goodbye.
You left me surprised, and it's way too late to cry.
So I prayed
Lord please give me the weight that balances the needs and what I want.
I could have
Turned back, flashed back, chased back on the things I've lost and gained.
If I could have dreamed on what I could see,
I would be stronger than I am.
But now I am weak, as if I can't see,
I need to light up and seek in the dark.
It's my birthday today.
I was born 25/12/2000 in Oslo, Norway, soon after that I lost contact with my parents and was sent to Malaysia.
Then I was adopted about a year later @ Ikea Malaysia by Trevor.
I love to sleep. Lately I have developed interests in meditation and singing.
I have a brother who is just 2 years younger than me and lately I have a new friend called Emoody.
Verdict: TCP/IP Man is a martial art movie that is slightly different from the ordinary ones that satisfies you in terms of the action as well as storyline.
This movie is a true story, based on the commentary and consultancy of Ip Man's son - Ip Chun.
Ip Man (pronounced as eep-mun) is a movie that is combination of various things - nice cinematography, martial art doesn't go too violent (which is rare nowadays) and smooth storyline.
It also tells the difficulties that citizen of China suffered during the Japanese occupation.
Last but not least, I thought Donnie Yen successfully portrayed Ip Man, and was also the best candidate for that role.
Rating: 8/10
Music: 2001, 2008
Lyric: 2008
Short Note: This song is about a person who would like to leave the existing relationship. It's struggling and suffering as it's not an easy task to leave the comfort zone.
This song featured Francesco as a backing vocal in the chorus part.
Chorus part originally written 7 years ago.
This song is also partially inspired by Pachelbel's Canon in D.
Download MP3
Lyrics:
(Prelude)
When you told me that your heart breaks,
Don't you know that life goes on.
It'll be sunny after rain,
I'm gonna sing you a song tonight.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Would you stay the same?
Would you lie again?
I think I need more time,
To see the life that all went wrong.
Like the servant pray,
Would my soul be saved?
I think I'm lost inside,
I ought to face my inner fear.
I ain't got no faith,
If you could seal up the pain.
I am not as forgetful & pitiful.
I am not part of your game.
Say, say you'll never love me.
Say you'll never need me.
Say you'll never cheat me, oh yeah.
I pray, pray you'll never hurt me.
Pray that you will leave me.
Pray you'll never fake it, oh baby.
Nanana....
I think I need more time,
To see the life that all went wrong.
Music: 2008
Lyrics: 2008
Short Note: This is the song, intended to be sung by me and Francesco. The lyric doesn't really make sense - but well, it's just a... split personality person singing - so who cares?
Download
Lyrics:
I came thru all the hard way,
I can't wait but to move it on.
I can't get it out of my head,
Would it be right to stay?
I can't say who is my saint.
Wednesday got me laughing.
Thursday,I'm a foolish boy.
I can't share all your pain,
Would it be hard to pray?
I can't say who's my babe.
One fine day, Saturday,
Sunny day, I sailed away,
Seize the day, fade away
That's my way.
I'm a bear, but I will care,
I don't wear, but I will share,
I don't fight, I don't whine,
Like all the men.
Amazing new species in Greater Mekong's region
via BBC
Green pitviper
"Dragon millipede" (Desmoxytes purpurosea)
The Laotian rock rat (Laonastes aenigmamus)
Tree frog Chiromantis samkosensis
Gekko scientiadventura
This song is an experimental song. I'm not sure when I'll record that but given the "My Love Is You II" was quite ok, the formula will be quite the same.
First part will feature me singing, then second part being Francesco - hence the TREVor + francESCO = Trevesco.
Split personality? I think it's nearly there :P
Lyrics:
(Trevor)
I came thru all the hard way,
I can't wait but to move it on.
I can't get it out of my head,
Would it be right to stay?
I can't say who is my saint.
Wednesday got me laughing.
Thursday,I was a foolish boy.
I can't share all your pain,
Would it be hard to pray?
I can't say who's my babe.
(Francesco)
One fine day, Saturday,
Sunny day, I sailed away,
Seize the day, runaway
That's my way.
I'm a bear, I don't care,
I don't wear, I don't share,
I don't fight, I don't whine,
Like all the men.
This is the temporary title for an upcoming demo, which is partially based on Pachabel's Canon in D.
I can't think of a better title - the melody is a happy one but the lyric is obviously quite a blue.
Lyrics:
(Prelude)
When you told me that your heart breaks,
Don't you know that earth goes round.
It'll be sunny after rain,
I'm gonna sing you a song tonight.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Would you stay the same?
Would you lie again?
I think I need more time,
To see the life that all went wrong.
Like the servant pray,
Would my soul be saved?
I think I'm lost inside,
I ought to face my inner fear.
I ain't got no faith,
If you could seal up the pain.
I am not as forgetful & pitiful.
I am not part of your game.
Say, say you'll never love me.
Say you'll never need me.
Say you'll never cheat me, oh yeah.
I pray, pray you'll never hurt me.
Pray that you will leave me.
Pray you'll never fake it, oh baby.
Just after 3 months of release, Panasonic released the firmware upgrade for the camera, which will have the following fixes:
1. Compatibility update for the DMW-FL220 flash unit.
2. Improved auto white balance performance.
3. Improved auto focus performance.
http://panasonic.jp/support/
Nice.
Official Google Blog: Google Chrome (BETA)
Google Chrome is now out of beta phase - becoming the official final release of the version 1.0
But, I've to be frank, despite all the "fast startup, fast javascript, new features" - it all ended up "high system resource usage"
For a poor man like me, I can't afford to upgrade my PC just to use Google Chrome.
I'll stick with Firefox 3 - with Firefox 3.1 coming up, it will have the "exciting features" as well, such as private browsing (or you can say, porn browsing) mode, new javascript engine (which is similar to Google Chrome's V8 concept)
And i'm sure that it won't be as resource hungry as Google Chrome. (while giving a lot of plugins + customisation capabilities)
Verdict: A movie that tries to make it big- but still found itself in a B-movie category
First of all, this movie is kinda commercialised. Microsoft, LG, Citizen, Pioneer etc appeared in the movie - purposely, I guess there are few people who would miss it :)
Next, I guess Keanu Reeves should find a new acting role - maybe a role which he can act something sunny - I found him too much of the Neo's (in The Matrix) shadow.
I found myself amused a bit, by the "big scene" featured in the movie - big troops, the street cleared off to send the scientist(s) (oh yeah, how many roads were closed since there were more than 15 important scientists to be sent to the helicopter?)
Those "big scene" are just too unnecessary - we've seen it many times in other movies.
The alien couldn't stand the human, but was touched by the things done by human such as affection and the music by J.S Bach (!!! Goldberg Variations was featured in the film, classical music rules, eh?)
This movie is very much predictable, like those B-movie
Rating: 5/10
A young Chinese woman was left partially deaf following a passionate kiss from her boyfriend.
"The kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear."
This was what the doctor said - after diagnosing the problem.
Luckily the woman is expected to regain her hearing after 2 weeks.
So, don't suck too hard when you kiss.
via BBC
At last, I sing!
This song is composed by my master - Trevor. He made a demo earlier.
He decided to let me sing to see if I'm capable - and yes, who said bear can't sing?
Download MP3
Lyrics:
I can see you fading,
So I³ can't stay.
Like the angel, baby,
You shine³ the day.
Said it wasn't "Maybe",
Cos I³ can wait.
Just a little craving,
That drives³ me crazy.
You said it wasn't you,
My love is always true.
You said you had the proof,
But my love is you,
My heart & soul are with you.
Verdict: A funny and heartwarming cartoon that's suitable for everyone
It's refreshing to watch a cartoon that is not from Pixar (a guarantee in graphic effect and "wow" storyline) or Dreamworks (exaggerate characters with American jokes).
It's Disney - the creator of the cartoon classics such as Mickey Mouse.
The story tells about a dog which thought it had superpower - and had to face the reality while it and its friends find ways to his "home".
The movie is easy to understand. All you have to do is to sit down, relax, watch and laugh.
The weak side of this movie is that the animals are too smart to get their way from east US to west US - even human was unable to handle them.
But, this is a cartoon for everyone - you can't expect much :)
Me and my sister enjoyed the movie and had good laugh.
Rating: 8/10
Emoody on set, seat belt fasten by Colleen, picture taken by Trevor, content blogged by me - what a group work.
Hello my friends.
It's been a while since I last blogged.
I'm interested in meditation lately so I meditated most of the time and my head really went blank and dunno what to blog.
Luckily, with help from Colleen and Trevor, I'm here to remind you:
Starting 01/01/2009, all the passengers at the backseats MUST fasten their seat belts.
This is compulsory and please don't question.
Most importantly, this is for your own safety.
Title: Pencil
Agency (& City): la chose paris
What a way to show your passion towards Ikea - the overpriced-but-still-makes-me-buying-things-from-them store.
Title: Throw the Swedes Out - Bedroom
Agency (& City): Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann
Hehe, this ad is directly aiming at Ikea - smartly done :-)
Had some eat out session in Puchong, with my ex-colleague Justin on last Saturday.
Surprisingly, the food over there is affordable yet tasty!
We went to Caff restaurant (an Italian fusion restaurant) for the lunch.
We tried their signature pizza - Turkey Ham pizza (as pictured), 2 set of lunch - end up it cost only like RM6x++
Justin found the pizza not so nice as it has some mayo - while I find it ok, cos... maybe.. it's worth the price :P
Then we went to Low Yat (yah, for some reason, and all the way from Puchong) and back to Puchong empty handed...
We had our dinner at Bumbu Bali restaurant.
The Nasi Campur that has - one special satay, two dory fish fillet, some prawn, quite a number of squid, a chicken Rendang drumstick, acar, some chips, rice = Rm28++
It's worth the price and I tell you what, if you bring along your gf who doesn't eat that much, and order their nasi campur - prepare to eat 1.5+ set at the end of the day :)
Basically, a fruitful meet up and I'll definitely back to this restaurant next time.
Carol, Aileen and me.
Had a meet up with Yen Ling and Aileen last Thursday at Duck King, Jaya One, PJ.
Food was O.K. but given the price - this might be the last visit :P
It's nice to have a meet up with secondary school friends, of whom we had known each other for more than a decade, and went to UK for study almost in the same year, but in different location,
and most importantly, met up separately in London and Bristol.
Title: Music Pieces
Agency (& City): Fallon London
Sony had created itsjavascript:void(0) own style of advertising - it must be grand, big and outstanding.
This time, for the Walkman ad, it works - everybody is playing their own part to form a complete music.
And my dad likes it too ;)
Title: Truck
Agency (& City): MUW/Saatchi&Saatchi, Bratislava
A short but cute ad that could make you laugh :-)
Title: The Ideal Man
Agency (& City): DDB, Paris
This ad made me laughed.
It reminds me of a lady who wanted to look for a perfect man. :-)
Title: Birds Nest
Agency (& City): Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam
See how the birds celebrate the Beijing Olympic - in a coke way
Drumagog is a plug-in which automatically replaces acoustic drum tracks with
your choice of other samples.
You may read more about it here
At the same time, I came across the sample files uploaded in a forum. I thought it'd be faster to upload in rapidshare - so for the fans out there - there you go.
http://rapidshare.com/files/169386479/Gog_Files.part01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/169391478/Gog_Files.part02.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/169405186/Gog_Files.part03.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/169409837/Gog_Files.part04.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/169412469/Gog_Files.part05.rar
Title: Kelda / Arla, "Struggle"
Agency (& City): WatersWidgren\TBWA
I like the smooth editing of the ad. It's intelligent and that's what made the ad continuous and interesting.
For some section I had to watch a few times to understand it.
It's a heartwarming ad, I guess?
Verdict: Have some laugh even though you can't really get the logic.
Logic seldom appears in cartoon - that's what made it special.
That's the first thing you should not have when you watch cartoon.
This cartoon tells how a group of animals escaped the zoo and returned to Africa - and found themselves fell in love with it.
While the story isn't funny thru out the whole movie, but sometimes it still is.
Have some laugh, especially if you are stressed out of work :-)
Rating: 6/10
P/S: Of all the characters, I kinda like Julien. (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen - better known as Ali G or Borat)
I visit this restaurant like... once a month, at least.
Reason being it's the nearest restaurant to get the fresh Japaneses food.
However, not all the food in this restaurant are nice - some even think it's pricey.
I'll give a quick review. Red being recommended, and blue being "You may give it a try"
Sashimi - RM39.00
Thick-sliced and fresh - trust me, it's worth the price :)
Sushi set - RM31.00
Fresh sushi (two egg sushi were hidden behind the "leaf")
Shabu shabu (pork) - I forgot the price
Not salty as the Chinese steamboat - it's in kinda different league. Me and my sister like it.
Katsu Curry Rice + Miso soup - RM25.00
A typical Japanese curry rice - which tastes a bit like Maggie curry :-)
Spider roll (8 pieces in total) - RM31.00
The sushi at the side are so so
But the soft shell crab are up to standard and you'll definitely feel full after eating all 8 pieces. :)
I'd like to try just the soft shell crab next time.
Other things like Unagi set and Nanban chicken set are also worth the try.
Don't try the don (the rice in the stone bowl). I find udon so so, and the garlic fried rice a bit too salty
For the direction to this restaurant, you may refer to my previous post.
Overall, I'll give this restaurant a rating of 7.5/10
P/S: You may find the price expensive - but they don't charge govt tax + service charge :)
Epica Awards, an award ceremony for advertising will publish the finalists in the end of this month.
I recalled some of last year's finalists and picked some of the interesting videos - hope you'll enjoy :-)
Essay About the Future (Telenor 3G advert)
Small Engineer (Hydro advert)
No Backseat (SmartforTwo advert)
Verdict: A Bond movie that reminds you of the previous classics - but not enough to make a classic of its own
I thought of two movie-series when I watched this movie - Bourne series and previous Bond classics such as From Russia with Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Goldfinger (on how the Bond girl died) and Octopussy - but it isn't greater than any mentioned.
The movie didn't offer much twist, and the biggest let down is that Bond had very few gadgets to show off ("gadget" is one of a main reasons why I love Bond series) - but it's understandable since he's suspended from service.
Action wise, it was not as packed as Bourne Ultimatum, which I watched last year. The reason why I put the comparison was because both of them are caught in the situation where they had to act alone with not much or no gadget to use.
On the plus side, Daniel Craig shows a more realistic image of an agent - cruel, able to get hurt (previous Bond like Pierce Brosnan was like, too casual.. ) and ability to get emotional when needed.
Daniel had successfully made new group of Bond fans - given that Bond is already an old series.
The biggest challenge is how Daniel Craig et al can push Bond further, resuming Sean Connery's story (FYI, Casino Royale & Quantum of Solace is a reboot effort of Bond series, and it's like a prequel to the Bond series before Dr. No) with the momentum they have gained in Casino Royale and QoS.
Back to this movie itself, as a Bond fan, it's disappointed. But it is still worth a watch.
Rating: 6/10
Indirectly caused by Audi TT, I had to stay in server room for almost 12 hours since 12pm yesterday.
I had a break in the middle for my dinner and etc - but the last 6 hours was the max experience - 18.6 degree Celsius air temperature and with the air blowing straight to my face & body.
I guess won't go to Genting or Cameron Highland in near future.
If you didn't know, there's a Digi mobile advert on TV, which features Emily Chin.
In this week, two important events happened:
In case you don't know, my father is a photography enthusiast. Few days ago, I shared with him some of the photo we had taken, and he shared with me his comments.
1) Multi-Layered Photo
"This photo looks good. It has:
i) some branches & leaves to provide more layer for the picture
ii) cloud that doesn't make sky looking that blank
iii) forest included but not at major portion as you are shooting the mainly on the beach
iv) People included (click on the pic to see enlarged version) - to show the size of the beach
All in all, a multi-layered photo is good"
2) That 80's Popular Studio Effect
He saw these two photos, one with the blurred background, and another one with the clear backgorund.
Clear background
Blurred Background
Zoomed in-ed clear version
He mentioned that the blurred background like this, was a popular effect back in 80's. Some of the photographer even used the light bulb to create such effect.
3) Photo That Looks Like Painting
He saw this photo, taken by my sis, and mentioned that it's nice because it looks like a painting.
"In fact, photography is best when it looks artistic as painting, while painting is best when it looks realistic as photography"
Now, I think that's a quote of the day. :)
Thanks Papa.
For F1 Season 2008, I hope Lewis Hamilton will win.
He deserved it from every single percent of 100%.
All the best Hamilton!
Inspired by Pei Chen's panning shoot post, I played a bit with shutter speed earlier this morning... with the ceiling fan :-)
F7.1, 1/2 second, ISO 80
F2.0, 1/15 second, ISO 100
F2.0, 1/30 second, ISO 250
F2.0, 1/50 second, ISO 320
F2.0, 1/80 second, ISO 400
F2.0, 1/125 second, ISO 400
