Project Cornetto

With just one objective: "For the sake of fun"

It's too hard to chase the existing votes and etc.

At least my sis said "it sounds more fun than your that 7-11 slurpee video" (she was the 'videographer') :P

Quote of the Day

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
~William Shakespeare.

Random Thoughts

Just came back from a trip to Singapore.

Nice one - get to see some local stuff and the night views there were great.

However, this time, the feeling was quite different - compared to 3 years ago.

The impression is no longer the same - 3 years ago it was a country I wanna go.

But this time, I guess, partially contributed by the frequent outdoor activities I had last year, I felt the country is quite... boring.

If it's not the $$, I don't think I'd wanna go there to settle down.

We'll see how - ultimately, my goal for this year is to change the environment.

Video: Go Do (Bethnal Green Session)

'go do' from Jónsi on Vimeo.

"Cute & nice" is all I can say.

P/S: The guy who played piano is Nico Muhly, who did the string arrangement for the "Go" album.

Passport

Finally got my passport renewed yesterday - which also means - I haven't been out of country for more than 3 years.

This KIPPAS (the automatic renewal machine) didn't quite live up to the expectation - the 2 hours renewal promise. It is only applicable for applicants in morning session.

So still, the early bird got the worms.

On the brighter side, I got myself another half day leave, and got to taste a good roasted pork + char siew rice + nice chee cheong fun.

It isn't that bad, after all ;)

Toy Story 3: New Toys

Toy Story 1 & 2 had been my favorite cartoon - reason being Pixar put life into toys.

I wonder if it's one of the inspiration for me to 'put life' into Francesco, Emoody, Emoody Sr & Sebastian.

Anyway here are the new toys - we could only see them in three months time.

My Funniest Slurpee Video

Here's my entry for the contest.

If you like it, please vote @ http://bit.ly/MagicSlurpee

Thanks!

廣告

擁有穩定工作+經濟，

愛家又有潔癖的單身男生，

如果你覺得年齡不是問題，然后想認識對工作質素要求高的女生，

請聯絡我。

前提：交往時被沉不住氣，挑剔出局了，

勿怪我

MV: Devil's Spoke

Laura Marling 'Devils Spoke' from Ben Magahy on Vimeo.

A new found country singer from Britain.

Soothing voice.

MV - nice photography with cinematic feel.

Beck

While producing my entry for 7-11 contest, I recalled a song by Beck - dated about 14 years ago.

It's still very listenable - due to its 60s/70s -esque music style.

I like Devils Haircut because of the catchy chorus as well as Beck's 'cool acting' in the MV - a bit like 'don't care' or 'what the f*ck?' look:

Odelay "Devils Haircut" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Another song that I like from the album 'Odelay' - "New Pollution". The MV is really a random kind of thing:

Odelay "New Pollution" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon

Verdict: Dreamworks has successfully overtaken Disney's role as the 'family cartoon' creator

I started to think about memorable animation/cartoon releases by the two above-mentioned film creators- in the past two years

Disney has only one: Princess and the Frog
Dreamworks has two: Kungfu Panda & this one - How to Train Your Dragon

Even for Disney's - I'd say it's more for the kids - I like it cos it brings back the nostalgic feel of those Disney's classics.

Kungfu Panda was action packed and did a very good job of making a Chinese-feel animation - more like a fusion of Eastern and Western - and equally meaningful, too.

Now let's talk about this movie.

This is a fantasy movie, talking about dragons living in the Vikings era.

It is action packed - with loads of witty one line that's able to make both adults and kids laugh.

It is fun to watch - seeing different dragons with different 'functions' (a la Pokemon)

It gives positive/educational message - learn to understand a person(here it means dragon) before you determine that they are bad, learn to persevere, learn to accept that no one is perfect.

While being educational, this movie isn't cheesy (but the movie title is)

It gives room for imagination - a bit similar like Avatar but it's quite different (and ya, I started to think Avatar is more like a movie that's only visually stunning with cheesy love elements)

I enjoyed this movie even though it's slightly shorter than "Alice in Wonderland", which feels much draggier.

My only complain - the 3D isn't as good as Disney's (maybe Disney is going towards the 'effect' direction) and it feels way too easy for the boy to beat all the dragons (even though it showed how he learned those skills)

But well, it's the most exciting cartoon I've watched from Dreamworks since Kungfu Panda - I hope the next installment will be as good :)

P/S: I was surprised that Jónsi sang for the closing credit - it's good music

Rating: 9.5/10

Elements of a Good Movie

Found it from a Nokia's ad, voiced by Gary Oldman - thought it's good to share.

1. A catchy score
2. A spectacular location
3. Dramatic lighting
4. Compelling dialogue
5. Love
6. Conflict
7. Mystery
8. Drama
9. Witty one line
10. Special effect
11. A chase sequence
12. Clear direction
13. An underlying message
14. And a leading man/woman
15. And "Cut!"

Go - Medley

Jónsi made a medley of his debut album - Go.

So you can listen to the clips of the entire album's songs at one go.

Enjoy.

Movie Review: Confucius

Verdict: I've learned more about Confucius, in a more emotional way

So as we know, Confucius is a great person.

So this movie summarised his life, since he started working for one of the kingdoms.

The flow is ok, cinematography is good.
You can say it's an express education class (at least, this is what was intended for when it was filmed in China) BUT i've gotta admit, in the second half, the story started to feel draggy and there was more emotional moment.

All in all, it's a movie that's good to watch, but just like Alice in Wonderland - it won't give a big 'wow' and really help the community to really discuss about it after watching it.

Rating: 7/10

Trailer: Shrek Forever After

OMG, I can't stop laughing thru out the last minute of the trailer.

Question of the Day

I read a news on BBC.

"Marium Varinauskas, 28, tried to strike the officer on the head with his penis when she was called out to his flat"

Question is, HOW?!

Think

Earth Hour is around the corner.

Instead/On top of doing the 1 hour no light experience - it'd be more practical to think of how to avoid such a situation - which Tarzen has to suffer.

Another thing is on how to reduce the usage of plastic bags, I've been practicing something here.

Housekeeping

Did a little housekeeping.

Cleaner.

Things were well documented.

There's no harm to let go or let it stay.

So I choose to let go.

Target

55,555 visitors is what I aim for - by the end of this year.

Very crazy, I know (that's 35% on top of the current visitors count)

How I Submitted My Income Tax Assessment - Part 3

This is the last part of the guide - it is more for the future reference:

IN CASE you forgot to save a copy of the submitted e-BE form as well as Acknowledgment form - you can always:

1) Go back to the e-Filing website
2) Click "Print Form Acknowledgement", select the year of assessment, key in your IC no & password, then submit



3) You'll be able to print the particular year's submitted e-BE form as well as the Submission Acknowledgment form.


If you are not sure that you submitted the tax assessment for a particular year, you can always call IRB (phone# 1300-88-3010 ) and check it out.

Also, here are several guides on "How to Pay Less Personal Tax" (i.e. get more refund) here and here (thanks to TC)

Last but not least, a good news, IRB had improved the process - so the refund process will now take 14-30days (source: here, section#13, thanks to TC)

So the earlier you submit, the more chance you'll fall into the 14 days refund category, hopefully ;)

Album Review: Go

Verdict: Welcome to Jónsi's land of fantasy

1. "Go Do" – 4:41
2. "Animal Arithmetic" – 3:24
3. "Tornado" – 4:15
4. "Boy Lilikoi" – 4:30
5. "Sinking Friendships" – 4:42
6. "Kolniður" – 3:56
7. "Around Us" – 5:18
8. "Grow till Tall" – 5:21
9. "Hengilás" – 4:15

Song title in italic are my favorite tracks

This is a colourful album - mostly bright, with a hint of darkness to make this a complete album (i.e. there must be some darkness to amplify the existence of the brightness)

OK, enough of my weird theory.

Songs that immediately caught my attention are: Go Do, Animal Arithmetic, Boy Lilikoi, Around Us & Grow Till Tall (that's more than half of the album)

Samuli in the studio doing percussion for Jónsi's "Go" from Jónsi on Vimeo.

The production of the album is rather creative as well - see the clip above to see how Jónsi's boyfriend, Alex did the 'drum session'.

The use of strings give the album an overall cinematic feel - it does give additional children-like fantasy feel, too (another weird term)

Though Jónsi's attempt to sing in English still have room for improvement, but with his soothing falsetto voice - it is forgivable and I'd concentrate more on the melody instead. (that's the thing I normally do, btw)

Another slight complaint is that I think "Go Do" and "Boy Lilikoi" is overly long - but it is not a big issue here.

With just 9 tracks - I don't think this album ever tried to be a commercial album. (But again, what motivated Jónsi to write music? :P)

Lastly, you can write a children fantasy story, and use this album as the original soundtrack - it won't give much problem, at all.

Rating: 9/10

How I Submitted My Income Tax Assessment - Part 2

The form I had to select

Filling up e-Filing isn't that hard as it seems - all you need to do is to match the section with those info from your EA form.

Please take note, this guide is based on my EA form - there might be extra info that you'll need to input for your OWN e-BE form.
As a conclusion: This post serves as a basic idea on how to do the e-Filling - not the exact idea on how to.

Let's go thru section by section:

I) Particulars of Individual


In this section you can cross check if the info is current, from your EA form, update if necessary (click on the image to enlarge)


The relevant EA form section (click on the image to enlarge)

II) Statutory Income and Total Income


(click on the image to enlarge)

I only find two relevant info from my EA form -
1) The total income for "Employment" column in BE form
2) PCB for BE form (the column wording is confusing - "...SELF and HUSBAND / WIFE if joint assessment.." <- that's the column to fill in)

('Jumlah' means 'total' in Bahasa Malaysia)

3) Income of Preceding Years Not Declared

As I have none in my EA form, this section is skipped :-)



4) Deduction Claim
This is the most important section - where most of the people can get the tax return.

The only relevant info I found from my EA form is the KWSP/EPF amount.


For the rest, such as medical or/and life insurance - you can get the cover letter from the insurance agent.

Book, computer, medical checkup etc receipts are to be kept for 6 years in case of the inspection from IRB.


5) Rebate Claim / Tax Deduction / Tax Relief

I don't have anything to input hence this section is skipped :-)


6) Tax Summary
Calculation is done by e-Filing website - you'll know immediately on the amount returned/ or the amount you have to pay

If the info is correct, click "Save & Continue"


7) You'll reach the second last page - where you can save the (auto generated) PDF of the e-BE form that you'll just filled up.

Then, click on "Sign & Send"


8) This is the last page of e-Filing, before the submission. Check your info - if everything is correct, click on "Setuju". Note that after clicking this button, you can't amend any info anymore.


9) You'll see a small login screen that needs your credential again.

('Tandatangan' means 'Signature' & 'Batal' means 'Cancel' in Bahasa Malaysia)

10) You're done! Click on the "Save & Print Acknowledgment" button to save the (auto generated) PDF for your reference - to show that you've done your filing (in case of any inspection)



11) (OPTIONAL) Store your e-BE form & Acknowledgment form online
There is always a risk to store the files on your computer - chances are you might forget where you store or, if the Hard disk crashed - that's it.

So I chose Google Doc to store my document securely - yes you can upload the PDF and view it or download it again in the future.


File uploaded

P/S: Really have to give a big thanks to TC for providing the info and guidance!

Proceed to Part 3, HERE

Ilham

Macha, ilham 是不能rush的.
(4 languages in a sentence, 1Malaysia rocks)

Sounds in My Head

Sometimes, it's hard to write them out
Sometimes, it's hard to voice them out
Sometimes, it's hard to sing them out
Sometimes, it's hard to take them out

Sometimes, it's hard to play them out

How I Submitted My Income Tax Assessment - Part 1

I started using e-Filing last year, i.e. submitted the income tax assessment via an online service, provided by Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia - https://spsd.hasil.gov.my/pki

But this year, I found myself still having doubt while doing the filing.

This guide will serve as the guide for my next year's submission - in case I have doubt again, and it can also be a guide for a new/existing user.

1. Obtaining the Pin (First Time User)
For the first time user, who doesn't have the pin to access the website, you may request using the email template below (thanks to TC). My personal experience is that it will take less than a business day for IRB to respond to your request.


To: pin@hasil.gov.my
Subject: Permohonan nombor PIN SG XXXXXXXX-XX(0)
Message Body:

Dear Sir / Madam,

With reference to the above, I would like to apply for the pin number
to submit my tax return via e-filing.

Please find my details as follow for your attention and further action:-

i) Tax Reference Number

ii) Latest Address

iii)Copy of Identification Card (front and back) as attached

iv) Telephone Number

Your immediate attention and assistance is much appreciated.

Thank you.

The copy of your IC - if your phone camera is capable to do macro shot, it shouldn't be an issue for you to submit the copy (after simple cropping). I 'scanned' the IC of my parents using my handphone and didn't have issue to request the Pin.


2. First Time Login

Like what I just mentioned - in one business day I received the pin to access to the e-Filing website. The following is the example how I used the pin received in Gmail to logon to the e-Filing website.



i) Clicked on "View" to view the htm file attached in the email - it contains the registration info.



ii) The page you are about to view contains the e-Filing Pin No, use the following steps to register for e-Filing.


Pin Number to be used for the purpose of submission of Income Tax Return Form thru e-Filing

iii) Log on to e-Hasil website at https://e.hasil.gov.my.

iv) Click on First Time Login. Key in Pin No and Identification No to register your Digital Certificate

Example in Malay language page

v) You'll be directed to second page, fill up the necessary info.


vi) Confirm the info before you submit for registration.



vii) You should see the following page. Click on e-Form Login. Choose your form by clicking at Login button.


Proceed to Part 2, HERE

Jack Neo

Since everybody was/is commenting about it, so I might as well join the crowd.

I thought the fact that there were a lot of reactions from people was because:

Jack Neo had been producing movies about good moral/social value,
yet he had extra-marital affair.

Another example: People might have reacted the same, if a priest was caught molesting someone.

Random Shopping

My sis did the pin-pointing, I'm doing the cash-spending.

L'Occitane, here I come :D

Relationship

In fact, I felt that it is already hard for two persons to meet up in this world (thinking of, what is 2 person's % out of the whole world's population)

And it's even harder for two persons to be together and in a relationship (thinking of, what's the % of the success rate of two persons to be a couple)

And it is not necessarily for a couple to end up in a marriage (thinking of, what's the % of my friends' relationship that had eventually ended up in marriage)

And a marriage might not be ended up in happy ending (thinking of, the frequent divorce cases we've seen in the news, especially for those artists etc, and some of the people who married because the girl is pregnant)

So I felt that, when you are in a relationship, please put the effort wholeheartedly - you may have better things to do, but if you don't have the intention to maintain it well, have you even thought about the other party - he/she has the right to have better things to do, as well?

And safe sex too, please.

Video: Kings & Queens

OK, it's rather old MV but after listened to it again from the Legend of the Guardians (I still think it's a funny movie), I browsed and found the MV - sounds and looks grand.

Trailer: Legend of the Guardians

Legend of the Guardians trailer from Christina K on Vimeo.

Don't ask me why - but at the scene where the big owl appeared - I laughed my ass off. (maybe it was intended to be, accompanied by the song "Kings and Queens")

I re-watched a couple of times - still can't help myself.

But ya, I think I'm gonna watch this movie - looks nice, and it's from a good director Zack Snyder.

Friend

So my friend was featured on a magazine.

She's my first friend who's featured on a magazine.

Yes she's a videographer.

If you need a videographer for wedding - please get the contact from me.

Below is one of her works:

Video: Go Do

Go Do from Arni & Kinski on Vimeo.

From the leader singer of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós - "Jónsi" Þór Birgisson, yes, this is his debut solo album, and the first impression was nice!

This song definitely cheered up my day!

Ad Day#29.8: Surrealism - Pendrive

Good depiction of how Sandisk's pendrive can store huuuuuuuuge information.

Simple and met the purpose :)

Ad Day#29.7: Surrealism - Ski Van

Not applicable for Malaysia - but maybe applicable for wet roads?

Ad Day#29.6: Surrealism - Lonely Not

That's a good way to tell people to 'socialise more'

Ad Day#29.5: Surrealism - The Magic Hole

Need me to say more? With Polo - the mint with a hole - it'll be cool and refreshing.

Nice use of the hole ;)

Ad Day#29.4: Surrealism - HP Mini

Steam -> Train


One of child's toy - Telephone


Franklin's kite test -> Electricity

I seriously like the HP Mini's latest ad:
Presentation - of those simple but a bit retro style
Tag line - Great Ideas Start Mini

And of course, how it links those great invention with the small things/test in the first place.