So my friend was having time of life in Singapore. Sentosa it is.

I've lost track of movies I had watched recently - to clear those off my head.. here they are:

Title: Taken 2
Verdict: If Taken 1 made you "interested to find out how it will end", Taken 2 will make you "interested to know if the movie ends now"

Rating: 3.5/10


Title: The Expendables 2
Verdict: Action-packed. If you ignore the logic 'how can this happen?' this movie is a total joy, comically, to watch.

Rating: 7.5/10

Title: The Darkest Hour
Verdict: The movie is flawed, but still ok to kill time

Rating: 5.5/10


Title: The Raid: Redemption

Verdict: Much gorier than Dredd 3D (FYI, Dredd's script appeared years before this movie, but somehow, this movie was released before Dredd, and hence a lot of people thought Dredd 3D copied from this film, which is actually the other way round)

But the pace, the action etc - is easily the best South East Asia film this year.

Rating: 8/10

Title: RED
Verdict: Another action movie that doesn't quite kill your brain cells. But witty lines and smooth story telling made it fun to watch

Rating: 7.5/10

Title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Verdict: (finally had a chance to watch this film) Interesting story with some silly moments that can cheer you up.

Rating: 7/10

So that's how the society is, nowadays.

Every year or every 6 months, you will get new (gadget) product release that sometimes confuses the consumers on what to buy (with introduction of Windows Phone 8 series, this statement will be even more valid)

With refreshing Facebook page as the hourly routine task, sometimes I wonder if that is necessary.

It's good to keep in touch with the people - knowing what they are up to, what's the new thing happening in town.

Also, an example of information overload, is that whenever a major event happens (be it disaster, civil war, president campaign, Euro crisis), you will see or hear many analysts giving their opinions non stop on CNN or other news channel.

They all look interesting at first, but after a several cycle, you will see that they are quite repetitive, and most importantly, their opinions won't really change the situation..

Come to think about it, I realized I had neglected self-improvement, that really matters.

All is not lost though - the FB+Gadget generation is the active user/participants of crowdsourcing. It's powerful & effective - recent example being PSY's Gangnam Style: FB & YouTube were the effective tool in crowdsourcing, the MV gained so much attention and generated many parodies, that even the singer PSY himself didn't expect all these for.

So,
(Information + Gadget) x (filtered for 'just enough' usage) = Powerful Knowledge
(Information + Gadget) x cool factor = Powerful Advertising

To be frank, leaving a team of great people doesn't make me feel good.

But as a friend told me, you do what you think, and you deserve it.

So yes, I'm responsible for my choice, and since I've decided, I should be act responsibly.

"Science is not just about using the brain to make things better, it needs the heart. There's no bad things or good things created using science - it is how you use it that makes it good or bad"

Verdict: Felt like visited Silent Hill once again, straight forward story line that didn't kill my brain cell.

So 5 years after I watched the first installment, this gave me similar but somewhat duller experience.

Characters were almost the same, except for that spider that kinda impressed me (with the concept)

Cheap scares were there, of course.

This movie somehow made me felt like - we were following Sharon's "hallucination", probably caused by drugs.

What benefited the most, could have been my heart - which pumped at a higher rate at some scary scenes, and also the cheap scare scenes.

Rating: 4.5/10

Verdict: Given that this is an impossible character in real life, this movie still played with the bear naturally, and managed to make some senses.

I guess most of us had childhood toy. Well to be frank, I don't quite have any childhood toy that I was extremely obsessed with. And strangely, I have a "manhood toy" that has been with me for 12 years - Francesco. (a reader of this blog once said Francesco is the reason that reduced my manhood-ness, which I had to both agree and disagree)

So this is how the story started - the boy wished that the teddy bear will be brought to life, and the wish was realized.

The reason why I said it is an impossible character in real life is because - this bear swears, take drugs, drinks beer, is a supervisor in a supermarket, has a girlfriend, and it can have sex with girlfriend (with the aid of dildo etc)

Somehow, this movie reminds the inner kiddie side of mine - yes sometimes there are times that we wish we could stay innocent or didn't grow, but we just can't.

While I'm not happy with censorship board on censoring some scenes, this movie still made me happy.

It's fun to watch, anyway.

Rating: 7/10

I talked to a friend earlier. My friend didn't believe that our votes can change the future of this country.

That's sad.

My friend added that either opposition or current regime would do the same.

However, my friend admitted that the story is different for Penang.

So I shared the story about Penang - I told the summary of my relatives' awe & shock in Penang, after the last election:

"They didn't like the previous state government (under Gerakan, a BN alliance), so they just vote for opposition - which they didn't plan out together, it was an individual's will. In the end, they were all surprised that they made the change, and Penang is a better state now"

It is the same for Selangor, which, along with Penang, are among the richest states in Malaysia, albeit lack of natural resources compared to poorest states such as Sabah & Sarawak.

So really, the reason we have election, is to vote for change - if you do not have confidence with the current government. It happens every 5 years, you get the chance to choose the better candidate to run the country, if the current screws up - examples shown in many countries around the world, 5 years can't be screwed that bad, if really screwed.

It's the same as you changing the phone - If one day iPhone has become sucks, you have other options such as Android or Windows Phone.

Phone nowadays has yearly (or shorter) update, though ;)

Verdict: Though occasion cheap scare, the movie still delivers some fresh scary moments.

I hate cheap scare. But apart from some (un)predictable loud bangs that scare you (who wouldn't), this movie, which started slowly, still delivers.

This movie talks about a crime novelist, moved into a house with his family, but it was a house which a family was mysteriously murdered few months ago.

What made this movie a bit different from other super natural movies is that, it at least gave some explanation on the theories - especially on the noises in the house.

I thought the ending is somewhat similar like Looper - simple and original.

Unfortunately, the movie trailer had revealed 50% of the scary moments. (so, don't watch the trailer!)

I look at this movie with different view - the movie is actually a horror story book that the novelist managed to finish.

Rating: 7.5/10

As a follow up to the first video I edited two months ago, here it is.

It was supposed to be completed as an anniversary gift to the couple, but thanks to Carrot Fantasy, this video is one week late.

So, congrats again.

So today there are two things I came across about space:

First was there's a planet, called PH1, 5000 light years away from Earth, is orbiting on a twin sun, which have a pair of sun revolving that twin suns.

Four freaking suns for that planet.

The ISS "Stacks" from Christoph Malin on Vimeo.

Now this video looks much more interesting than the ad itself.

The crash test and the keyboard (cum cover) are the biggest take away ;)

I have a feeling that Tim Cook is starting to feel the threat, really.

Looks like iPad has another serious contender, after Nexus 7.

There were naysayers about his jump, claiming that the money spent didn't produce breakthrough results such as fighting cancer or AIDS etc.

But those people forgot that - it is the spirit of trying the impossible that gave us aeroplane, car or even handphone - that none of us thought possible few hundred years ago.

For a man who had done more than 2500 jumps and this time:

Jumping off at 128,100 feet, 'flying' down at speed of 1,342.8 km/h or 834.4 mph(Mach 1.24) -- that is definitely not something those naysayers can do in just few years

While I am OK with how Microsoft trying to create the 'fun factor' with the Surface tablet ad,

I am more impressed with the VW Golf done by DDB 4 years ago

Similar idea, big difference :)

Actually, this is more like a compilation of the chillout songs in the past decade or two.

Nevertheless, it is easy on your ears.

P/S: Some of the featured songs were featured again, with different edit

It's been a while since I last wrote something. Finally, I've finalised the lyrics, after 3 years.

Hoping to get the demo done soon, but just too many things to explore now!

Music: 2009-2012
Lyrics: 2009-2012

Lyrics:
I was on setting sun,
What had I done last night?

Another kind of crime,
My soul is purified.
--------------------------------------
I opened a door inside,
I was locked from outside.

The sun will shine in blind,
That’s when the moon will rise.

I'm all alone,
I'm feeling high.

I'm all alone,
I'm feeling high.

 
The lyrics doesn't describe how I feel (AT ALL) but the melody is.

Random, unknown, unsure, unfamiliar but to be frank, reluctant.

You guys are great people.

To be frank I felt disappointed with Quantum of Solace, I just read again my review earlier, and my memory still feel the same as I wrote.

Now what attracted me on the next installment, was Adele's Bond theme song - emotional, grand and cool, reflected James Bond's state of mind in Casino Royale & Quantum of Solace - and the movie trailer.

Of course, this time I hope to see more destinations & gadgets - which is the very reason why I particularly love the James Bond series from 60's, which I saw innovative gadgets that I still feel awesome today.

So let the Skyfall. And it will fall before Mayan predicted it :P

Sometimes that's how electronic music works - transforming a song into something with totally different feel.

Below is the original track:

Lately I found a fake bear. I'll talk more in the next post.

Meanwhile, the photo = Colleen and I.

Finally completed all levels this morning 130am.

Life becomes normal, once again

Since he had apologized and suggested for alternative - OK, that's quite a brave move, it needs hell a lot of courage to admit a mistake for a big corporation.

But how to move forward? Just a quick background, Apple Maps uses GPS data from TomTom. Based on those data, it does its own mapping.

At the same time, TomTom sells GPS app too, on App Store. If you would like to purchase, it cost at least 60USD PER REGION.

Further research on Google, you will find that TomTom is a company that is on par with Garmin, which both make good GPS gadget.

The situation that most users wanted: Apple to put the Google Maps back on the iOS.

But by doing so, users will lose confidence on Apple Maps totally - even though it gets perfected next time.

Again, how Apple Maps will get perfected, is by users' input (crowd-sourcing).

Now Apple is stuck to get to that point, because users simply will try other alternatives.

One of the options, is to buy TomTom, the company.

Yes. To own TomTom.

Then, make those TomTom GPS apps -> Apple Maps.

They will instantly get the experts in making GPS + app.

If Apple wants to be kind to users who purchased TomTom GPS apps - well, Apple can refund by giving the iTunes/App Store credit, which users can spend again on other stuff.

Apple has more cash reserves than government of USA.

This shouldn't be hard to quickly gain the confidence, again.

Exactly why I'm still awake

Recently, BFM has been playing the original version - previously I thought it was a song by Counting Crows :-/

Joni's version is clearly better, and the lyrics, surprisingly, still applicable for the world now.

Save our earth, let's do it since this song has been wooing since 42 years ago?

There are a lot more theories in the movie, which kept the movie busy in that almost 2 hours.

Towards the end, I believe the film pays tribute to the kid in "The Omen", too.

Perhaps I was tired (I caught a midnite show), I felt information overloaded towards the middle of the film.

But nevermind, towards the end, everything is crystal clear - and really, it is easier to understand than Inception.

Another slight disappointment, was that in year 2044, many things still look pretty much the same: but perhaps, the whole point of the movie is not the set up, but the characters and the story.

With a combination of time-traveling, sci-fi and a bit of 'paranormal activities',  this movie delivers and most importantly, I thought it had a good ending.

Rating: 8.5/10
P/S: In case you wonder, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's 'botox face' in the movie is due to the make up, in order to look like Bruce Willis :)