Warning: Wall of Texts

Earth Hour 2009

2009-03-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

Today is Earth Hour. This campaign was started by WWF to raise awareness about energy conservation on a global scale. Many countries around the world will be taking part in this annual event and so should you!

I didn't bother about last year's Earth Hour which is stupid because in these times of global warming we cannot afford not to change our habits and start thinking about our role in preserving this planet.

As someone who studied to become a journalist I feel like it's my responsibility to help people understand these issues. And I will start by cutting off the power supply in my apartment tonight...

No I'm joking. My whole building will skin me alive if that happened. But I will be asking them to join me in the global 'lights out' event at 8:30pm tonite.

Check out Earth Hour 2009, they're inviting people to blog and post videos about their experiences during the event.

Peace and remember to lights out tonite!

Fighting weird with weirder...

2009-03-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

A US firm is offering $5,000 (£3,450) for clues leading to the arrest of an arsonist who has been setting portable toilets on fire across San Francisco.

The Clorox Company is also offering a year's supply of toilet cleaning products in exchange for such tips.

More than two dozen toilets on San Francisco construction sites have been set on fire in the city in recent months, the Associated Press reports.

The cost of the damage has been estimated at $50,000.

The Clorox Company is sending out a team to advertise its offer to locals.

The patrol service is "a crappy job, but somebody's got to do it", joked a company spokesman.

Taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7956981.stm on March 23, 2009

Read this if you don't read...

2009-03-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

Reading this post makes me feel so embarressed to say I studied journalism. As a media student one would assume we automatically are book worms by nature. I mean it's almost a requirement given the nature of our profession.

But aside from books for assignments and select magazines I hardly do any leisure reading nowadays. What they say is true, in today's multi-media, multi-complex, multi-screwed-up world there are far too many things to occupy our time.

When I was young I was a real book worm. Mostly because there was nothing else to do. Well, there was sports but fuck that shit! Plus my mom really encouraged my pastime by bringing me to libraries and book rentals. But as I got older and videogames became a staple in my free time, reading took a backseat. It progressively deterioted from novels and Readers' Digest to newspapers and comic books.

Now reading a full fledged novel has become a chore. My attention span has deterioted thanks to technology. I sometimes miss my childhood when things had to be done the hard and slower way. Maybe because when we're young our concept of time flows slower and we have time to enjoy every single moment of it. Nowadays I turn on my computer screen and there's so much shit going on it makes me wanna scream and hide under my covers.

And this is why I don't drink cola...

2007-11-07T01:13:00.000-08:00

I was having dinner with my housemate in the living room when we heard a loud noise that sounded like something dropped. After a quick search around the kitchen it turns out that a can of Pepsi Max in the fridge had EXPLODED!

The damn thing was split apart and the shit inside was frozen, and it wasn't even put in the freezer! I think the timing couldn't be better as that bloody ice box was really in need of a good cleaning.

In case of emergency...

2007-10-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is a clip Jay Leno. A four-year old calls the police for help on his math homework!

2007-10-12T03:35:00.001-07:00

An unfortunate twist of events for someone else in my university has led me to be in possession of their iPod shuffle! I found it in lab during my class today. I held on to it and tried to stay back as long as I could in case the careless owner returned to claim it but no such luck. Well finders keepers I guess.

Not that I particularly fancy these gadgets, but I have to admit it looks pretty cool and unbelievably tiny~! Now all I need to do is figure out how to work this contraption or whachama-call-it. Anyone knows how to transfer files into this thingy?

Bye-bye Beyonce~!

2007-10-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

Haiyoh, not again. Why is it every time Malaysia makes international headlines it has to be because of something bad or embarrassing? I'm referring to the ban on Beyonce's planned concert in Stadium Putra:

http://www.bigpond.com/news/entertainment/content
/20071008/2053555.asp

Forget the whole moral protectors shit for once. Let's get real here for a moment people. Concerts bring in BIG money! It doesn't just involve the sponsors and advertisers, but also a huge network from other industries. Not to mention the amount of publicity it'll give our country. I mean come on, it's fuckin Beyonce for god's sake!

When Rain had his concert in KL not too long ago, we had fans pouring in from neighbouring countries and some far away as S. Korea too! From what I heard, some were crazy enough to get tickets for ALL his concerts and followed him to Singapore right after his KL performance.

Money people, money! Money which we'll never see coz some people are unable to accept that the world is a different place now and things don't work the way they use to anymore. Last I heard it was suppose to be Visit Malaysia 2007. So what's with these 'Closed minds, closed doors' policy all of a sudden?

Lazy, lazee, lazeee week...

2007-10-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

It's gonna be a busy week for me as I'm facing a landslide of assignment deadlines. And instead of working my ass off in the library for my Honours degree I end up doing what I do best: procrastinate.

Luckily I have my lovely house mates to see me throughout these troublesome times. And we offer each other support by procrastinating TOGETHER...

A visit to the National Gallery of Victoria...

2007-09-29T01:28:00.000-07:00

My post modernism lecturer email-ed me about an exhibition going on at the NGV. Since I had to come up with a travel piece for another course I figured why not kill two crows with one stone.

Even the layout and buildings of the place were artsy-fartsy. Most of the galleries featured work from post modernist and impressionist artists. Best of all most of it is free so hopefully I'll have another chance to visit again soon.

One piece on display caught my attention and I couldn't wait to share it with you people...

It's titled 'Nest' by Patricia Piccinini. I like the little guy. He's so cuuuuute~!

Seriously, do I give a fuck?

2007-09-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

Lately I've learned to loath the sound of MSN's message tones. Back in those days I would get very excited whenever I hear that tone. It meant an invitation from a buddy to start a meaningless conversation and a much welcomed break from the monotony of everyday online life.

Nowadays I dread the sound because it usually means a 'friend' has messaged to ask for a favor. Be it assistance for homework or a quick fix advice for petty personal problems. Last I checked, my names were Brendon, or Lee Weng Hong, or Lee Yoong Gang; NOT Wikipedia nor Big Bro and certainly not fuckin Oprah Winfrey!!!

People, put your retarded 5 gram brains on for a moment and think, why on earth would I bother to sacrifice my time to help you when I know very well that when it's time to return the favor I won't see a single fuckin shadow? You seriously think that I survived so far in this miserable world by being nice??? You cunt-suckers are truly as stupid as I thought! Do me a favor and stop reproducing. We got enough idiots to entertain us till the next century!

I suspect that the normal people who I use to have meaningless conversations with are going through the same thing. No wonder I don't see them online anymore, they're too busy trying to maintain their sanity thanks to you assholes~!!!

I couldn't have said it better myself...

2007-09-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Took this off Swanston Street in Melbourne. In front of a church of all places...

How to eat sushi...

2007-09-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Not sure if this video was really made with the intention of informing people about sushi eating etiquette. Depending on who made the video, it could be seen as a racist text or the Japanese poking fun at themselves.

Some parts are kinda funny thanks to the actors' comical facial expressions. I worry bout the authenticity of the translation though, they could be just writing subs in at random. Well, have a look for yourself...

In need of a reality check...

2007-09-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been experiencing sensations which I like to call the temporary displacement syndrome. I tend to wake in the morning feeling lost and anxious. It often takes a few seconds for my brain to switch on before I'm reminded that I'm actually living in another country.

I use to blame it on stress. But recently I'm beginning to think that it's the first signs of homesickness. It's a strange kind of feeling, kinda hard for me to put into words. I don't exactly miss KL that badly that I long to hop on the first plane back to Malaysia. Just that sometimes when I'm stressed out by those little inconsistencies life throws at us, I tend to be reminded of things back home which are familiar and comforting. Like my pets, and KFC...

Yes, one thing I've learned since coming to Australia: nothing can replaced KFC's Hot n' Spicy! If you ever want to experience food in Melbourne, never ever, EVER try their KFC! It sucks, Sucks, SUCKS!!

When sports and sex collide...

2007-07-10T04:33:00.000-07:00

My first few days in another country...

2007-07-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

I know it's pointless to complain, but for someone who has a low tolerance for any weather conditions below 20'c, I have to say it's bloody cold here! And when they said that Melbourne is a city which experiences 4 seasons in a day, they weren't kidding! Afternoons are the worst. Every time the wind blows, I swear they feel like icicles that are trying to tear my cloths off.

The food here is fantastic though. If you live on Western and Italian food, you'd be more than happy to die here! Asian food here is not bad either and come in a variety of styles and unlike Malaysian dishes come in bigger proportions. Much, much BIGGER proportions. One serving of fried rice here could easily feed 3 ppl back home. Thank God walking is my only mode of transportation around here or I'll have to start shopping for new pants soon.

I'm currently staying in a hotel and will be moving into an apartment this Friday. I personally can't wait to settle and start classes. It can get a bit lonely and boring during the nights. Anyways, enough talk. It's picture time...

This is airport. It didn't look very big and busy on the day I arrived. I almost got stranded here too thanks to my chauffeur, a Hungarian dude named John who forgot to pick me up...Thank God for this old dude Alan who was kind enough to make a call for me.

Victoria Hotel, currently where I'm staying. My room's kinda small, but quite cozy.

That's Flinder's St Train Station on the left and on the right is the first shopping mall I visited.

Enjoying the architecture of the building while enjoying my first meal in Australia, a roast chicken spud.

29 ways to know if you're Chinese

2007-07-03T03:27:00.000-07:00

Lifted this from a forwarded mail I got. It's so hilarious because it's so true!

1. You unwrap gifts very carefully, so you can save and reuse the wrapping (and especially those ribbons).

2. When there is a sale on toilet paper, you buy 100 rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has move out.

3. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times.

4. You save grocery bags, tin foil, and tin containers. You use the grocery bags to hold garbage.

5. You hate to waste food:
(a) Even if you're totally full, if someone says they're going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you'll finish them. (Or else your mom will give a lecture about starving kids in Africa)
(b) You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing.

6. You don't own any real Tupperware-only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, take out containers, and jam jars. (That's everyone's grandma right there)

7. You have a collection of miniature shampoo bottles that you take every time you stay in a hotel.

8. You wipe your plate and utensils or wash them in a small basin of hot water before you eat every time you go to a restaurant.

9. You own a rice cooker and a slow cooker.

10. You wash your rice at least 2-3 times before cooking it.

11. You fight (literally) over who pays the dinner bill.

12. You have a teacup with a cover on it.

13. If you're under age 20, you own a really expensive walkman if you're over 20, you own a really expensive camera.

14. You're a wok user.

15. You only make long distance calls after 7pm.

16. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached-it, means they're fresh.

17. You never call your parents just to say, "Hi."(Aiyah, never read no.15 meh? Long distance expensive mah)

18. If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they'll ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight.

19. Your parents tell you to boil herbs and stay in doors when you get sick. They also tell you not to eat fried foods or baked goods because such food are "heaty"? (yeet hay in Cantonese). (It's funny we still have yet to find an English equivalent for this term)

20. You e-mail your Chinese friends at work, even though you only sit 10 feet apart. (Nah, now we just use MSN)

21. You always cook too much. (Yes, grandma. We're talking bout you)

22. You eat every last grain of rice in your bowl, but don't eat the last piece of food on the table.

23. You starve yourself before going to "All You Can Eat" buffet.

24. You know someone who can get you a good deal on jewelry or electronics, computers.

25. You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it.

26. Your toothpaste tubes are all squeezed paper-thin.

27. You call a sausage a hotdog.

28. You wrap with napkins all the knives, spoons and forks of the airline that you fly on and put in your travel -bag as souvenirs...

29. You never forget to take with you all the unused bath and facial tissues when you check out from the hotel because you believe that you have for paid it all.

Unbelievable...

2007-07-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm baaaack. Whatever, anyways. Found this amusing article in the Star today (July 2, 2007). Whoever said that Asian women are submissive and timid...

Hunky customer triggers catfight

KUALA TERENGGANU: A man, who reportedly looked like a Bollywood actor, walked into a food court for a teh tarik and triggered a brawl among three women that left one woman scalded and another woman's T-shirt ripped open.

Several chairs and tables were damaged during the fight among the women at the outlet in Merega Beris in Kijal, Kemaman on Saturday.

The shocked man fled the scene.

It all began when the man walked in alone. Two women at two separate stalls immediately tried to get his attention and lure him over to their stalls.

When he stopped to speak with one of the women, her competitor, 21, became so incensed that she marched over to the woman, tore her T-shirt and accused her of being gatal and dressing seductively.

The other woman, 22, immediately grabbed a pan and splashed her attacker with hot water, scalding her.

The scalded woman's mother, 46, rushed to her daughter's aid, hurling chairs at her assailant, damaging tables and alarming the other customers, said state Deputy CID Chief Supt Khairi Ahrasa yesterday.

He said the scalded woman was now warded at the Kemaman Hospital.

Your guess is as good as mine as to which 'Bollywood hunk' said guy resembled. I'm sure PAS will have a circus of a day with this. Probably will launch a campaign to ban Bollywood films.

Major bitch fitting...

2007-03-07T02:36:00.000-08:00

Poor guy gets pissed on by the office printer. He then proceeds to vent his frustrations on the nearest appliance. Reminds me of the A4 ad where the office lady gets pissed off with the photostat machine and starts bashing it.

Ah Long dari Bukit Beruntung

2007-02-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

A friend forwarded this to me. It's some show from TV3, dunno which but it reminds me of 'Jangan Ketawa' back in the 90s. Watch it, it's damn ROTFL far-nee~!!!

Tadaima~!

2007-01-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

A strange turn of events has led to Rad's acquisition of a new laptop and me being the inheritor of his previous unit. The damn thing was in desperate need of repairs however which called for a trip to KL's IT capital aka Lau Yat plaza.

Braving the flood of ppl on a Saturday afternoon in that place is no joke. And totting around a broken laptop at the same time doesn't help either. After several mis-diagnosis from so called expert technicians it was discovered that Rad's old Twinhead was in need of a new hard disk. I settled for an 80gb Seagate hard disk which set me back around less than RM300. Not too bad considering that I was getting the rest of the laptop for free! (Thanks again Rad!)

As if it weren't bad enough that I was already spending money which I didn't have there just HAD to be special offers for 4gb thumbdrives for only freaking RM140!!! Chabou ru-ne~! And I just bought my 2gb one last year for RM180...

An update just to say I'm not dead, yet...

2007-01-10T01:31:00.000-08:00

My computer died, again! After countless repairs and formatting, my beloved PC processed its last byte and choked on that lonely Saturday morning. Due to the unfortunate fact that I was not born an emperor's son, I will not be replacing a new motherboard anytime soon and therefore might not update my blog so often.

As it is I'm already dying. Not only do have I lost access to cyberspace (literally my second virtual home), but I'm unable to listen to music and watch my downloaded movies and animes. That's bad considering that I spent 23 hours of my day in the room...

*Sigh* time to get off my lazy ass and get a job soon. But not until I get back from my trip to Sabah next week! Yee-haw~, 5 lovely days away from the shithole which is KL. Goodbye Twin Towers, hello Mt. Kinabalu!

Smart M'sians I never knew existed...

2006-12-24T06:32:00.000-08:00

With all the hoo-haa and nonsense about the negative effects blogs are creating for the 'peaceful' Malaysian society, it's nice to see some ppl using cyberspace creatively in a more positive way. Like these two individuals who used their blogs to keep in touch with their family members who are were effected by the monsoon floods recently.

Note to the Malaysian government: not all bloggers are future terrorist or hellbent on spreading seditious rumors. In fact, I suggest some of our ministers give blogging a try as well. Then at least if they still insist on complaining about they'd sound like they actually know what they're talking about.

Merry Christmas everyone and happy holidays for those not celebrating. Try not to drink too much eggnog and if you happen to see a fat old dude all dressed in red, run for your lives. He's probably drunk as well!

This should be fun to watch...

2006-12-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

The News Strait Times has announced today that the Education Ministry is allocating RM20 million for its sex education programme. They said that the amount was needed to provide training, campaigns and promotional items.

Last I checked, condoms did not come with a RM50 price tag. It's not like they will needing much of it anyways coz I highly doubt that it'll be distributed to the public let alone teenagers coz God knows they are the last people on earth who'll be needing protection.

Come to think of it, this RM20m sexcapade will not even make it's way to schools, sort of. Our education minister believes that the best way to teach kids about the birds and the bees is not directly by providing sex education as a staple subject in schools but rather to be incorporated into several subjects which range from biology, moral, and even languages. So what, are our 5 year-olds suppose to memorise the ABCs of sexual terms now?

I can just imagine it'll go something like this:

Teacher: Class, it's time to read the alphabets. All together now. A is for?

Students: ANAL!

Teacher: Good. B is for?

Students: BOOBIES!

Teacher: C is for?

Students: COCK!

Curious student: Teacher, teacher. But my mommy told me cock is a chicken la. What does chicken have to do with sex ah?

Teacher: Oh, look at the time. Class, recess!

I'm just shivering with anticipation on what they'll be saying about homosexuality and AIDS. I wonder if Nik Aziz is choking on his morning coffee at this very moment.

Reminiscing...

2006-12-16T05:39:00.000-08:00

I was going over some of my assignments from the first few semesters. The first thing that came to my mind after reading them was: "Damn, I'm good!". And the next thing I said to myself was: "How come I don't write like this anymore?". Which is true, considering how much time I actually spend writing nowadays. This blog can serve as a testament to my alarming affliction of writer's block.

Looking back, I can honestly say that my lecturers did a lot in terms of influencing my work. People like Natasha, Syireen, Lean, and Usha inspired me in their own different quirky and eccentric ways. These were the kind of lecturers who made me believe that I could achieve something and strive to be a better student. Then there were those whose only aim in life was to paralyze and demoralize every single student that ever crossed their paths. Many names come to mind, but top of my list is Iron-jawed pussy PD Selva, Sour Cream and Onions Irene, Justin 'Deepthroat' Victors. Well, Justin is okay now after he's seen what I'm really capable of. Before he was giving us shit and treating us like helpless puppies who can be tamed and trained. Nothing good can be said about his teaching, but going up against him was good training for my journalistic skills. Through him I learned how to be more rebellious strong willed in the face of chauvinistic and prejudistic nimwits.

Now I've graduated, I left wondering what did I ever achieve in Taylor's College. Aside from becoming more sarcastic and bitter, I've manage to cultivate a deep hatred for Malaysians in general and have a strong suspicion that the private education institutions in this country are nothing but money grubbing demons in disguise. And they're wondering why not one of us are planning to continue our degrees with them...

A little freaky but interesting game...

2006-12-09T02:53:00.000-08:00

If you're bored staring at the computer in office waiting to go home or just stuck at home coz of the constant rain, try out this little mathematical trick:

1) Start by choosing a number from 0-7
2) Multiply your chosen digit by 2
3) Add 5 to the total
4)Now multiply that by 50
5) If you've already celebrated your birthday this year add another 1756 to that amount, if not add 1755 instead.
6) Finally, subtract the total with your year of birth (eg, 1981). Your results should only give you 3 digits. The first digit is the one you picked in step 1, while the last two will be your age! (If your final result has only two digits, you most probably picked 0 in step 1)

Freaky huh? Apparently it only works for 2006. Go ahead, try it with your friends. Or better yet use it to impress the guy/girl that you fancy! :-p

Neurotic Nerd says: "Go watch 'The Host'! It's one of those rare and unique movies that's worth watching more than once. Easily one of the top 5 best movies of 2006!

If you're reading this, you could be charged for sedition!

2006-12-04T01:50:00.000-08:00

First they made us register our prepaid mobile numbers under the guise of a pre-emptive strike against terrorism, soon bloggers might be put through the same treatment. Yeah, you heard me, our government is planning some sort of blogging registration act. This time as a measure to to prevent 'disharmony and lies' among the Malaysian society.

While nothing is concrete yet at the moment, even the idea of such laws cast an unfavourably draconian light on our government, whose leaders recently claimed in a recent political party gathering that all Malaysians benefit from equal rights. Yeah, right. So why so antsy over a few para of words posted on the internet? Blogs are mediums for people to express their opinions and frustrations which they normally wouldn't be able to do in the real world setting for fear of being gunned down outside their homes when taking out the trash in the morning. And as a friend of mine put it, there's no smoke without fire. So you'd have to admit that some of the 'lies' out there hold some vestige of truth.

I suggest the authorities watch less reruns of X-files and put their conspiracy theory-laden minds to rest for now and concentrate on other more 'dangerous' net content. Such as child pornography and excessive cam whoring. Okay, I was kidding bout that last one. Cam whoring is the very fabric that holds together the blogging community. Coz we all REALLY need to know how different you look compared to last week.

Have cash, will travel to the ends of the universe...

2006-11-25T22:59:00.000-08:00

Korea’s 10 astronaut candidates, who passed the third round of tests, pose for a photograph late Thursday. Sitting fourth from left in the front row is the youngest contestant Park Ji-young, 23, and standing second from left in the rear row is the oldest competitor Lee Jin-young, 36.
Courtesy of the Ministry of Science and Technology

Taken from The Korea Times

I guess it was bound to happen. The two shortlisted Malaysians who are bound for the final frontier have yet to complete their training in Russia but hot on their heels another fellow Asian nation is already in the process of selecting their very own batch of wannabe cosmo-tourists. As you are reading this the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology has announced their shorlist of 10 candidates who will eventually be selected to be the first Korean cosmo-tourist. Yup, that's what I call it coz that's what it is. Cosmo tourism seems to be the trend among Asian countries these days. Seems like every nation worth its salt are willing to pay big moolah without batting an eyelid to send one or two of its citizens to float around in the vast emptiness of space.

Not since the Cold War during the 50s has the business of space exploration been so highly competitive. Back then it was a race between the colossuls of the United States and the former USSR. It was not only a competition to prove their mastery of space technology, but it was also a war of ideologies. The world back then was still recovering from the last war and neither side could afford to start another. And so they chose another arena to champion their own causes. In the vast emptiness of space, for all the world to see.

Now that that's over and done with. The big boys have come to the realization that in the their bid to be the best, they've footed quite a bill and burned up a motherload of their capital. It doesn't matter how much you can brag about how many primates you've sent into space. If you can't feed the citizens, there won't be anyone left to listen to your braggings and achievements. So having satisfied their curiosity of what lies beyond the rim, these guys come around and generously offer us a chance to whet our appetites to boldly go where no man has gone before. For a fee of course. And like rich spoilt children with nothing better to do but compete with each other for the sake of saving 'face', we were too eager to take the bait.

To be honest, I kind of expected this from Malaysia. We are after all the (in)famous for our lavish spending on architectual titans such as the Twin Towers, KLIA, and the whole of Sepang and Putrajaya. Add to that our overly optimistic but short-sighted 'Malaysia Boleh' attitude, spurred on by a pinch of kiasu-ism and it's no surprise really that we see ourselves yet again heading for the pages of the Malaysian Book of Records. This time for the most amount of money spent doing nothing! Unless of course, you consider playing a game of 'Batu Seremban' over a cuppa of homemade teh tarik whilst suspended in the dead of space a cause to raise the Jalur Gemilang proudly...It's not that M'sians are idiots (as much as I'd hate to admit it), it's just that we are mostly ignorant and fairly content to mull away in our own world. Some put it as 'minding our own business' as if it were a good thing. But I feel that it's just sad that we're not living up to our full potential just because we're too proud to admit our shortcomings and mistakes.

But then again, maybe I'm just being too negative. I should learn to be more Malaysian and adopt a more 'Malaysia Boleh' spirit. At least one good thing will come out of this. We'll finally unlock the secrets of making teh tarik in zero gravity!

Humanity? More like Dogmanity to me.

2006-10-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

Washington: A dog rescued a handicapped woman from the flames of her burning home, but its devotion cost it its life when it returned to save the family cat, local media reported on Tuesday.
Jesse, a Lebrador retriever and German shepard mix, dragged its owner Jamie Hanson, 49, to safty after a fire broke out in her Wisconsin home.
Before pulling Hanson to safety, Jesse brought her the prosthetic leg she has worn since an automobile accident three years ago and a telephone to call the fire department, the Sheboygan Press reported.
When the dog pulled its owner to the doorway, Hanson said she heard the cat cry and the dog ran upstairs to get the cat.
"I screamed and I screamed for her, but then I just heard her whine and then I didn't hear anymore," Hanson said at a press conference.
She had trained Jesse to assist her after she lost her leg.
Both Jesse and the cat it tried to save died in the blaze.

Taken from theSun, Oct 19, 2006

The Neurotic Nerd says:

It's ironic that humans can instill in animals a sense of humanity and carry out acts we would classify as 'kindness', yet we are the only creatures on earth that has forgotten our basic instinct to care for our own species.
Perhaps we SHOULD consider building more weapons of mass destruction and blow ourselves to smithereens before we cause the whole planet to implode upon itself and thus denying our four-legged friends' right to co-exist peacefully on this once green and lush earth.

- 人类是否是世界上最残忍的动物。。。？-

Fat nation or big fat lies?

2006-09-29T23:54:00.000-07:00

No doubt one of the hottest topic on every mamak-patrolling M'sians' mind right now is on how FAT we are. If you've been stuck on an island with no international roaming or wireless hi-fi and have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm referring to the frontpage of yesterday's News Strait Times: 'Fat Nation' (September 29, 2006):

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Friday/Frontpage/20060929080840/Article/index_html

So according to MySoN (Malaysian Shape of the Nation) survey, 54% of our adult population is overweight or obese, that's more than double compared to 10 years ago (24.1%)!

Hmm, now I have no doubt to the fact that M'sians in generally need to get off our butts more and be more active, practice better eating habits, and take more concern regarding health issues. However, to declare that more than half of our adult population as unhealthy, blobs of fat is a bit alarming. Think about it, if 50% of the adult population is overweight that would make every other person I meet on the street a porky pete or peggy! In other words, the next time you step into an LRT, let's say there are 200 ppl onboard, 100 of them will definitely be fat...I don't know bout you, but I find that fact (to borrow from the headlines of the NST) a bit too hard stomach. Quite frankly I find the findings of the survey to be a bit ridiculous!

If you read the article properly, it says that the survey was carried out over the course of 2 separate days...that's it. Two freaking days. And their sampling came from a total of 1,985 patients. Although they failed to mention where the patients came from or what ailments they suffered from. My guess is that most of them were admitted for health conditions that range from heart failure, diabetes, or just plain obesity. Now if you do a survey on a group of patients that are largely afflicted with above mentioned conditions, surely most of them would already have a history of obesity la! If not why do you think they have diabetes or heart problems? Duh!

I'm no expert, but if I were to conduct a research of this kind of magnitude I'd certainly spend more than a mere 2 days. And there are certain key factors that have to be considered such as urban versus rural, age group, range of income, etc. I wonder if any of the researchers ever considered where they were gonna get their samples or specifying the scope of their research before embarking on such a bold project. Frankly from a journalistic point of view I find the researchers' methology rather lacking and irresponsible. Perhaps if they made their findings available to the public to scrutinise I would be a bit more convinced. For now I smell a rat, a rather fat one at that.

However, all said and done the timing couldn't be more appropriate. What with the current shortage of sugar and Puasa month going on. Perhaps this article (however unreliable it is) could serve as a wake-up call to all M'sians out there to be a bit more health conscious and perhaps start practicing some moderation and self-restrain when it comes to their nasi lemaks, roti canais, and milo ais.

But honestly, I don't foresee any drastic changes. A turnaround in attitude for M'sians is likened to miracles of proportions equivalent of the parting of the Red Sea. And besides, a more health conscious nation would spell the inevitable doom for the mamak empire. And considering how much our local anes and Ramly burger abangs contribute to our yearly GDP, I don't see that happening anytime soon. For now, make mine kurang manis ane!

* On a side note. Did you know that above mentioned article was co-written by our very own Anita Glory of Journalism June '04 batch. Kudos to you Anita, you're one lucky gal!

2006-09-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

This was so amusing I thought I'd share it with all of you. I took this from the Star newspaper on Friday (September 15):

SHAMPOO THIEVES: Two men who pleaded guilty to stealing eight bottles of shampoo from a hypermarket got everyone at a a Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court wondering who the items were for - because they both had crew cuts. A court policeman later revealed that car wash attendent Nazrul Lezuddin Saman, 30, and factory worker Noor Azam Md kecik, 29, had their hair trimmed in the lock-up. They were jailed three months.

It's over...

2006-09-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

It's been an eventful 2 months for my final semester but it's finally over. In another 2 more months I will be (finally) graduating with a Diploma in Mass Communications. That is, if I can survive my internship...

But to be honest, this final semester didn't feel as 'heavy' as the previous ones. One glaringly obvious reason would be the lack of classes and exams. But the fact that I got a chance to go out and do some field work added some element of fun into my assignments. If working life were half this exciting then I wouldn't mind leaving behind the life of a college bum for now.

But of course I doubt it'd be that fun without my usual bunch of crazee~ friends. MSN and Friendster are no substitutes for the times we spent together laughing, bitching, and testing the limits of each others' patients!

Of course it is already expected that upon graduation ppl will move on and eventually lose contact with each other. It can't be help I guess. Reality of life forces us to grapple with issues revolving our family, work, and love life, to the extent that we are too overburdened to even think of keeping in touch. Let alone meet up for reunions.

I finally understand now the sentimental value of taking photos. They preserve the memories we are often too busy to remember, and reminds us of a time in our lives when we lived it to the fullest...

Random neurotic thoughts...

2006-07-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

If it takes 62 muscles to frown but only 26 to smile shouldn't we be wiping that smirk off our face? Why you may ask. Well, it's just a working theory of mind (actually just one of my random insane thought processes at work here) but if we frowned more and use more of our muscles, we'd be getting more exercise every day!

Think about it, the Health Ministry would have a ball putting a campaign like this together. Since they're constantly at their wits end trying to find ways to make M'sians a more active lot. They could call it 'Kempen Muka Masam' or 'Kempen Muka Cibai', though I doubt the last one would go very well on billboards and TV adverts...they could distribute badges of frowning smileys (an oxymoron, I know...) and use Najib's face on the campaign posters, coz that dude has one of the most unphotogenic expressions EVER.

The truth is 'Kempen Muka Cibai' has already been launched. In fact, it has been sucessfully implemented in the M'sian lifestyle and has become a part of our 'culture'. Yup, not smiling has become second nature to us all. The best example of KMC's success is when one walks into a government department to apply for those oh so important-but-impossible-to-obtain documents (Yes, NRD we're talking bout you!).

A few other worthy mentions include most but not all Maybank branches, Giant Hypermarkets, and just about every outlet in SgWang Plaza. Yup, these establishments are simply the best when it comes to practising good customer service cause we all know that NOT smiling makes perfect business sense...

So what are you waiting for ppl? Turn that smile upside down and lost a few pounds at the same time! And while you're at it move that lazy bum of yours to our ever VERY reliable and efficient National Registration Department to get your very own personal 'frowney' badges today! It'll only cost you RM5 for the badge, RM10 for the frowney sticker, and RM20 for the safety pin, that is if you manage to assemble it by yourself. Failing which you could ask for assistance from one of the LOVELY NRD staff who strangely always seem to have nothing to do except take 3 hour long lunch breaks and exchange muka cibais with you (of course). It'll cost you another RM50 for you to engage their services though, and another 6 months for the fully assembled badge to arrive at your house. Did I mention the postage charges as well? What, how else are the government gonna make money? I mean since they now can't charge a king's ransom for not having your IC on you they have to think of some other way to sustaing the countries economy right? Go figure.

*End neurotic and cynical thoughts

Yeah, right...

2006-07-16T00:05:00.000-07:00

You Are 44% Cynical

Yes, you are cynical, but more than anything, you're a realist.
You see what's screwed up in the world, but you also take time to remember what's right.

How Cynical Are You?

This is an outrage! Only 44% cynical? That's such an insult and pure nonsense. I've always seen myself as at least 70% cynical. Goes to show how reliable these tests really are. And if that's not cynical enough for anyone I dunno what is.

If my life is a circus...

2006-07-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

...then I must be the cheesy fortune teller, coz that's what everyone around me seems to take me for. I don't do tarot cards, I don't do feng shui, and I certainly don't have a freaking crystal ball on me! For fooks sake stop coming to me for advice! Just because I stay at home all the time and appear to be online 24/7 does not lead to the fact that I don't have a life.

Maybe it's the universe's sadistic way of telling me that being bestowed upon cosmic consciousness has its price. I don't know, sometime it feels like I'm the only one that is ever aware of what is really wrong with the world and the rest of humanity is content to wander around and enjoy in endless indulgence, gluttony, and other acts of pure stupidity.

But then again the universe has its own ways of sorting things out, so I guess there's really no point in fighting this. Perhaps I am destined to be everybody's fortune cookies. It just urks me juuuuuust a little that when advice comes their way with the most obvious solution, ppl then tend to find more and more creative ways to ignore it and repeat their mistakes...ignorance and insanity knows no bounds nor limits I guess.

At the very least I should get paid for this. Listening to other ppl's rant eventually takes a toll on one's psyche you know. Yes, I think I should set a booth complete with operating hours. I think I might be able to make a hefty sum, enough to buy me a one-way ticket to Korea and the heck away from this overgrown nut house!

*end rant*

Project DOA

2006-07-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

Just a little something I whipped up in the media hub. Took me 6 hours to finish up a 3 minute plus video...and Windows Movie Maker sucks!

My life has become like a carnivale...

2006-07-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those adventurous days which caused me to question my sanity and re-confirmed my long-standing resolve that staying at home and keeping to yourself is the best way to spend your holidays after all. No wait. 'Adventure' is much too mild of a word. 'A day at the circus' best describes my day. But then again, what would you expect when the Four Sistas of Taylor's College get together...

It all started when I was called back to college by Ishwar, who needed help editing some video he shot for Communication Day. Now I'm no genius when it comes to video editing but at least I know we need Windows Movie Maker 2 to do it. Something which our wonderful ICT department staffs have to knowledge of at all. One guy at the Papparazzi Pod, that's what they're calling the newsroom now (I know, what a horrendous name!) was just starting to configure the PCs there so we couldn't use that lab. And after a futile attempt to ask another intern at the information desk (who just gave us a blank face upon hearing Windows Maker Maker, gawd this is what we are paying thousands for...) I just decided to try the new media hub instead.

Unfortunately, after fiddling with the camera trying to transfer the data to the computer (which didn't even come with a memory card!!!), I accidentally deleted all of their hardwork...I'm telling you, these things should come with a manual. Oh wait, they do. The college just forgot to give it to us when they lent us the video cam...

So after much panicking and cussing we decided between re-shooting every scene and putting in a late night or cancelling the whole damn thing. We went for the easiest and less stressful choice so we scratched it so that Ishwar and the gang could concentrate on their play. Unfortunately some members of the crew were being difficult and childish and rehearsals had to be canceled as well.

Several phone calls and plenty of bitch fits later Ishwar was calm enough to follow me to Ridzuan to meet up with Radd and Nadeem, who was having a crisis of his own...I swear it was like a scene out of Sex in the City with the five of us (Yuvi, one of our juniors were present as well) discussing his love life. After much consoling and bad love song renditions (courtesy of Ishwar and Radd), I managed to convince everyone to teman me to Pyramid for a little hardware shopping.

After all the nonsense that we went through that day you'd think the heavens would have mercy on us and leave us alone but noooooo. We barely left Ridzuan area when Radd's car had a flat...

Question: How many gays does it take to change a flat tyre?
Answer: Click here to find out

And here's the freaky coincidental universe-works-in-mysterious-ways nonsense la. It had to happen at that spesific place and time where I would bump into my useless boyfriend, who hasn't called for 2 weeks and convienently passed by without even uttering a simple hello. 'Boyfriend'? Sorry, I mean EX-boyfriend.

Anyways, our bitching session continued at A&W at Pyramid and it escalated to mass cursing session. I pity the poor souls who've incured our wrath. But now that I think bad it wasn't so such a bad day after all. I got to spend time with my sisters and we all realised in our ways who our real friends are. And in the end I got what I wanted: a 2gb thumbdrive. And it only costs me RM180, which I think is kinda reasonable. What do you guys think?

Lazy lazeee dayz...

2006-07-03T01:02:00.000-07:00

Gomenasai minna! Despite the holidays and having a shitload of free time yours truly has not been updating his blog regularly has he? Well might as well, since I haven't been up to anything remotely exciting lately. Just enjoying every moment of my vacation, with only less than 2 weeks left (*screaaaaam~*).

I DO have something for my faithful readers today though (which probably only equals to less than the number of fingers I have!). Follow the link below to view pictures and movies I took on my trip to Pahang and Terengganu. Was gonna do a complete feature on my experience but I'm currently too busy downloading and watching anime...:p

I'm also working on several personal projects of my own which hopefully will be uploaded and posted on this blog soon. For now, enjoy!

Tantalizing East Coast

Uni SA degree program officially launced

2006-06-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Was in college yesterday for the Taylor's/ Uni SA degree program launch. It was quite a big deal I guess with big names from both sides present. The launch was held at the auditorium down in the Annexe. Usual launching stuff la, speech, speech, and more speech...

The highlight for me was the unveiling of the brand new 'media hub', a multimedia studio of sorts catered to communications students. The place formerly known as student services has been converted into a RM1 million canggih work station boasts the latest Apple G5 computers and separate project rooms for advertising and PR students.

The facilities seem promising for now, but in at the end of the day it really depends on the management to maintain and upgrade the facilities to cater the massive amount of students that are expected to enrol in the near future. Judging from the insane capitally driven marketing campaign that Taylor's has been embarking on for the past few months, I foresee a possible lack of resources to cater to ALL communication students, current and future ones as well.

But for now I'm looking forward to doing my degree in multimedia studies and can't wait to try my eager hands on those G5s. I just hope they got a fullproof network set up. Knowing the reliability of Taylor's ICT department, I'm starting to get a bit worried already, coz high speed internet connections are essential for downloading and sending those mega huge video files...

Starting over...

2006-06-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

*Sigh* It was very hard to accept but had to be done anyhow. My tagboard account was messing with the HTML codes and this made it impossible for me to make new posts. Was considering giving up the whole blogging thing for good but what the heck, a frest start could do me some good!

Yeah, yeah. So I haven't been updating for a looooong while you say. So sue me, I've been busy. Some ppl have better things to do with their lives than whine and rant bout every single aspect of their lives in cyberspace you know...

Okay, that was a lie. The truth is I got lazy. Which is a perfectly reasonable excuse considering that I'm on my semester break right now. Two frigging months to be exact (YAY~!). So what have I been up to lately? Aside from turning my whole sleep routine upside down and racking up my electricity and internet bills, not much...That plus I had a chance to do a bit of traveling across the east and west coast of M'sia.

But more on that later. For now revel in one of my mad random photo clicking moments. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my latest masterpiece in urban arts and culture; I call it: "Garbage and more garbage".

Hmm, a dustbin on a dustbin...how much more eco-friendly can you get?