Weekend Bites!

The Hobbit screening

Don't laugh. Yes, I finally watched it. I admit to being one of those fans who didn't see the need for it to be stretched to three parts, but it's no doubt a very beautiful movie. 

The only problem was throughout the show I kept imagining Bilbo Baggins on a journey not with 12 dwarves to regain their homeland, but with 4 other mates touring pubs across Middle-Earth. That's because Martin Freeman is in The World's End, of which I've already watched the trailer. Well, I only have myself to blame.

What? We're in the wrong movie?

Mom & Baby Expo at MidValley

So somehow I made it to this expo on Sunday after a pathetic attempt at weaseling myself out of going. I think Raudha saw right through me on this time around, but I guess it was Mother's Day so I relented.

As expected, the place was packed. Most of my energy was spent managing Zharif so he didn't get too attached to any of those display toys that the booth folk strategically placed within my kid's reach. Fortunately the only thing he got attached to was the free Enfa milk being given out. I believe he ended up downing 5 cups.

I still get uncomfortable standing around the booths while women around me are checking out nursing bras.

And of course, it's always fascinating to see that no matter how tired pregnant ladies might get, give them a reason to shop (especially involving their kids) and even the ones that could literally pop any time will be motoring along from stall to stall happily, lasting longer than the Energizer bunny.

The husbands, on the other hand, let's just say that at one point, I just sat on the floor to wait.

My dad on Facebook

Don't you find it disconcerting when you see your dad becoming more and more active on Facebook? I still do ha ha... Recently my dad became friends with someone called Bobo Sparklink. I was afraid of asking, but I did check online and I'm just relieved it's not the Bobo from that Sayang parody song, otherwise I'd be really worried....

Speaking of which, I hear he signed a contract with Metrowealth last week (Bobo that is, not my dad). Fair play and congratulations. I am curious to know what exactly he'll be doing, I'm sure you are too.

Richard Branson - Stewardess extraordinaire

So he finally honoured his bet. I'm quite impressed to be honest, I thought he might have wimped out. Oh well, the fun that rich people can do and get away with...

All the proceeds went to charity, so that's cool too.

I'm not posting any pictures due to copyright, but if you see what I've seen, do your best not to stab your eyes out ha ha... And Richard, don't give up your day job.

The Man That Just Stood There...

It was not too long ago

I walked towards Dang Wangi

The first time that I saw this man

The focus of this story.

On Jalan Sultan Ismail

A man in waiting mode

Doesn’t look poor, doesn’t look rich

Just standing by the road.

Not sad but neither does he smile

No emotion on his face

All he does is look and wait

He just stays in his place.

I find out from my work-lunch mates

He’s always there you know

But I tell them that can’t be right

Surely he’s got somewhere to go.

Yet every time I take that route

That area’s where he’ll be

Sometimes he sits, sometimes he stands

He’s always there, you’ll see.

Sometimes he looks at the monorail

Sometimes he looks at the sky

I wonder what he’s waiting for

There must be a reason why

I hope that I’ll be brave one day

And ask him what’s his story

Maybe that’s all he really wants

To know that people worry.

But till that day I’ll speculate

Maybe write a tale or two

Of who he is and why he’s there

With not a word that’s true.

So if you’re ever in KL

Take a look but please don’t stare

Underneath the Bukit Nanas monorail

The man that just stood there…

Tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson

The day Manchester United fans have been dreading is finally upon them.

Sir Alex Ferguson will retire at the end of the 2012/2013 season in May.

Speaking as a Liverpool fan myself, Sir Alex Ferguson (SAF) has been a worthy adversary. Manchester United have been tremendous in his time there, success after success, and overtaking Liverpool's league record in the process. He is a living legend in his own right

However, for MU, life must go on, and apparently in the next few days they will announce his successor. Whoever that is (popular rumour says it's Moyes) will have big shoes to fill.

But that was always going to be the case for anyone replacing a successful manager. What makes it even worse for the incoming manager though is that SAF will remain on as a director and ambassador, which brings the question of whether the new guy will be able to handle both the pressure of replacing SAF as well as dealing with the fact that SAF will be there at Old Trafford, watching his every move closely. And even if immediate success does come his way, people will question whether it's really because of him or because of SAF pulling the strings in the background.

Whatever happens, Manchester United will miss SAF dearly. Will they be able to continue their success without him? We shall see....

World's End trailer

Finally, the trailer for the last movie in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy:



Looking forward to it, even though a couple of scenes appear to be a rehash from the earlier two movies.

Winchester, anyone?

Ender's Game is coming!

I'm not sure how I managed to miss this in my movie post a few days ago, but I did, and the fanboy in me is finding it hard to forgive this slight. Apologies regardless! Coming out November 1st 2013:

Ender's Game

Despite it being one of my favourite Sci-Fi books of all time, I must admit to being quite late to the party. I had read so many others, Silverberg, Gibson, Phillip K Dick, Niven, Clarke and Herbert before arriving at Orson Scott Card’s masterpiece. Better late than never, it was an amazing read.

This book is NOT easy to translate on to the big screen, and I’m sure many fans would agree with me. The main focus of the book is on children, and therein lies the risk, as the story is no more a children’s story than Dune is. And, of course, it is inevitable that parallel lines will be drawn with movies like the Harry Potter series. (God forbid!)  In fact, the way I look at it, Ender’s Game reads a lot more like a psychological thriller than a Sci-Fi book.  

I hope they translate it well. I recommend that those of you interested but have not read the book should read it first.

‘Till November 1^st !!!

Weekend Bites: General Election Edition

So we Malaysians had our national elections on Sunday.  I’m no political scientist, so don’t expect any deep, thought-provoking analysis. I did follow it quite a bit though so here’s my own selected observations on the event: 

Great increase in voter turnout

I was very proud to see Malaysia turn out in vast numbers to vote. Credit to all parties from either side of the divide for working hard to bring them out. I hope we get a similar turnout next time around as well. I approached a few voters for their thoughts early in the day and they were all happy to talk. Maybe wearing this t-shirt helped :p

                                               

Karim Raslan shines at Astro Awani

As expected, most of the mainstream media supposed ‘political analysts’ were pretty much chickenshit in their commentary. One fascinating exception was Mr Karim Raslan. A breath of fresh air, he praised either side when he felt they deserved the praise, he was very forthright in his criticism of EC, very forthright in his criticism of Awani itself for not being up to date and being late at reporting results, especially those where the opposition had won, when the results were streaming in from other media channels. He also applauded Malaysia’s voters for rejecting some of the extremists that contested, which brings me to: 

Rejection of Ibrahim Ali and Zulkifli Noordin

These two have been an embarrassment to most of Malaysia as a whole, so I was thrilled and relieved to hear of their losses in their respective constituency.  For me, this is the best election news I’ve heard. Feel free to disband Perkasa, although I sadly know it’s not gonna happen. But thank you to the majority of Shah Alam and Pasir Mas voters, I salute you! Having said that:

Racism is still alive and well, sadly

Malaysia still has a long way to go. I’ve seen too many Facebook threads full of hateful racist remarks. Be Malaysian first, people!

Gerakan considered irrelevant?

A lot of news has focused on MCA’s failure, but what about this BN component party? Teng, the BN Penang Chief has rightfully resigned from all posts, assuming the responsibility for Gerakan’s failure to perform, but after an even poorer performance than last time, does Gerakan have any real reason to continue existing? I just don’t see it.

So much for the Independents

I mean seriously. There are candidates who ended up with less than a 100. TWENTY ONE was the lowest I’ve seen. Were they deluded? Or were they fooled by their followers into believing they had a chance? It’s all well and good to want to represent your people but you need to seriously find out whether there are enough people who want you. Sure you don’t care about losing the money but what about your credibility as a person? Oh, for those leaving your party to run as an independent? Nice try. but no cigar.



So there you have it. Make of it what you will. Life goes on... make it a good one!

Movies to watch in the Cinema for 2013

Right now, Iron Man 3 is out. Raudha has been dropping a few hints insisting we watch it. I’m not convinced if it’s Iron Man or Robert Downey Jr she wants to watch, but I’ll try to bring her anyway.

I've missed out on a lot of cinema movies for quite a while now so I’m listing, right now, right here, the top 5 movies that I resolve to watch for 2013. Yes, I know I'm late, but guess what, I still haven't watched anything in the cinema this year, with more than a third of the year gone. 

Star Trek: Into Darkness

First on the list, this one’s coming in May, I think everyone's looking forward to this one. I hope I’ll be able to score a preview screening. Trailer looks nifty, but admittedly all trailers look impressive.

I like this post, it's exciting!

JJ Abrams did an amazing job with the first movie, if he can match that I’d be very much impressed. With a great cast in place, it’s all down to the vision and execution. Hopefully all 7 of the crew will get to shine in their own separate style.

World’s End

This is the third in the Cornetto trilogy (see here for a wiki that sheds some light). Hot Fuzz did not achieve the same heights as Shaun of The Dead, but that was always a big ask. For those not in the know, all three movies pair the dynamic comedy duo from Britain, Simon Pegg (who incidentally is also in Star Trek) and Nick Frost. Shaun of The Dead was the first rom-zom-com before Warm Bodies was even written, and has since developed a cult following. I’ve actually written about this movie before, almost ten years ago (see here). Loved it loved it loved it! Hope this one turns out to be just as entertaining.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 The whole point of this article. I admit it, at the time of this writing, I have yet to watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (apologies Nurul!). But I promise I will before Desolation of Smaug comes out. I’m one of those fanboys who were pretty annoyed at The Hobbit becoming three movies, but I will watch it regardless.

What, you haven't watched the first one yet? Silly Gollum!

 

Jack Ryan

 I’ve always been a fan of the Jack Ryan novels. I tapered off after Executive Orders though. The Bear and The Dragon just didn’t click with me and didn’t continue to read any. Most of the newer characters created by Clancy didn’t have the same charm and life of the older characters.

As for the movies, my favourite remains The Hunt for Red October, but I preferred Harrison Ford’s take on the character. Alec Baldwin was okay, Ben Affleck was not. And the problem with the Jack Ryan novels in general is that there’s so many storylines going on at the same time, even if they are connected in some way. As such, the movie adaption more often than not ends up having to trim the story to make it work. I felt most of the movies (except The Hunt for Red October) chopped off some of the best bits.

Man, my ride in Star Trek was way cooler!

I’m not sure which novel it’ll be based on, since Chris Pine is Jack Ryan, it could be Red Rabbit (with a younger Jack Ryan). We’ll see… Incidentally, Keira Knightley is starring as Cathy Ryan. Va Va Voom!

Wrap-up

 So there you have it. When it comes to the cinema, as you can see I prefer movies that can take advantage of a cinema setting. Contemporary human dramas or even comedies therefore rarely make the list, even though they may become my favourite movie. I like to watch those in the comfort of home. The Wolverine deserves a mention, but it’s not really a priority for me. I hope I haven’t missed anything out.

Now that my list has been made official, I damn well better make sure I watch ‘em!

Weekend bites 27th-28th April

Hello Kitty madness returns

Ok, this wasn't strictly speaking the weekend, but this was the scene on Friday lunchtime at McDonald's.

They recently launched another set of Hello Kitty, it's not one of those special sets, like those cultural outfits, the wedding outfits, the ones that actually sparked a riot in Singapore about a dozen years ago. This time the dolls dressed in McDonald's characters, which isn't that special I would think.

But that didn't prevent the hordes from materialising anyway. I was really hungry by the time I got my food.

And I ended up helping to buy one for my boss. Yes you read it right ha ha...

Sorry, you'll need to look elsewhere for a picture of the actual doll. Try this link.

My 35th Birthday

I celebrated my birthday on Saturday 27th April. My folks were actually having a makan-makan (ie food fest) in Bangi and invited some of my relatives. The main reason was really to celebrate Budi, my cousin, getting her PhD. (I had to look up how to capitalise PhD btw. I don't have one clearly!)

Then at one point my mom went to wake up Zharif for the surprise birthday cake. I believe my mom made the mistake of asking Kak Intan to call Raudha because Zharif had woken up. Kak Intan made the call, but I'm the one who jumped up faster and went. Only to discover the cake...



Sheesh, I look so out of shape. I shouldn't have eaten my own cake...

Thanks to all those who wished me well on Facebook and Whatsapp. You guys are great! And thanks to Liverpool for a nice 6-0 win over Newcastle :)

Sunday Exercise

Zharif didn't sleep at all during the day on Sunday, even after class. I ended up bringing him and Raudha along to TTDI park. He got to use his still new bike outdoors while I got to do my weekly jog. Well, theoretically for me anyway.

I didn't warm up properly so my ankle started aching. I ended up doing only two rounds of the park which sucks. But it was nice to bring my family around, and Raudha commented that it's actually quite a nice park. I totally agree.

We met my colleague Sherry just as I was leaving. I had this selfish thought hoping she would end up running even less than me. Yes I can be a prick sometimes lol.

Still working on his cycling motion, not quite there yet.

Game of Thrones

I caught up to episode four of season 3. Thanks to a Mr. Ti for the episodes.

I found this funny report about Game of Thrones being the most illegally downloaded series of 2012, and S3 Episode 1 breaking multiple records:

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/04/game-of-thrones-season-3-piracy/

Guilty as charged. I didn't download season 3 myself, but I probably would have. I gave up watching the butchered version on Astro two seasons ago.

On a separate note, Bran looks so grown up! Won't be long before he'll finally be allowed to watch in full the  series he's starring in :p

Ye Olde Smokehouse review up on Tripadvisor

You can read it here:

http://bit.ly/ZoN88m

Incidentally, I also have a gripe with TripAdvisor. If my review is pending a review by admin, why send out a Facebook post saying I've just written a review and not wait until it's been cleared? Raudha tried clicking on the link provided but couldn't find my post and that's how I found out it was under review. Now that it's cleared, the Facebook post is old news on my wall. Which sucks.

This sign is in the Smokehouse. For the record (apologies for the poor photography), line four says "USE MARKSMANSHIP IN TOILET".

So there.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Preamble:

I read Mark Haddon's second book A Spot of Bother (belonging to Raudha) about 3 years ago and found it hilariously entertaining.  The Curious Incident (also belonging to Raudha) was dug up recently while cleaning up the house so I finally got around to reading Haddon's first book.

Basic Plot:

The story follows Christopher, a fifteen-year old kid with an autistic condition, and his ensuing adventure/investigation after discovering his neighbour's dog dead. The book is actually written by Christopher as he tells his story. 

Style Review:

As the book is written by a boy, it uses a simple yet elegant style of writing, a story interlaced with interesting facts that he finds interesting. Every now and then he refers to incidents from memory, and I especially like the way the writing illustrates when things turn out to not be what they originally seemed to Christopher.

Story Review:

It's a great book overall, but I have to admit I didn't quite enjoy the ending. After he makes a trip to London, the final part of the story feels incredibly rushed. The wrap-up just wasn't that convincing, given Christopher's general attitude established during the story. But the story is realistic most of the time. And the viewpoint makes it a fascinating read.

Between his two books I can safely say I enjoyed A Spot of Bother a lot more, nonetheless it's still a good read.