Your.World.Pixelated

2011: Looking Back

2011-12-30T20:44:00.001+08:00

As 2011 fades away, I would like to say, I do enjoy every of the great moments in this year. Though it started up badly for me, this year did offer me many great fellowships, from Chinese New Year open houses, to the most recent hometown friendship gatherings.

Anyway, these are some highlights of some of my 2011 moments, randomly.

Happy New Year 2012!

Photoshooting 1 @ Sabah Chinese High School

2011-12-25T17:19:00.001+08:00

First of all, Merry Christmas to everyone right here. And I'm totally sorry for the late updates once again. And the week before Christmas was indeed an interesting one - I'd been doing what the casual photographers are doing - Photoshooting!

Since I only had a few friends back in Tawau, it would be wise for me to plan some photoshootings, and thankfully, I have a talented friend who is able to look photogenic in front of the camera.

And by the way, her name is Angela, and this is her >blogshop (FB link)<

Some of you might saw this set of photos in my Facebook a few days ago, now I'm presenting you the larger resolutions.

Meantime, enjoy the pictures. There will be a second part of the photoshooting coming up, this time with another friend of mine, Tinny. It may not be satisfying to some, but do enjoy the pics. Once again, Merry Christmas!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

2011-11-24T20:19:00.001+08:00

Recently I just done playing this awesome piece of PC entertainment. And despite many critics, including myself, had condemned the developers for their decision to maintain their Modern Warfare 2 graphics and systems, I would like to say that the installation of third story is great, especially the part when you play Captain Price at the climax.

SPOILERS AHEAD (short sypnosis)

Altogether, you will be playing as 5 characters in the game. Well, you are Soap MacTavish at the beginning, and it's only just the part of the cinematics. While Soap was healing away from Afghanistan, your first mission begins as Derek Frost of the Delta Force, fighting in Wall Street to neutralize a jammer on top of the stock exchange, and later turning a Russian fully-armed submarine to attack its own fleet.

Later, the story continues with Yuri, a new member of the disavowed Task Force 101. He then revealed himself and how he was related to the stories in MW2 and MW1 as a close companion to the antagonist, Makarov, once. The task force escaped from an assault where Soap was trying to heal and you will be following their stories on Sierra Leone as they make their way to Makarov.

Meanwhile the European battle begins when the Russian Prime Minister's jet was hijacked. While playing as a FSO bodyguard, you'll learn the story of how the President was kidnapped by Makarov, and your character was shot similarly like how Pvt. Joseph Allen a.k.a Alexei Borodin was shot. The battle then began with chemical attacks in Britain, and you'll also fight in places like Paris, Hamburg and Prague.

Then comes the sniping mission in Prague, where Soap finally died after the team was ambushed. And when you are saving the President's daughter in the next mission, the whole Delta Force team you are playing with are wiped out. Sad case.

THE CLIMAX happens when Captain Price and Yuri begins a final assault to attack Makarov. You and Yuri shall wear a Juggernaut suit in this, and you will kill your way up a hotel until you find Makarov. There is a thrill blazing fight between Captain Price and Makarov at the end. Price lost at first when he tried to grab a handgun near him after both men fell from a helicopter which Makarov used to escape, but the antagonist picked the gun up. The injured Yuri managed to rescue Price by shooting Makarov with a few rounds, but it seems like Makarov had took some drugs before he died being hanged by Price. The ending scene is when Price was smoking a cigar while looking at the hanging ultranationalist Russian's corpse.
________________________________________________________________________________

The most awesome feature of the game, is it's Survival mode! Basically, it's all about being able to survive in every rounds the game would challenge you into. The first rounds are basically easy, but not until Level 10, where tough soldiers with AK47s step in. But no worries, there would be supports such as perks, claymores, sentry guns/grenade launchers, Delta Force squad and even various air supports to help you out, just make sure you have the money to purchase them!

I bet it is better than Treyarch's Zombie Mode.

Overall, this really made up my weekend last week. It's an awesome masterpiece, but no new ideas are generated in this edition.

Returned to Tawau, 5th Sem ended

2011-11-24T19:44:00.001+08:00

My Instagram

Finally, once again, I had returned to Tawau. It's been a while since I posted something right here. And during these days, I felt that the 5th semester was really fast. As I entered my room in my house, I felt that it's been just a week after me and my friends went for the trip to Mataking. (Well, those who know me in Facebook and my photoblog in Tumbler will see the photos)

And I feel that time passes very fast. I traveled back to study in July 30, and returned after many weeks of academics. I did bumped into new people, some from the other semesters, and gratefully, my Christian fellowship group had its number doubled when I returned. And yes, I felt that I left KL too early. I should have return around December.

Many things do happen around me too. Taken many photos too. I won't simply have much time to go through it, as I'd been engaged with many things. But in time, I will update this forgotten blog on those pictures.

Meantime, enjoy this one.

This is a recent one taken during one of my church's events. He is a singer, Tim Lim. The Christian community would know who he is.

And meantime, I'll be back with more posts!

Nikon! You Should Have Release Them Earlier! (Nikon J-1 and Nikon V-1 news)

2011-09-21T15:42:00.000+08:00

Well, in August 2010, I'd purchased the Sony NEX-5, a brand new mirrorless interchangeable lens camera concept for the brand at that time. What made the NEX series unique was it had a full scale DSLR sensor being fitted in such a small camera. Hence, it caught my attention and surprisingly, it performs better than the Nikon D80 I had since 2009.

So far, I'm still impressed what this camera can do. However, there's a recent update in the camera market that shocked me.

Nikon now releases their own version of mirrorless cameras - The V-1 and J-1!
(Link and full details: here)

Well, it is interestingly enough to know that Nikon has register themselves into the mini interchangeable camera business alongside Sony and Samsung, as well as dealing with the Micro Four Thirds of Panasonic and Olympus.

Generally, these 2 models are using a 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, hybrid phase and detection auto-focus system, producing 1080p HD videos and even have a 1200 fps slow-motion mode for it. And they will be sold around $649.95 (Nikon J1) and $899.95 (Nikon V1).

As for their kit lens: Nikon announces four CX format lenses:

1 NIKKOR 10mm f/2.8 pancake

1 NIKKOR VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom

1 NIKKOR 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 VR PD-ZOOM

1 NIKKOR VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6

Well, seems like it has more variables than the current NEX series' E-mount lens (3).

This camera series will be out this coming October. And I'm still doubting, what if I fit my existing DX lenses into this camera. Most probably I would need an adapter to do so. And even if I have one, will it be fully in autofocus mode still?

I wish I could compare my NEX-5 to this awesome newcomer. But nevertheless, I'm still happy with my Sony. It's just that I could have go for Nikon rather than Sony if this is released last year.

I still believe that the NEX series is one great choice, though I'm a Nikon fan.

Striker Manager: My Thoughts

2011-09-21T02:04:00.001+08:00

Well, I had let my blog almost out of updates for a month, as I already got a long term writer's block in updating this. But anyway, just recently (not really from a near past), I just completed a season of Striker Manager, an online Spanish-based football manager game.

Basically, in the game, you are to manage your given players, train them to improve their attributes, making sure you have the right staffs, managing your given stadium, establish training schools for your team, and balance your decisions on the financial status you were given. This is more challenging when compared to Football Manager, for you manage everything in this online game.

Well, to start off, this is my team.

And I called it Revolution 360 to date. There is no particular reason for me to select that name, but the first name I gave to the team was "Virtual Juventus" with a lack of creativity sparked in my mind. The jersey's original design was similar to Juventus when I first took over this squad.

And in case you ask how you were given a team, the answer is: When you first sign up for the game, automatically you were given choices to select the team you want to lead. You are later being introduced to the league you are competing in. I am currently in Division 5, Group 250 in this 3rd season of the year after being promoted from Division 6, Group 99 as champions.

Your matches will be played every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays every week. For cup matches and friendlies, your matches will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. While private leagues (created by online managers) matches are played in the weekends. It's encouraged for users to participate in private leagues for extra credits, for you really need to generate much money in order to survive in your group.

In the previous season, I joined a private league that made me acknowledge this awesome blog called Avoiding The Drop. It's basically about American soccer, with some updates from the European leagues. I did not really had a great season in that league, as I'd finished 5th, however I learned what it's like to deal with tougher players.

As for players, you were at first given a set of them, and their nationality depends on where you signed up for. In this case, I signed up from Malaysia, and therefore, my starting players were Malaysians. And it's kinda funny I got the exact variable names which are from the actual Malaysian football squad. For example, I got Fahmi Amer as my right forward, and the name Fahmi is found in Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, the current Malaysian top goalkeeper. The funnier coincidence is I had names which are from Mohd. Sharbinee Allawee Ramli, the actual Terengganu FC goalkeeper. (the Italic highlighted words).

Besides, you are also given a set of youth players which may be the future of your first team. Each squad you have cannot exceed more than 25 players, therefore you have to organize them well.

And if you either found some useless players in your squad, or seeing a need to purchase new players for your team, obviously, there is a transfer market for you to do business with other players. You can sell your player into an auction and pray that the minimum value you set on them will go as high as it can within a given period, or to compete for setting the highest price on your prospect at that same moment. And that explains why I got players from other nations.

Now that you know how to manage your players, you also must know how to organize them well as a team. You can have flexibility in your formation setting, and sometimes, your players could even adapt themselves into other positions. For example, your right wing who has an average score of 41, can be played as a right forward with an average of 39.

Stadium and schools are great features that both provide you income and challenge your managing skills at the same time. You have to know when to purchase upgrades for your facilities in order to progress further. As for schools, you have to ensure the right amount of money being invested to the right nation. Maintenance values are the trickiest obstacles you have to deal with everytime you have to upgrade your facilities, and it's a must when you got promoted into a higher division.

Now, in this new season (Sept-Dec 2011), Striker Manager introduces a new simulation where difficulty levels are increased to challenge managers to a fairer competition between teams. According to the gamemaster, the old system relies on general midfielders and attackers' placement and quality alone in a formation to win. Now, to rebalance the opportunities for two different players to win, the new simulation system focuses on formation lines and tactic attributes (which also includes substitutions) that determines the match like how real life football is. Besides, you can even adjust the tactics whenever you want your team to adapt them throughout the game.

Your matches are all simulated right before the game starts. Meaning, when you are informed that your game starts at 6 am today, the simulation of your game will begin after that moment. Compared to the old simulation system, the visuals are 30 minutes long and it is totally more entertaining than to see a bunch of Twitter-like game comments for 90 minutes.

Seems like there's a lot more to learn from this new system. However, the training system is still flawed and the technicians and engineers of the game are trying to fix them, while we users are currently in the pre-seasons.

Overall, among many of the online football manager games I'd tried, like Soccer Manager, Top Eleven Football Manager, etc, this is still the best, and most equal free game ever! Sure, you have to pay more for extra Golden Balls or premium statuses, but at least you are not facing inequality like the ones in Top Eleven, where you have to bid using tickets (1 available per day) just to bid for players or instant upgrades/cash.

Therefore, as long as this game's glitches are fully recovered, I'll stick to this game and I recommend you football manager fans to try this game out if you seek for online challenges.

Link: http://uk.strikermanager.com

Mataking Paradise

2011-09-15T21:20:00.002+08:00

Well, just a short update for now, once again. Gosh! I missed Mataking Island and the experiences with my old friends there. This is one of the photos taken over there.

Hiatus

2011-08-14T11:24:00.000+08:00

I know, I did not update this site for a very long time. More updates will be coming soon.

I promise!

He Shoots, He Scores! 10 Times In a Row!

2011-06-27T01:54:00.000+08:00

Just a short update. Anyways,

Click to magnify. Notice the game streak count.

Can't believe as a beginner in this online football manager game, I won 10 times in a row. How much I love football manager games! Haha.

A Pause on Blogging?

2011-06-25T21:21:00.000+08:00

Well, in case you ask, why the pause? The answer is, I'm so far being engaged into other stuff. People change, you see. You and I both would understand that we tend not to do the same things constantly, right?

Well, one of the reasons why I got out from blogging for now is on assignments (before June 18), and now I am in Tawau, meaning there will be many photo posts coming up when it comes to gatherings.

Another reason is, my blogging time is now engaged with cyber football. Yes, I'm sure - cyber football managing, you know, being Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger in my laptop managing my virtual teams. Currently I'm playing Football Manager (offline) and Striker Manager (online).

And here's a screenshot of my so-far glory in Striker Manager!

Check out the winning streak! So far at 9!

If my writer's block is gone, then I might as well review this awesome game, as well as to edit and upload the best photos of my experience with friends in outings and dinner. Till then.

I AM PLAYR

2011-05-29T12:30:00.001+08:00

I had quit playing games such as Treasure Isle, Mafia Wars and Street Racing in Facebook because sometimes I don't like the waiting time in those games. However, some real football star's page advertised this game as I'm re-enjoying the Facebook entertainment aspect again.

Yeah. I AM PLAYR is an interactive football game, where you are featured as a young promising striker of a fictional team called River Park FC. So, basically, you'll be improving your avatar/character in training, and to play it out in a match, and you will be playing alongside the story every "week" or game turn.

Currently in Week 11 and I am very astonished of the producers' creativity on showing the football world to their audiences.

Good points:

They really reflect the real life of football. Yeah, when you play games such as FIFA 11 or PES 2011, the only thing you'll learn is how you control eleven players of your team around the pitch, which doesn't really provide you the real-life knowledge of the football world. In games like Football Manager, which I'm playing now, you tend to go through a season without any extra ordinary stuff happening and that's that. Nothing much but to manage your team.

Just recently, my character got "insulted" by a fictional football fan in a clip shown. In real life, as a Man Utd fan, players such as Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney tend to be pointed by the fans if the whole team is not performing well.

So, from the first person view, you can see what's really happening in the football world. It's really full of stress, mainly from the fans and the manager.

You can even choose your decisions in those unexpected events. Every "week" there'll be extra ordinary stuff going on and you'll go through them all the time. Sometimes, the situation is outside the football world, which is more personal. Real creative! Oh ya, be wary of this character called Danny Deans, he's such a prankster in times.

Bad points:

10 hours for another week, and the crossbar challenge is not really helping a lot.

Like any Zynga games, you need coins to purchase the Nike shoes, the staffs and energy recharges.

Because we are in Malaysia, our Internet lines are not fast sometimes, and sometimes the loading fails, which sometimes ruin my week, sigh!

And last but not least, I am not impressed with the match gameplay. You were randomly given the chances to score a goal, sometimes even a zero chance! Plus, your team is under an unusual 3-4-3 formation, which is hardly for them to maintain a clean sheet every match they play.

OVERALL

So, overall, this game is awesome! But with some lags and flaw, it can be frustrating. But anyway, I recommend all the football lovers to try out this game! Meantime, watch this clip below and compare all of the I AM PLAYR clips with the next one down there - there's similarities of them with the English FA's Whatever Your Level campaign!

Enjoy!

CHAMP19NS UNITED

2011-05-20T20:55:00.002+08:00

Congrats to Manchester United. Looking forward for their new signings.

In case you ask me who's the player of the season, I would say: Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez.

Dimitar Berbatov could have been my most admired player of the season if he continues on his good form of scoring hattricks.

Harley Davidson

2011-05-15T18:20:00.000+08:00

Taken this picture last week with the Sony NEX-5. The camera's very impressive to me, however its sensor needs cleaning, hence it might take like 3 weeks for it to come back to me.

Just a short update. And within these 2 weeks it was full of stress and thrills, I even ended up not sleeping for 35 hours doing the PR2 proposals with my senior groupmates. But at the end of the day, everything's fine.

Hopes Now in Fear: The Peter Joseph - Jacque Fresco Conflict

2011-04-20T16:11:00.002+08:00

Picture from Flickr: (Peter Joseph, Jacque Fresco and Roxanne Meadows, founders of The Zeitgeist Movement and The Venus Project respectively)

Yes, they presented brilliant ideas that are able to awaken people up from today's societal problems and to offer the solution of curing them once and for all. But this sudden conflict had shown that they themselves are also the same old victims of culture just like we are.

It all started when I saw the video of Jacque denouncing The Zeitgeist Movement, saying that the movement doesn't really know much about the concept of the Resouce-based Economy they present, and they don't follow up the directions that they want, and now they are not allowed to promote the RBE concept with their designs, while leaving them to go out their own way and etc. It did shocked me with disappointment. Next thing I know was someone sharing an audio clip on Roxanne Meadows of The Venus Project adding more fuel to the existing fire both sides are in.

It's really sad and funny to know the fact that they are founders of a wonderful idea that attempts to redesign the current culture we are in, while they THEMSELVES are being conformed into it without even realizing it. Hence they failed to hold on 100% on what they had preached, specially on their views on ownership.

They were at first great in collaboration, they managed to present their new ideas to change the current paradigm for the better. It does sounds sensible for us to live in a world without the oppression of money, while creating a scientific-based self-governing society that encourages collaboration and self-actualization for everyone. No poverty, no war, etc. It's really sad to acknowledge such a thing happen, and to be honest, it's like any political conflicts you see in the current world - scandals, quarrels, finger-pointings, yellings, bashings, etc.

Now, to those who like the idea and wanted to see it being a reality, do continue to do what you are doing for this idea to be heard more. Honestly, we can't afford to continue living like this. There are many people out there wanting and hoping for a miracle/ salvation to kick in and rescue us as a whole. Everyone is oppressed and stressed. There are unsounded tears and fears around us that isn't seen physically, because people don't tend to express them much, instead they hide it in their smile, which is essential to survive everyday.

Sometimes, after some discussions with some of my friends and lecturers about this new idea for the next social transition, I kept on thinking, what if the global economy shuts down today, and there's an anarchy in between?

In other words, can the real social concerned people afford not to continue spreading such a sensible solution for the world? There is no much time left actually.

The only thing I hope right now is - such conflicts better be resolved in the near future. At first it was okay with collaboration, now they are under the smog of egoism and ownership. Seriously, their ideas are so far the most sensible I had heard of to date, and I felt deeply frustrated when I heard that their advocators themselves fall to the culture of today's world.

Imagine A World Without Money - The Free World Charter

2011-04-19T17:59:00.000+08:00

A few months ago I stumbled upon this video clip. And this video showed us how much money is getting irrelevant to our social living due to the growth of technology, the monetary system's flaws itself and our understandings on science based on the problems we faced.

Without mentioning a lot about the clip - Do watch this clip with an open mind. SHARE it when you agree with the idea of it: A Post-Scarcity Era.

For more information, do click this -> link and learn more about the flaws of the current world. Hopefully you will learn more insights about this world we are living in. It's up to the people to determine their own fates.

‎"Most of us can, as we choose, make of this world either a palace or a prison."

- Sir John Lubbock

Living in Malaysia is Really Expensive!

2011-04-19T17:42:00.001+08:00

Today, the truth has been released. During the beginning of March, I realized that the food prices here are slightly higher than usual. I usually spend around RM 12 per day on thrifty mode for food alone, however it has gone up to RM 16 per day in expenses. A few items I find in the supermarkets also managed to rise, and sometimes, that made me think if the rest of the people realize this fact earlier.

And I even heard that in Sabah, where our incomes are not as much as the ones in Kuala Lumpur, there are even restaurants charge food as expensive as RM 7! In my hometown, Tawau, where 50% of the population are low income workers, price for food had been skyrocketing, specially on the restaurant sectors.

Sometimes I doubt if people still tend to accept the rising price trends. I heard many have ranted, but they just accept these facts as what they are.

It's really annoying when politicians only tend to rally against each other, and to ridicule themselves at the same time seeking for people's votes, while everyone else quarrel against each other meaninglessly, while thinking about themselves despite the fact that we are all in this together.

The truth is -

I had been reading many "doomsday" articles that stated more civil unrests around the world to be unfold, the rising of the global crude oil price due to the protests in the Middle East, a next cycle of financial crisis to come, more inflation, more debts arise, and the collapse of the financial system. This is truly the cancer stage of capitalism.

So, people - This isn't a joke. From now on, if you have a piece of land, make use of it to grow your own plants. Encourage your neighbours to do the same and share the food together. Make the practice viral. Stop supporting the system! To those who don't have a land, well, spend less. I have no ultimate solutions, but this is the first step to achieve one.

The current money oriented world we are in segregates us from a personal level. To establish a resource-based society, surely you will enjoy sincere relationships better, instead of being under an invisible prison chasing after bills and work and compete like a cow to survive.

Read the articles from : MSN and Malaysian Insider. You will learn more about them.

PC Fair 2011

2011-04-18T11:30:00.006+08:00

I think this would be a just-pictures post on what I did today during the fair. Guess what, this is actually the first time I'd been to the PIKOM PC Fair in KLCC. The other two experiences being in that event was in my hometown, Tawau, Sabah.

I guess my scope will be on the models (yes, it is!) and I bet there will be thousands of others blogs doing the same thing. At the end of the day, I snapped many pictures of them and spent RM 51 on a speaker and a card reader at the same time. It was a long walk, though.

So, enough of the talkings and let the photos tell you (in random order) - Cameras used: Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-5, with Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens and the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8.

First photo taken out from my Nikon D80.

The front promoter of the online games session. She's quite elegant to me.

Kaspersky girls

Kawaii girl - She's in my top 3 list among the unique promoters there.

She's really stunningly cute!

This is as if I'm taking a pic of a race queen.

Model of Sensonic, and I like their portable speakers a lot.

Model of Panasonic booth, and gosh! I left them out, missed the Panasonic GF2.

Another kawaii race-girl material!

Well, it's hard to be in the midst of a crowd crossfire, but luckily this one is one great shot.

The Avira nurse. I believe the previous Avira girl was prettier, not to mention it was Careen Tan who became that nurse last year. But the nurse custome is already stunning enough.

NO.1 of the day!

Want a close up? Haha, I bet you want!

Another Sensonic pair of sensation!

Call Nie, my classmate.

One real hottie!

Judas: Another Publicity Stunt?

2011-04-17T01:06:00.002+08:00

How ironic. The song Judas, sang by Lady Gaga, was released into the Internet a week before the Holy Week, the Christian week of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. And her "demonized" message is getting more and more clearer as what the Illuminati conspiracy theorists had said about her.

For your information, Judas, or Judas Iscariot, is one of Jesus' 12 disciples in the Bible. What distinguished Judas from the other eleven disciples is Judas is the betrayer of Jesus that led Christ to be crucified. After knowing his own misdeed, Judas felt guilty after receiving the rewards he got and committed suicide (according to the Gospel of Matthew) by hanging on a tree.

Now that you know the Biblical facts about Judas, can you tell why Lady Gaga still loves Judas so much?

Look at the lyrics:

I wanna love you,
But something's pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue,
Judas is the demon I cling to
I cling to

I'm just a holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby
I'm just a holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby

Isn't that clear enough for you? It had a catchy trance-like tune, so it's better not to get hooked up with it. Looking at her other videos, specially Born This Way, will make you understand who this puppet is serving.

Wanna learn more about the Illuminati issue in music? Visit http://vigilantcitizen.com/ and don't be too surprised about it. Mainstream music has lost their values in time, seriously.

Children With Bubbles

2011-04-15T00:26:00.000+08:00

Photo was taken during the Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon event when there's no huge balloons around with the Sony NEX-5 and Nikkor 50mm F1.8 lens.

It's been a while I never update my blog, and now I managed to put an effort to update one post. Assignment's tough, but things will be over at the end of the day.

It's 12.25 a.m. and I'm going to sleep soon. Meantime, do enjoy the new blog layout, with the new watermark style. :)

Rebecca Black's Friday

2011-03-25T23:16:00.001+08:00

Just another short update.

It's been a week I had been knowing Rebecca Black in the Twitter's top trend, and during the second day she was in the trends, I got to know her latest "Friday" song.

Don't know the song yet? Here's the video clip of Friday.

My first impression towards the song is - "Why screech at the beginning?" With such a bad start at the beginning of the song, you can't attract many listeners. Even the video clip had a bad illustration/sketchings of Rebecca herself. You could have present it a lil' more creative.

So, my score given to the song is 2 out of 5, still Friday had a catchy tune, and that's the only good thing of it.

But the good thing is she managed to get some 35 million views within a month. Let's hope she can beat Katy Perry's Fireworks (147 million views now). Not even Ryan Higa can beat her views.

If you're asking if I will hate her for that song, I'll say, there's no point to be a hater. Just appreciate it and stop ranting about the song if you don't like it. Someone else still loves it. Oh ya, this is Ryan Higa's view on Friday.

No worries, Rebecca. You will do fine. I hope Ryan Higa will make another video out of "Friday".

22nd Birthday

2011-03-18T23:47:00.002+08:00

This was taken during my 21st birthday. It was as if it happened a few weeks ago. And I don't think I had changed any of my style ever since, except for the fact that I'm using the Sony NEX-5 more than the Nikon D80.

However, this year there's no celebration. One of the reasons why is I'm not sure about the other CMM-ers' timetable, thus it's harder to coordinate. Our bonds are still very strong last year, this year, things are a little bit different. Still, I missed the togetherness during our first semester.

On old friends? That's even harder, because we're living far from each other. Recently one of them had shifted to Damansara. Boy, how are we going to meet up?

But anyway, I feel that it's worth spending extra time in Facebook and Twitter to reply all those who wished me a great birthday.

Well, to the other Facebookers, if that day is your birthday, and multiple messages come flooding over your Wall Post, let them be. No need to deactivate your account for a day. It gives you extra joy if you appreciate it. Plus, you got to show the appreciation for those who wish you the best for your birthday by replying them, NOT the copy paste style, unless you're too busy with your job out there. At least dedicate a status thanking all of them if you're really in that busy-ness. Give a feedback of appreciation. :)

150 plus wall posts (I think so), with extra special birthday posts and some from my SMS and Twitter, and by face to face means - thank you for making my day.

A Racist Aussie Girl Said That Durians Are For "Jungle People"? Ridiculous!

2011-03-17T15:44:00.001+08:00

I know. It's been a while I didn't update my blog, as I'm losing the mood.

Until this NEWS showed up last night in my Facebook live feed!

Anyway, this is about a racist Australian girl who is current studying in one of our private education institutions who was caught speaking racist notions against we Malaysians, and later she kept going on criticizing our races and culture in a very ignorant manner.

Link: >here<

Of course I was slightly provoked by her words, but I know it's pointless to feed some trolls who wanted to gain attention in a negatively manner.

What made me feel funny on how she stupified her own image was she had revealed that she's studying in Malaysia and she even study LAW right here. C'mon, spoiled kiddo! If you study law, you should realize that you MUST obey the law in the country you're in. Don't you learn about the idiom "When in Rome, do what the Romans do"?

FACT: Nobody is above the law! And you must respect the law of the place you're residing.

And secondly, based on her Facebook profile, she mentioned that her religious view is on the Catholic faith, and her favourite book is the Bible.

Sounded like she's pious, eh?

But her attitude doesn't resemble a real Christian. Speaking foul words? Insulting other groups of people without rationality? Being egoistic as if you're from a higher social class? Pissing other people off in other people's land?

Matthew 19:19 Love thy neighbour as thyself!

[King James Version]

Remember, it's not my words, that was said by Jesus. Please repent, before things get worse for you. Even if it's so, it's because of your own doing. It's unnecessary to start a fight that waste everyone's time in the Internet. Don't like Malaysia, then just leave. Nobody cares about your presence here.

If you want happiness, then share the happiness to everyone you know here. If you retaliate with hate, then hate will knock at your door. So, please practice courteous values when you're in other people's places.

Last but not least, Angeline:

You're representing the identity of your nation, place of origin, and your own religion. I hope I made it clear to you, that you are holding the responsibility that represents the things that you're affiliated of.

My 2 cents post.

Gloomy

2011-03-13T12:42:00.000+08:00

Attempted surreal HDR photo in Taylor's College Subang Jaya campus a few days ago.

As expected, this new semester is kinda gloomy. There are lesser classmates I know, and we're stuck with students between the previous and the later intakes. You won't get to know them much because they are very bonded with the ones of their kind. And I can say that we're deserted.

That's why I chose to edit the photo into such theme. Just hope everything's fine within this period of time.

P.S - HDR is something new to me. This one's still fine.

2011 Chinese New Year Open House Diaries

2011-03-06T16:37:00.002+08:00

*P.S - I finally got my blogging mood, so I'll try to update this as fast as I can before the mood disappears.

Chinese New Year 2011 may have a short three-day open house period. But we old friends made it one great celebration worth to remember this year. We tried to make it as fun as possible meeting each other to revive those friendships we had in high school. And I'm happy of course for everything that has planned.

My old friends' gathering began 2 days before the Chinese New Year when some of us old friends went for yum cha at Kubota Square - Tawau's new hangout place, particular for the young.

I think I should have used the standard lens for this photo. Haiz.

Anyway, we chatted about many stuffs, and that included how we would go open houses within a shorter period of time before everyone left Tawau. And the funniest thing was when Fang Yee showed us Cayenne's CNY themed photoshoot to us via her iPhone. Lols.

And CNY Day began with a church service, and there was even performances from 2 renowned singers. I only know one of them was Pink Tan.

Too bad I'm not good enough in manual focusing that time. But anyway, after that morning. I received an invitation from Ivan Lee via facebook status to visit his house for CNY. And there we were that evening (to be continued):

That night, Khoo Chun Yi, Tony, Shim, Fang Yee, Liau and I went to Pang Yih Fui's place, who is another ex-classmate of mine. We went there until 12 am, and that's where I played cards for the first time during CNY. No gambling though. Haha...

The next day, we went to Fang Yee's place for open house. That's how we began the 2nd open house campaign. :)

After some group photos and a few chats, it's Mason Hiew's place. That was the first time I entered Mason's house. And surprisingly, there were a lot of people in that house. And yes, I even met my long lost friend whom I was very close to - Ah Khiang, now working in Tawau.

And I even took these photos during their Lion Dance events.

I went back at 5 pm for a relative dinner. But I saved my energy for the third day.

With a different group of people this time, which consisted of Ivan, Angela, Mei Chi, Debrianty, who was also present in Mason and Ivan's house, we began the final day open house visits together in my house.

Next, we visited Lucas, Angela and finally, Khoo's house.

I hope next year's CNY celebration will be better than this year's, though it's 2012.

CNY 2011 Done Portraits.

2011-02-09T13:16:00.000+08:00

Everyone has done their CNY blog posts, so I thought of posting one which is more creative than the others first. And I managed to capture some good photos during the three-days visit. Overall, CNY 2011 is a short-lived reunion with the ex-schoolmates. Together we visited 8 houses within the 72 hour period, including my house.

And in this post, it's all about portraits. All done with the Sony NEX-5, with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 portrait lens via adapter. The next post will be about the entire journey of the 3 days visit.

In chronological orders:

CNY Day 1 - Afternoon. This is Siau Yik, whom came back from Shanghai, China. Well, this is taken with the Nikon D80 with the portrait lens. And the good thing is, this photo still looks fine without editing.

CNY Day 1 - Night. Taken with the Sony NEX-5 with Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens. Well this is an impromptu shoulder to shoulder shot on one of my friends in Yih Fui's house, Eevee. Added a bit of red in the colour to show the CNY mood.

CNY Day 3 - This happened during the final house where the best scenery view is available. So many green areas around, thus some girls and I took the chance to photoshoot in that area. This is one of the models, Angela. She's also the director of the shots too. Altogether I shot some 15 photos (as time is running out for me to get home), but I will show you the best shots taken that day.

Once again, this is Eevee. :) All using the Sony NEX-5 and the Nikon lens.

Now let me get myself back into blogging mood to talk about the Three Days Visit during this year's CNY. I'll show you more portraits and pictures to come during the next post.

Short Pre-CNY Update.

2011-02-02T19:00:00.000+08:00

Happy CNY EVE! Have a nice reunion dinner with your family and relatives. Just a short update though. Hopefully there are more events ahead.

The picture above was taken during last year's reunion with my grandmother's side relatives in Sydney, Australia. I wish I can return there as a travelling photographer in the future.

The only thing I don't like about this year's CNY is, you can only meet your friends for like 2 days before most of them leave at the 4th day (Sunday). Their classes resume next week. 2009 was still the best experience I ever had. Special thanks to Fadhlan who made it happened as he brought me to many open house events. This year he's in West Malaysia, hope he's doing fine there.

Cayenne Lim, Silviana, Yee Tsemin, Guojun, and many others, I do miss you all.

"It All Goes Back Into The Box" - Zeitgeist: Moving Forward

2011-01-29T21:57:00.000+08:00

When I began to look at the first 5 minutes from the online documentary movie, "Zeitgeist: Moving Forward", I heard these wonderful lines from Dr. James Dobson, whom you usually hear from "Focus on the Family" radio programme in some supermarkets.

My grandmother is a wonderful person,she taught me how to play the game monopoly. She understood the name of the game was to acquire. She would accumulate everything she could and eventually she became master of the board, and in every game she would take my last pound and i would quit in utter defeat. And then she would always say the same thing to me,she would look at me and she would say "one day you will learn to play the game." One summer i played monopoly with a neighbor. We played almost everyday, all day long, we would play monopoly for hours. And that summer i learnt to play the game. I understood the only way to win was to make a complete commitment to acquisition , I came to understand that money and possessions was the way that you keep score. And by the end of that summer I was more ruthless than my grandmother. I was ready to bend the rules if I had to to win that game. I sat down with her to play that winter. I took everything she had , I destroyed her financially, psychologically, and watched her give her last pound and quit in utter defeat. And then she had one more thing to teach me. then she said now it all goes back in the box all those houses and hotels, all the railroads and utility companies, all that property and all that wonderful money and now it all goes back in the box. I didn't want it to go back in the box. She said none of it was really yours, you got yourself all heated up for a while but it was around along time before you sat down at the board and it will be here after you have gone, players come and players go, but it all goes back in the box. Houses and cars, titles and clothes,even your body because the fact is everything I clutch and consume and hold is going to go back in the box and I'm going to lose it all. You have to ask yourself when you get that ultimate promotion, make the ultimate purchase, when you buy the ultimate home, when you have stored up financial security , when you have climbed the ladder to the highest point of success and the thrill wears off , and it will wear off THEN WHAT?? How long do you have to walk down that road before you see where it leads, surely you understand it will never be enough , so ask yourself the question WHAT MATTERS?

I find these words very interesting and enlightening. The more I think about this screwed up world where politicians lie to their citizens, businessmen cons their customers, the rich neglects the poor, the things in the market are unsustainable, and innocent people suffer under unnecessary brutality makes me sick.

All because for one pointless thing - m o n e y.

And that makes society don't trust each other, and being insincere to their own kind.

Their ideas are still questionable though, as the Resource-based Economy is a very new idea for humanity. Still, I want all of you to view this eye-opening documentary.

I feel that this is history in making. While the system is collapsing, and the whole is currently seeing unrest in Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt, and new ideas of humanity are emerging at the same time, I can feel that we are now entering a period of pre-transition. Things will change dramatically very soon.

I hope it's for the best. At the end of the day, we are all here wanting to survive, this time we want more LOVE in our social system. Hopefully it will happen.

For more information of the movement, visit www.thezeitgeistmovement.com. Well, I am just sharing this idea out, for I feel that it is worth a view for everyone to consider their future.

The Future of Camera

2011-01-25T00:32:00.001+08:00

Someone just shared to me something that lights me up in photography. It's not on some creatively done masterpieces, instead, it's about a possible new camera revolution that has already been introduced as a concept camera in one recent event - CES 2011.

I will be straight forward in this post. Anyway, don't you agree that the Sony NEX-5 is currently the most creative and innovative camera ever existed in the current markets?

So far I'm really impressed with the camera. Well, I'm one of the NEX-5 owners in this world. The only thing I'm not satisfied with it is its battery length and its flash capability. Other than that, I like its astonishing picture noise quality and image.

Now, let me show you something more astonishing.

Introducing, the Artefact WVIL (Wireless Viewfinder Interchangable Lens) concept camera, which provides an answer to the question, "What's next for cameras?". The answer by the design team is simple - create a camera that enables people to share whatever they capture instantly.

As a result, they combine a DSLR quality camera into smartphone technology, with a platform that supports WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth for picture sharing purposes. It's like a DSLR camera embedded in an iPad.

Besides, you can even use almost any lens from any brands into this camera via adapter. It even has a kit lens (suggested) - a 28-100 F/2.0 lens. Plus, it's using a CMOS sensor that it capable to produce images up to 31 Megapixels! Other features include an AMOLED screen, AVCHD video, 10 fps continuous shot, and many more.

And though it may look fake, if it's really developed for the market in the future, I sure will get one of them if I have the sufficient money.

If you wanna learn more about this new concept gadget, visit this site >here<

This is one cool camera you will like. But I think this one will be priced at around RM 4000 if it ever enters the Malaysian market. Panasonic GF1 is already an expensive toy for photographers, but this WVIL will be more expensive than that.

Times Have Changed

2011-01-16T19:23:00.001+08:00

I scrolled this photo from the No Mega Tower Facebook Page >here< just recently. And what attracted me here is the historical value in this photo. The photo here showed a long house in Sarawak.

What drew my attention later was the caption written by Suze the Run, the uploader of the photo. She wroted.

This is how our old long house looks like....we never had any issue about food n problem with money....everything..... is there..u only died of hunger..if...u r a lazy person...

And that caption slowly reminded me of how the people of the older generation tell me about the world.

I'd remembered in the past, people used to tell me that we tend to tolerate with each other regardless race and backgrounds. Children go to school without their parents being prejudice on what type of school they are entering. Even if it is a Christian school, the parents only focus on discipline and academic knowledge that will be given to their children, so that one day they will grow up with success.

There is no extreme racism happening here as well. People tend to greet each other as if they have no differences. And even though life for most of the older generation were hard as they struggle hard to live, everyone was still happy. However, there are opportunity of jobs for people, and they are chances to be in a higher social class. The rich-poor gap wasn't far in those times, so there were much chances to change one's life.

I was amazed by the society in the previous generation, before this whole world is more "developed".

Today, you see a modern human lifestyle - where you are busy and stressed all the time. In the city life, you will have to face daily traffic jams to get to your workplace, and to face a possibility that you will stay in that office till the midnight. Living costs are increasing year by year, while your income remains static.

And people don't greet each other as often anymore. Most of the time as I observe, people only greet each other for their own self-interests. And worse, I can sense a melting pot in our community, where racist topics tend to be in our conversations most of the time. When it comes to politics, we tend to get bounded by 2 opposing parties and get frustrated with them. People only just choose sides and fight with each other from the streets to the Internet.

And so, our society is frustrated and confused. We are walking around shrinking circles, while hating each other, our empathy only reach our blood ties, not caring much about others.

Like it or not, this is our today's world. Though technology has developed, our human social paradigm is still obsolete and outdated. We have social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, and yet in the comments, what I mostly see is hate messages.

The world is a freak show, isn't it?

When will humanity wake up?

A Scene of Tawau

2011-01-14T13:36:00.000+08:00

Just testing out my Sony NEX-5 HDR mode here.

I wanted to take more photos here, but I'm still recovering from wisdom tooth extraction.

The Legendary 1.6L Twin Cam 4AGE 16v - Now At My Doorsteps!

2011-01-08T15:58:00.000+08:00

Ever since I watched the "Initial D" movie in 2005, I began falling in love with the Toyota Trueno/Levin AE86, also known as the Toyota Corolla AE86 in the past. And then during my Form 5 days I added this car into my wishlist, if I were given a second-handed car, alongside other legendary Japanese cars like the Silvia S14.

Well, it didn't happened. However, this forgotten wishlist became realized again.

And finally, near my home, there is already an engine fitted in a car that once belonged to the Toyota AE86!

Ladies and gentleman, the 1.6L Toyota Twincam 16v 4AGE engine.

Just test drove it, and I'm no longer used to manual cars. But for sure, it's one loud engine!

Oh ya, this picture above was taken using my Nikon D80 with the Nissin Di622 flash.

In case you ask what's the car. Well, actually it's not the Trueno AE86. How I wish if it's the real Trueno. It's actually an old Toyota Corolla GL, being modified with the 4AGE engine. The previous 1.3L engine had died, so we decided to boost it up a little bit.

And no worries, we are following traffic regulations, that is why we don't put a turbocharger or replace it with the 20v version of the 4AGE. After all, it's not for racing purposes.

Other modifications included Recaro front seats, Yokohama tyres, and a set of BBS rims fitted on the car.

Nothing attractive actually, but don't judge the book by its cover.

I think I'll be driving this in the near future. I'm not used to the clutch yet.

Man With A Golden Radio Voice - Ted Williams

2011-01-06T23:48:00.002+08:00

Someone recently shared this video to me in Facebook, and it's about a homeless person whose got a talent in being a radio DJ.

The video is about a guy named Ted Williams, and this video was uploaded on Youtube since Jan 3. Surprisingly within a few days, the video got the attention of more than 11 million views across the world, thus it touches the empathy of everyone who watches it.

And surprisingly, someone had offered him a job just after they view the video!
Source today: >here<

What a great ending for this person!

Well, so far on my knowledge, America is currently being struck with unemployment, leaving many homeless men seeking for jobs, while those who are working at constantly struggling in the office for their own survival. Both mainstream and alternative media had told their perspectives differently on this issue. Whatever they are, I really sense that our financial system is collapsing, as we know that these problems are actually growing since The Great Depression in the 1920s.

Today, we see price rise. Oil, petrol, sugar, food, milk, Chinese New Year goods, and finally, Milo and Nescafe! What else for 2011? Life is getting harder, isn't it?

May God enlighten us with more wisdom. With wisdom, we can ensure a better world where everyone of us live with our well-beings and welfare protected.

Mysterious Death of Animals Worldwide?

2011-01-06T23:12:00.001+08:00

Have you ever heard of the strange death of birds and fishes worldwide recently? Someone compiled the events of these deaths where they occured, and he merged all of them into Google Map.

Source is right >here<

I guess we the global citizens shall demand one absolute answer from this. Wikileaks, do your stuff! Haha

Wisdom Tooth: Why Call It A Tooth of Wisdom When It's Pain?

2011-01-06T12:21:00.000+08:00

When you are in your early 20s, most of your friends will begin complaining about some sort of toothaches - which is called the "Impacted Wisdom Tooth" pain. Some even had theirs in the early age of 16.

If you're curious what is a wisdom tooth. They are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. And the sad thing about them is, they are usually misaligned and most of these cases require removal, a.k.a. extraction. Usually, the lower wisdom teeth are the one that needs removal, if they don't grow in a "erupted" position.

That most illogical fact about wisdom tooth is, why do people choose the name "wisdom" for the last bunch of teeth that grow in your mouth from the first place? It doesn't sound "wisdom" to me at all! It's all about pain and suffering! Plus, these teeth can't grow properly most of the time and they potentially burn around U$100 to U$400 from your wallet! I don't see a sense that these teeth are wise.

And, that's the fear, I blogged this because I will be doing extraction in the coming future. I searched the Internet, and people say that you need 3 ENTIRE MONTHS to recover from an extraction, and you can't eat many good food (unless you love cereals and oatmeals) for weeks, not to mention bleedings and pains that you will go through after the operation.

I know, it's like you're getting a death sentence. All for the sake of removing a pain in your mouth once and for all.

Edin Dzeko For Manchester City?

2011-01-05T11:37:00.000+08:00

This is hilarious. Manchester City will be the new Real Madrid if such drastic moves continue on. While they had Balotelli, Tevez, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Roque Santa Cruz, and many other stars, Roberto Mancini still aims for 1 more key striker - Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg.

Funny though, Edin Dzeko is always my key target in Football Manager 2011 too. I tried bidding him for 2 seasons but then I cancelled my intentions as Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe still serves my Tottenham team well. Now that Keane, Crouch and Defoe are almost retiring, I just reply on Luis Suarez.

Back to the real game, I bet Man City has wasted too much money to invest for a better line-up. I mean, what's the use to have so many key players when you know that all of them tend to be self-centered for their own desires?

The only good thing about it is, I can't wait to see Dzeko to play in the English Premier League.

2010: Mixed Emotions

2010-12-31T23:30:00.000+08:00

Sydney is currently celebrating their 2011 celebrations right now as I'm typing this. And yes, this blog is officially more than 1 year in use!

Overall, 2010 is a bittersweet year for me. The year began silently while fireworks from the Tawau Yacht Club began beautifying the skies, while I was alone at home, thinking of the future. All was static until February when I embarked my first journey overseas to Melbourne and Sydney of Australia.

Gosh! They are 2 beautiful places. I wish 1 day I will be back there as a travelling photographer.

In fact, I made my second attempt on covering a wedding - which is of my cousin Jason, and Iris Cheung. And I even learned some tips from their hired photographers. It was a really great experience learning with the Nikon D80.

I went back to Kuala Lumpur and resumed my 2nd semester in Journalism. Happy to met back most of my classmates. They even celebrated my birthday.

However, that happiness had short-lived. It's not that I had a quarrel with them or something, I really have no idea why things changed ever since our campus had shifted to the new Lakeside Campus around April after the mid-term break. For sure, when we were in the old LCS campus, we were still able to go anywhere during class breaks. However, the traffic jams discouraged us to go outings, plus, the food in the new campus were more expensive.

However, during that period, I really thanked God for Elaine whom I always sms-ed with during her National Service periods throughout those days. She really cheered me up. Without her I really felt alone at those times, seriously.

Plus, I also had a nice gathering with my old classmates during that period. Can't wait to see you guys during Chinese New Year.

World Cup fever was around that time, and I returned to Tawau for vacation. It was a fantastic tournament as Spain pounced against their opponents 1 by 1 to win the Cup, as Andres Iniesta scored the screamer goal against Holland, leaving the Dutch Oranje being stunned with 1 of their players, John Heitinga, got red carded.

Once again, another gathering happened, thanks to Michelle Dieh, the main organizer.

One of the pictures taken that day.

After the break, I was then blessed with another new camera, which is needed for my 3rd semester's Introduction to Digital Media (IDM) course, the Sony NEX-5. As its advertisement tagline said - Creativity Changes The Everyday, the NEX-5 does a better job when compared to my Nikon D80, specially at night. I needed it for its video features.

Well, my original choice was to get a Panasonic LX5, but it haven't reached the Malaysian markets yet.

See how good it is, when compared to the ageing D80.

Nothing really happened much in the 3rd semester. My main classmates were just Amirul, Jenifer and Aalia, a new student who had transferred from UiTM if I'm not mistaken. And this is the semester where we were began to be segregated according to our majors. The huge group of friends who we were in 2009 had been divided into smaller groups.

I really had a deserted feeling. The only gathering I had with the CMM-ers, namely Huei Ling, Thomas, Bong + Kar Chun and Ruth was during the Syabu Syabu gathering around Sept or Oct.

However, it was this semester when I felt that I began having a stronger affiliation with my church - Faith Christian Centre. Well, besides of having my shared group and my ex-cell members from the English Youth, I also get to know some other friends like Melanie and Vincent.

And slowly I became one of my church's main photographers - alongside my cell leader, Kim Loong, plus Gary, Cedric, Zermi, etc. And the first church event I covered was the Celebration Night concert.

The Sony NEX-5 then became like an offering to God. And I'm looking forward for more church coverage.

Well, that explained why 2010 is kinda bittersweet. I saw large group of friends being segregated into smaller groups, I saw relationships reinforced and dissolved. I saw myself being in a middle of nowhere, sometimes I saw insights and new wisdom along the road.

At the end of the day, it's all about life. You still have to move on. In this month, an online suicide note rocked Kuala Lumpur with the death of Alviss Kong. He just ended his own life for the sake of being depressed of his no-longer-committing girlfriend. I won't label him as foolish, nor sincere, being neutral about him tells me about how important life is.

Last but not least,

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

May new adventures await us.

Congratulations Malaysia!

2010-12-29T23:09:00.000+08:00

Just a short update congratulating the Malaysian Football National Team for winning the AFF Suzuki Cup just recently, though they lost to Indonesia 2-1 in the Second Leg.

Anyway, to me, I am fascinated by this guy.

Khairul Fahmi Che Mat. He made many excellent saves and he even knows how when he should rush out and when he should stay on guard. It's like seeing another world class keeper in action.

And yes, after Lee Chong Wei, he's the 2nd Malaysian to be on Twitter xD.

Even the Indonesians also congratulated us as well. Well, most of them surely has a Blackberry each, so they just tweet whatever they like.

Last but not least, this guy deserves credit as well. Safee Sali - Malaysians tend to dub him as our very own Wayne Rooney.

And him! K. Rajagopal, our Malaysian head coach who has the Arsene Wenger look! :) He's the proof that we no need any foreign head coaches like Vietnam and Indonesia to succeed more.

Once again, MALAYSIA BOLEH!

Hiatus

2010-12-26T22:23:00.001+08:00

Sorry for the 2 month break. Actually I had lost my mood on blogging for that period. Nothing much actually happened, except for Dec 23.

Here's where I went. I flew back from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau at November 28, and my life pace had freezed right over here.

I can't really update a lot due to the slow Digi Broadband upstairs in my room, but ever since I changed my house's Streamyx into a WiFi area, I am able to surf the Web faster without fighting for the main laptop here.

What happened in Dec 23 to me was 2 great fellowships during the noon and the night. I spent a good lunch with my schoolmates and my ex-cell members that night in Olive.

Let the pictures tell the story. (pictures will be uploaded) You can spot the differences of image quality as I used the Nikon D80 and the Sony NEX-5 for the occasions.

You can see the differences between the 2 cameras - My Nikon D80 and my Sony NEX-5. Obviously the Sony NEX-5 has a better image quality.

A Malaysian Trending In Twitter?

2010-11-21T23:07:00.004+08:00

For the first time ever, I saw a Malaysian trending in Twitter.

It's NOT Mahathir, it's not Anwar, it's not Najib, it's CHONG WEI!!!!!

Haha, Datuk Lee, sorry for the loss as you got rapid punched by Lin "Ip Man" Dan, but we're still proud of having you getting the silver medal.

And yes, Malaysia salutes you.

This shows that you never walk alone! :)

*Updated - I recently thought of some chants for Chong Wei as I browsed through some Man Utd chants in youtube. So, I might as well share it here.

From Nemanja Vidic -

Lee Chong Wei, ohhhhh! Lee Chong Wei, ohhhh! He comes from Malaysia. He'll fckin smashes ya!

From Ryan Giggs -

Lee Chong Wei, Lee Chong Wei, smashes the shuttlecock! Lee Chong Wei, Lee Chong Wei, smashes the shuttlecock. Loves by us all, feared by them all. Lee Chong Wei (x3).

From Wayne Rooney-

I saw my mate, the other day, and he said he saw a white Sidek. So I ask, who is he, he goes by the name of Lee Chong Wei! Lee Chong Wei (x2), he goes by the name of Lee Chong Wei!

From Ole Gunnar Solksjaer (retired) -

You are my Chong Wei, my only Chong Wei, you make me happy, when skies are grey. Though China's Lin Dan, was fcking dearer, still please don't take my Lee Chong Wei away!

From Anderson -

Lee Chong Wei wei wei, he's a better Wong Choon Hann. Lee Chong Wei wei wei, he's our top badminton man, to the left, to the right, to the kompang beat tonight! He is top with a brass and he smashes all to the ground!

Note: The original part was offensive, as it was "and he shits on Fabregas!"

That's all folks!

Finally, This Semester Is Over

2010-11-20T21:54:00.000+08:00

Well, this is just a brief update. It's been almost 2 weeks I did not update my blog. And finally, I'm free. :)

Photoshop CS5 has finally updated in my new Asus laptop, but I decided to try some new games, namely Football Manager 2011, Medal of Honor 2010 and Call of Duty: Black Ops. And yeah, the next post will be a comparison between COD and MOH. =)

Anyway, some recent photos? Here's one and this will give you followers a hint on what I will post after the review.

Taken during my church's Celebration Night last week. :) To the Anglican churches, you'll know who this artist is - Tim Lim :) Do listen to his album, "This Road".

Freedom

2010-11-08T18:15:00.000+08:00

This time lapse video made me thought of many things on freedom.

If this world has more freedom, with the monetary system being phased out in history, I want to travel with a custom made DSLR camera to places around the world, to enjoy life, to discover new cultures and meet new people from different worlds, and to enjoy nature.

Won't you want a world without currency? No stress, no unnecessary conflicts, no oppression, no unnecessary wars for resources.

Things are changing, I can see that. Just listen to the idealists.

Meanwhile, I miss Sydney. Missing Melbourne as well.

Ferrari Parade in Pavilion

2010-10-31T22:36:00.000+08:00

Hello, fellow bloggers.

Well, first and foremost, this is the first post I blogged from my new laptop. An Asus X42J. I have no choice but to get that to replace my old Acer 4920G that already had its motherboard malfunctioned. Hopefully the Intel i7 processor sustains better.

Anyway, this is a brief update on what I took for today's sudden event I bumped into in Pavilion - some Ferrari Club gathering, where members show their Ferraris to the public. Photos are unedited, and all were taken by my Sony NEX-5 - and I need a Photoshop for this laptop!

This is me with one of the Ferraris. I just managed to be there for a few minutes as me and my friends were dashing to Lowyat Plaza first.

Cell Group Memories

2010-10-27T23:30:00.000+08:00

The picture on top is the last photo that I took with them way back May 2007. And they were Danny, Lucas, Siew Li, Gabriel Lo, Jonathan Lo, Jacqueline, Timothy Chung and Roy Tingson (from left).

The 2nd picture is the one I recently took - with Silviana, Alvan, Timothy Chung, me, Mei Chi and Lucas in Faith Christian Centre, right after the Saturday service.

See the difference? I'd been missing the old cell group members, though Colbert and Timothy are currently in the same cell group with me under our senior, Kim Loong.

Still, I miss the past. We can't be young anymore anyway, but the memories are still there.

Paul the Octopus Is Dead :(

2010-10-26T20:02:00.000+08:00

Well, just recently I saw this sad news while browsing the FIFA World Cup site to search players for my Football Manager 2010 game. And this news suddenly appeared that Paul the Psychic Octopus had died.

News link >here<

The aquarium manager even commented to prepare him a funeral. He deserves a funeral to be commemorated, for Paul is a unique creature that predicted 100% of the games he predicted.

Rest in peace, Paul.

Got Interviewed By The Malay Mail - Online Protest

2010-10-25T21:54:00.000+08:00

It started out with a click with the intention to join the people's voice against the RM 5 billion National Budget plans to build the 100 storey Warisan Merdeka tower. And little did I expect that a journalist from The Malay Mail sent me a message in Facebook to enquire my opinion about the tower project.

Full story is here: >Online Protest<

Though 80% of what I really wanted to say has been phrased out, I am thankful that my doubts have been expressed to the mainstream press.

I as a citizen of the world has wanted to see a radical change, and I wanted to be that change I want to see the world to be - a post-monetary egalitarian society where everyone has happiness.

And for that period ever since I joined that group and spammed the Wall page calling for change, I did managed to discuss with some of the members whom I don't know. Their open minds and their willingness to learn is what I admire, not like some guy who becomes a hooligan in a discussion as he don't accept new ideas easily.

Collaboration is a very vital key for the society to function well. If everyone recognises each other as ONE human race, then we shall have a closer system towards utopia.

"What is a society when nobody trust each other well?"

- Peter Joseph, activist and founder of The Zeitgeist Movement.

To Be A Christ-Like Person

2010-10-25T14:45:00.000+08:00

...is not just to follow the norms around the society. You also have to question everything around you, and that is where you get your wisdom.

Well, being a Christian is not just about praying one hour a day, reading the Bible or to attend church services every Saturday or Sunday, it's about being a more godly person, and to be a more wise, enlightened person.

The sad thing is, when you begin to be wise, things around you will change. You will see things differently. Everything around you will tempt you to think more.

"Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will open."
- Jesus said this in the Gospel of Matthew.

Same applies to any followers of another faith. Even the Eastern religions like Buddha and Islam teaches the followers to learn and seek more wisdom.

*picture will be inserted here*

National Budget Critic (Update 1 For This Week)

2010-10-19T16:57:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time I didn't update my little space. And yes, the last 2 weeks were busy moments, especially the previous week. And sorry my readers, I had abandoned this page for a little while, as traffic had declined from 80 views per day to just 25 within 1 week!

And so, I update this.

Well, Part 1 of my update today is about the National Budget 2011 for Malaysia. Yes, it is a 1Malaysia-based economy plan which is also the New Economic Model (NEM).

And here's the overview of the budget from Malaysiakini.

Total budget – RM212 billion, 2.8% higher than the 2010 Budget
Operating expenditure – RM162.8 billion
Development expenditure – RM49.2 billion
2010 growth revised to seven percent compared to six percent previously, fuelled by private investment growth (15.2%), private consumption (6.7%) and exports (11.6%)
2011 growth expected to hover between five to six percent supported by private investment (10.2%), private consumption (6.3%) and exports (6.7%)
2011 per capita income expected to go up 6.1% to RM28,000, while income in terms of purchasing power parity will hit US$16,000, tempered by moderate inflation (2-3%) and low unemployment (3.5%)
Budget deficit is expected to go down to 5.4% of GDP, compared to 2010 figure of 5.6%
Federal government revenue is estimated to increase 2.3 percent to RM165.8 billion in 2011, compared to RM161.1 billion in 2010
Private investment to expand 12.5% to RM86 billion.
Emphasis on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects
RM12.5 billion worth of public private partnerships (PPP) will be implemented under budget 2011, with RM1 billion facilitation fund from government
Mass Rapid Transit project to be implemented beginning 2011 with private investment of RM40 billion and to complete by 2020.
Academic Medical Centre – a joint-venture between Academic Medical Centre Sdn Bhd and John Hopkins Medical International as well as Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland – which involves private investment of RM2 billion
Development of International Islamic University Teaching Hospital in Kuantan; Women and Children’s Hospital
Construction of a 300MW Combined-Cycle Gas Power Plant in Kimanis, Sabah
Construction of highways such as the Ampang-Cheras-Pandan Elevated Highway
RM5 bil new tower in KL
A new landmark, Warisan Merdeka, expected to be completed in 2015, will include a 100-storey tower, the tallest in Malaysia
It will stand on land next to Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara. Both stadiums to be retained as national heritages
EPF to fund Sungai Buloh development
Development of the Malaysian Rubber Board land in Sungai Buloh covering an area of 2,680 acres. To be funded by EPF with RM10 billion over 15 years.
EPF overseas investments will be increased from seven percent to 20% of total assets managed
Investments
GLCs to divest shares in major companies listed on Bursa Malaysia to increase liquidity and trading velocity
An International Board will be added onto Bursa Malaysia to increase foreign investment, especially to promote syariah-compliant products
Bumiputera Property Trust Foundation will be launched to enhance bumiputera ownership of prime commercial properties in urban areas
Corridor projects not forgotten
Corridor and regional development will be accelerated with injection of RM850 million
RM93 million for Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy
RM133 million for Northern Corridor Economic Region
RM178 million for projects in East Coast Economic Region
RM339 million for Iskandar Malaysia
New private pension fund
To revitalise capital market activities, the government will launch a Private Pension Fund in 2011
Existing income tax relief of up to RM6,000 for employees contributions to EPF will extend to Private Pension Fund contributions
Funds to help businesses
RM146 million fund to support the oil, gas and energy industry
RM857 million allocated for local E&E (electrical and electronic) companies to compete at the international level
To help entrepreneurs that face financial problems, Insolvency Act to consolidate Bankruptcy Act 1967 and Part 10 of Companies Act 1965, including introduction of provision relating to relief mechanism for companies and individuals with financial problems. Review will also amend current minimum bankruptcy limit of RM30,000
Tourism
RM100 million allocated to support the tourism industry
RM3 billion eco-nature resort Nexus Karambunai, Sabah, to commence 2011
RM85 million to facilitate construction of hotels and resorts in remote areas
IT development
Multimedia Development Corridor programme allocated RM119 million. Focus is on creating an innovative digital economy.
Import duty and sales tax exemption on broadband equipment extended for two years until 2012.
Minimum wage
A National Wage Consultation Council will be set up to determine the rate and mechanism of minimum wage for various sectors.
Basic minimum wage for security guards to go up to between RM500 and RM700 depending on location, compared to RM300 to RM400 previously
Fully-paid maternity leave for civil servants to go up to 90 days compared to 60 days previously
Levy on foreign workers to increase in stages according to sector. Health insurance for foreign workers now mandatory.
Training
Talent Corporation to be set up under Prime Minister Office in early 2011, will formulate National Talent Blueprint
Aim to increase PhD qualified academic staff to 75% in research unis and 60% in other public institutions of higher learning
1Malaysia Training Programme will be launched January 2011 with an allocation of RM500 million
Sabah and Sarawak
RM2.1 billion to upgrade rural roads in Sabah and Sarawak, RM696 million for Semenanjung Malaysia
RM1.5 billion to develop rural electricity and water supply in Sabah, RM1.2 billion for Sarawak and RM556 million in Semenanjung Malaysia
Allocation for ministries
RM15.86 billion for Prime Minister’s Department. It was RM14 billion in 2009 and RM12 billion in 2010
RM29.3 billion allocated for Education Ministry
RM10.2 billion for Higher Education Ministry
RM1.2 billion to the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development
RM627 million for Ministry of Human Resource
RM111 million for Permata (Pusat Anak Permata Negara)
Other salient points
Scheduled hike in toll charges for four highways owned by Plus Expressways Bhd will be frozen for the next five years.
Civil servants Grade 54 and below will get a RM500 Special Financial Assistance, including contract officers and retirees, payment will be made in December 2010
Maximum housing loan eligibility for civil servants up to RM450,000 from RM360,000 previously
First-time homeowners will also enjoy a 50 percent discount on stamp duties for homes below RM350,000.
Young adults of household incomes of less than RM3,000 will be assisted through a first-home owner scheme where government will guarantee 10% down payment for homes below RM220,000. This means that house buyers will obtain a 100% loan without having to pay the 10% down payment.
Malaysian permanent estate workers will get maximum RM60,000 housing loans to buy low-cost houses at four percent interest rate and repayment period of 40 years extending into second generation
Sales tax for mobile phones reduced by 10 percent.
RM350 million allocated to boost efforts to cut down crime index, and establish 25 special courts to expedite prosecution.
Full import and excise duties exemption granted to franchise holders of hybrid cars extended to Dec 31, 2011, extends also to electric cars and hybrid and electric motorcycles
Import duty on approximately 300 goods preferred by tourists and locals, at 5% to 30%, be abolished
Service tax to be increased from 5% to 6%. Government proposes to impose service tax on paid television broadcast services
Excise duty exemption on national vehicles purchased by the disabled to go up to 100 percent from 50 percent previously
RM200 million allocated for Distribution of Essential Goods programme, on top of RM100 million allocated under budget 2010, to standardise prices nationwide
375 native English speakers to be recruited from United Kingdom and Australia to improve teaching of English.
Monthly allowance of community leaders (JKKK, village heads, Tok Batin, etc) to be increased to RM800 from RM450 previously. Meeting attendance allowance also increased from RM30 to RM50
Imam allowance increased from RM450 to RM750, KAFA (religious school) teachers’ allowance also goes up to RM800 from RM500
RM1.9 billion allocated for environmental projects, including for the River of Life programme and greening of Kuala Lumpur
Point system to be introduced to facilitate permanent resident status applications, and can be applied for after five years of residence compared to 10 years previously

I bet many Malaysians are not somehow impressed with this high valued budget issued by our beloved Mr. Najib last Friday.

On education and some social improvement stuffs, like the MRT, I don't have any critics against it, however, when I was reading the highlights via Twitter during class at 5 pm, my senses told me that this budget is a materialized piece of budget that doesn't satisfy all Malaysians.

Even Anwar Ibrahim agreed with me in Twitter (yes, he replied me!) saying that it is a total waste of money.

And yes, I am one of the voices that is not impressed with the budget.

And so, this is my critique.

BEFORE THAT: I am not affiliated to any Opposition nor the BN political bodies. I am a political atheist who does not support either of these 2 parties, for I only believe in an egalitarian system (resource-based economy).

1. Our national debt will be increased.

Our government doesn't own 100% of our money. Besides of taking from our taxes, they also borrow money from the central bank for the extra expenditures. At the end of the day, they are to pay back the loans and the INTEREST rates in it, thus increase our debt to the banks.

They do this purposely for various reasons. One of them is to ensure the money circulation to be increased around the society. Printing out more money doesn't help solve the debt problem. Instead, it increases the debt amount as the government distributes the money via loans from the central banks. Remember the fact that money is DEBT. It exists from loans (principle), and the debts are impossible to be paid (principle + interest).

Here is an excerpt from Zeitgeist: Addendum where the narrator, Peter Joseph describes the creation of money.

So, it has been reported that our 2011 National Budget is 2.8% higher than the 2010 budget. Imagine how much more debt will our nation have. Little do our politicians know how deadly it is our banking system is - also known as the Fractional Reserve Banking System, or FIAT.

2. $5 billion "White Elephant" project?

As we all know, Kuala Lumpur is currently under the Greater KL project where we want the outsiders to know how "materialistically" awesome our new Malaysia will be by the year 2020.

And this new tower, named the Warisan Merdeka, is 100 storeys tall, and will outshine the "ageing" Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower. It shall be owned by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and people will feel more grand by staring at that tower.....blah blah blah...

And my reaction is - What is the point of building a 3rd skyscraper while the other two had been well known internationally? Why join in the race for building the tallest city when you know that the tower costed in billions that should be used to benefit people more?

Why spend more on materialistic aspects and NOT on social aspects?

3. High income = high expenses

Yes, we all are delighted to know that we will be a high income nation. It sounds so positive right? But, a high income nations will have their daily expenses increased, and the increase of tax from 5 to 6 per cent is something that I expect along this concerning agenda.

Sure you can argue that there are laws being processed in order to ensure everyone, EVEN the poor security guards to have their salaries increased, but imagine what if your expenses are increased to the point where you find it hard to earn some savings for the future, what will be your thoughts about it?

As a result of this phenomenon, I can assure you that this high-income good news doesn't guarantee you that it improves social living, for the rich-poor gap will continue to skyrocket. Someone will be left behind. Plus, what about the increasing unemployment rates and the uncertainty of the Western-dominated financial system? They are unpredictable all the time, and you will not see them coming.

So, that's my critique ever since I heard the highlights last Friday. Based on the Facebook groups on Malaysia, I can see a radical change which is beginning to form within the Malaysians. I can see that they wanted a radical change, as people tend to solve problems, not money. So, why not allocate more monetary resources to help the people?

"What Malaysia needs is a radical change towards a welfare-based and loving society, NOT a materialistic one."

P.S - Please join this group if you disagree with the $5 billion mega tower project, our voices needed to be heard if you want to see positive change in society, as in spirituality and social justice.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/1M-Malaysians-Reject-100-storey-Mega-Tower/162774653750749

"Armies can be stopped, but not to an idea whose time has come"
- Victor Hugo

Melancholic

2010-10-10T22:51:00.000+08:00

The scenery from my balcony yesterday. I like the clouds, and the whole sunset scene.

And it made me melancholic for a little while.
Just a short update though. I'm kinda busy. My friend Cayenne had stopped blogging, and that actually demotivated me a little bit. haha. I understood her situation right now, as she's really in a busy world trying to balance her times for her courseworks and social stuffs. I guess she is now in the transition to be in the working world.

Anyway, thinking about the working world, there's no absolute definition of "maturity" in the adult world. If you study sociology or anything about social science, then you may know how sick our world is. Think about it, if everyone is mature, they will not acknowledge themselves as white-collared slaves in the social system.

And damn it, my future will be going towards it. Thinking about it, yeah, I really have nothing to say.

Back to my assignments. Can't help to think like that. Sigh.

Mutual Respect

2010-10-05T21:10:00.002+08:00

Mutual respect is impossible when 2 or more parties don't look at each other equally. Otherwise, it will be either one side be egoistic, while another one will be ridiculed. Either ways.

Just to type this out to express how bemused I was today on this fact. It's about the presentation today, and I was glad that we went through that hell which was approximately 30 minutes long. And it indeed felt like an hour long due to that sessions.

I admit. We didn't really prepare well for the presentation. But what ridiculed me was the Q&A session with strangers whom we didn't know.

Well, it's like this. There were 1 or 2 guys who were trying to start a debate against us. And of course, when the interaction started, the atmosphere was awkward between both sides while we are anticipating questions and answers from each other. While anticipating their questions, I realized that they were paraphrasing their sentences to challenge our stand, while they were students at the same time. Well, it's a really ridiculous and annoying way to gain attention in this way.

"Well, he paraphrases them so that he will get the question that he wants," well said to my classmate during the post-mortem teamtalk given by my lecturer.

It's hard to tell his attitude based on his American English accent, but his tone sounded arrogant, condescending and demoralizing, as if he is an attention seeker among the crowd.

But anyway, the past is the past. What I observed here is one of the symptoms of how screwed up a materialized society is.

A materialized society is all about competition and self-centered mentalities. We were told to compete for resources and to be the breadwinner of our family when we work. While our religions and families taught us about the good values on how should we behave, we tend not to regard them into our first priority because we WANT MORE. And thus, you gain that attitude of greed. Greed that makes you to compete more, and make you feel better if you just win over somebody - that neglects other humans' well- beings for their own self-purpose.

Yes, I accept constructive criticisms for self-improving purposes. But condescending behaviors like this? No.

What's the point of people to ridicule presenters with unnecessary questions when the topic they presented doesn't affect you much? I would rather ask questions in a talk that is related to our social living because the social concern is still there. After all, we are students. Why not practice the mentality of symbiosis to collaborate and achieve, instead of being an egoistic biatch seeking for attention, to tell others that you are smart and elegant (though I know that they are encouraged to ask questions, but it is immoral to do that to others).

Confucius, The Bible, The Quran and even The Torah mentioned this universal philosophy.

"Do unto others on what you want others to do unto you."

We are one human race. We were born the same way and we are all students, all wanting to be successful one day. It's better for us to learn from one another, and compete in a healthier way. THAT's MUTUAL RESPECT.

Still, the world has to change our modern busy, and stressful way of life. I believe all of us want a positive change, right?

Walking Around Circles

2010-09-30T16:39:00.000+08:00

This modern human lifestyle, is as cruel as the ancient world. Well, we may have the technology, but the financial system drags us to a whole lot of busy-ness. And everyday, we shall be facing unnecessary stress and agony in the workplace, (even in college), while at the same time complaining without relating the roots of our problem.

And therefore you see everyone of you walking around in circles, while being clueless on what you should do.

You see, I feel troubled to see the people around me are like that.

And thus, this fire sparks within me. But sometimes the wind is too powerful that it blows that fire off. But eventually the smaller winds tend to spread it.

I believe some of you are worried of this fact, don't you? :)

Linkin Park is Back! xD

2010-09-26T01:43:00.001+08:00

Well, I noticed this a few days ago.

Anyway, this is the latest Medal of Honor game trailer that features Linkin Park's "The Catalyst". And I'm kinda happy with the new song from them. Looks like MOH is going to compete against the other modern warfare FPS stories, like Infinity Ward/ Treyarch's COD Blackops and Electronic Arts' Battlefield Bad Company 2. Of all, I feel that the Call of Duty series are the best.
"God bless us everyone. We're broken people living under loaded gun." Indeed.

Anyway, this is Linkin Park's new album.

Taken from Google Images =)
So far I had listened to The Catalyst and Burning in The Skies. They are not so different than the ones from their previous album. But I'm sure, Linkin Park still has the edge to keep up with the current music trend.

Yet, I still prefer their songs from Hybrid Theory and Meteora! :) I missed the Linkin Park with rock and hip-hop.

What Is Democracy (Part 2) - Democracy Is Yet To Learn

2010-09-19T01:32:00.000+08:00

If the first video of the previous post is not enough to provoke your thoughts, I would like to share another video for you on democracy. :)

This video is produced in Indonesia, and it's really creative for the producer himself to show how society thinks about democracy.

Well, a common nation has its people so diversified with different ideologies and understandings from occupational, religious, and social backgrounds. And thus, under a social system imposed on them, people are indoctrinated indirectly to chase their own dreams and goals in their life, thus people are segregated by their own cravings and achievements, which we call "self-interests". And it's impossible people will have unity as a whole.

Note: All pictures below are accredited to the short film above. =) I really salute Indonesia for being the only South East Asian nation to be the winner of this contest of democracy.

Here, the writes shows the examples of what made up the ignorant masses in the classroom. We have:

An activist: He doesn't smile much, as activists tend to be sceptic on the mainstream media due to the social injustice around him - his quest of truth.

An entrepreneur: Businessmen tend to prioritize profits (self-interest) and not caring much about social concerns more. You may argue that corporations are having corporate social responsibilities (CSR) to the community, but all of these are for publicity purposes.

A law enforcer: Every nation has law enforcement, people who were given the mandate to uphold the law and the constitution of the country he/she is serving. But what if they only serve the ones in power and NOT the people? What if a country becomes a police state?

A farmer: A perfect example that represents the working class of a nation. He's like any other workers of labours in any nation.

A doctor and an engineer: It's no difference when the producer decides to put an architect and an accountant together, these people are specialized in their own professional fields, and thus, they have no common grounds and will not sit and talk to each other.

The celebrity and the media: The entertainment industry has brainwashed the masses with many fictional nonsense the media can think and present of. Well, they tell you to dress like this, act like that, who is to be worshipped, who is to be hated, etc. When they say Justin Bieber, all the 13 year old girls will come shouting his name like mad, agree?

A politician (Member of Parliament): This is an important character that represents the politicians. Well, they tend to talk and claim a lot about something, rather than giving a straightforward solution to serve the people, don't they?

And so, the producer slowly portrays the way how these characters act with one another.

Here, you can see what if the entrepreneur sits with the politician. You can see a Rupiah note on the MP's mouth, isn't it? Usually, we call this bribing.

Silencing the public eh? The case is this, when the farmer wants to answer the democracy question, he was stopped by the police who sat beside him. Freedom of speech?

And then, comes a prominent, highlighted character.

President Soekarno of Indonesia once said, "Give me a thousand old men, and I will move a mountain. Give me a thousand young men, and I will shake the world."

The youngster is a person who is self-seeking, lively, expressive and outgoing in person. However, they (I'm also a youngster for now) can be also ignorant in mind if not being educated well. That is why you can see many young activists in the West in demonstrations and volunteer campaigns. That is also why Christian organizations are active. We are capable of making a change.

However, democracy, to us youngsters is a hard word to be defined, as long as we are living under a sick, self-centered society. It's therefore up to us to find out the true meaning of democracy.

And thus, the title, Democracy is Yet To Learn (Masih Belajar). Take a good look on how the way the others treat the youngster. The ignorant masses only wanted to see what is his answer without reflecting about it, but at the same time, they are throwing stuffs at him - it's all about the sickness of society due to diversity and various understandings (yeah, that include bigotry, stereotypes, and discriminations).

What Is Democracy?

2010-09-18T01:30:00.001+08:00

"What Is Democracy?"

The advancing technologies of communication are helping us to be united as ONE planet, as we are advocating the true ideology of humanity to all. Throughout all the years, men have been praying and hoping for a state of utopia - a perfect world you and I wanted to live in.

Recently, Youtube had presented on its main page on the outcomes of a short film competition to challenge filmmakers around the world to redefine "democracy", where 6 out of 800 films were picked as winners of the contest. The contest was called Democracy Challenge.

This is the most meaningful video that I'd ever viewed and I would like to share this to all of you, to rethink democracy, and NOT about your own self-interests, for we are the members of this world.

"ATTN: Mr. Democrat"

Directed, edited, written and composed by Farbod Khashtinat (Iran)

Animation: Taraneh Galozar

Music: Shahim Pajoom

Dear Democratic President, I hope that you will read this someday. Perhaps a miracle will happen and your democratic attitude will change.

Democracy is NOT to screen the votes of a nation with the filter of your opinion.

Democracy is NOT taking what's others' for yours for your survival

Democracy is NOT choking the voices so that no harsh words could aggrieve your ears.

Democracy is NOT ruling a totalitarian regime under the name of a "Republic"

Democracy is NOT that the minority chains majority.

Democracy is NOT describing the sacred things as your own and charging anyone who says against you with heresy.

Democracy is NOT being a caring foster for other countries' people and being an unkind stepmother of your own.

Democracy is NOT play with words and to invent the truth and still discourse on freedom of speech.

Democracy is NOT that whatever we say is not democratic, and whatever you say is democratic.

Democracy IS what my brothers and sisters requested for and you shed their blood because of it.

But still,

We haven't given up on our dream.

You see, people, true democracy is UTOPIA- a place you and I wanted to live in with peace and harmony, collaboration, NOT competition. Share this to your friends, and spread the words of enlightenment to them.

Football Manager Hiatus

2010-09-15T00:34:00.001+08:00

I know my site here wasn't updated for 4 days, I think I better keep it alive for a while.

And indeed, I was hiatus due to this nice, smartly designed game. To those who recently ask me where and what is the #fm2010 trend in my Twitter, this is it.

Well, Football Manager 2010 is a more realistic simulation game to those who wants to experience the pressure and what its like to be a real football manager like Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp, Jose Mourinho, and so on. Here, all you have to do is to create your manager character (you can even use your own pictures for the game!) and select your favourite team to play. Be warned, for the season, you're only able to have a low transfer budget (the money you use to buy players).

In the game you can even tweak the formations of the players, while instruct them on their movements, personally or as a team. This can be confusing, even if when the assistant manager helps you.

I'd been playing this since the World Cup month. The game begins in year 2009 and I started up with Tottenham Hotspurs and struggled against the top teams of the Premier League for 3 seasons before I won the League title in the 3rd season. Well, as for the transfers, I tend to surf the World Cup site a lot, searching for decent players to purchase. From the Tottenham Hotspurs of the real world, I brought in players like Khalid Boulahrouz, Angel di Maria, Micah Richards, Salomon Kalou and Mark Gonzalez to improve the team. Of course, I need to sell out some of the players. Sometimes, it's best if you train young talents if you want to save budget.

Currently on the 4th Premiership season and my 1st year with Manchester United, I got an extra $140 million budget, so I spent the money on stars like Arjen Robben and Edin Dzeko, as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are already retired in the game. Well, these stars will eventually get older, but I managed to train some talents, which are fictional actually.

Looks like Wayne Rooney has to prove himself for the win. Dzeko keeps scoring in the Premiership games. While I was blogging this, my Man Utd draw with Arsenal 0-0. Gosh, wanted to get Cesc Fabregas but Arsenal wanted $81 million for him. Currently targeting Neymar of Brazil, Berbatov left the team when I was playing Tottenham.

Edin Dzeko seems to be the best striker I'd ever played with in the game. LOLS. In real life, he's from Wolfsburg. Both the scouts of Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester United recommended him to be in the team. Yeah, you have scouts to help you, but you need to have sufficient knowledge of real life players in order to succeed. Otherwise, it's hard for you to get decent players.

Back to reality, when I found out that Everton almost managed to defeat Manchester United last Saturday during the second half full time, I was devastated. 2 sudden goals do hurt the whole team.

Anyway, Yakubu is one skilful forward. Haha. In the national games, I first played as Nigeria, then I jumped to Uruguay, which is a regret. It seems that Nigeria have better resources, while Uruguay only have the better attackers like Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan.

Looks like I shall be downloading some players wallpaper soon. haha.

I only recommend this game to the football fanatics, as you need a lot of knowledge to play such a game.

Happy Raya, And Be Positive About Peace

2010-09-10T12:36:00.000+08:00

This is actually the continuation of my previous post. :)

One of my readers had told me that today the Quran burning plans have been cancelled, which is a very good news to all the citizens of the world. But then, there could be side effects. The damage has been done.

Link of the story >here<

If Pastor Terry Jones is here, he could be sentenced under ISA. Enough said. =)

But anyway, Happy Hari Raya people. Forget about hatred, let's focus on peace. Don't let such uncivilized acts provoke your mind to hate one another.

Shame On You! [I'm Against The Quran Burning Plans]

2010-09-09T20:18:00.003+08:00

Even though I'm half a world away from America, I can deeply feel how angry and disappointed I am as a Christian myself to Pastor Terry Jones, who has been deceived with hatred as he proposes that the Quran is to be burned in conjunction of the mosque issue on the 9/11 site.

Here's what Jesus said to us 2,000 years ago.

'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." [Mark 12:31]

'Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecutes you.' [Matthew 5:44]

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. [Matthew 7:12]

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." [Mark 11:25]

Four verses aren't enough for you, isn't it?

Freedom of speech? Ask yourself, are you practising it responsibly? You led your sheep astray as you teach them to HATE. Think about that, dear brother-in-Christ. Instead of focusing that unnecessary hatred against the Muslims, why not think about saving more blind, materialistic, ignorant souls by bringing them to Christ? You better think like a smart person, instead of practising freedom of speech, you blatantly use that freedom to promote hate.

Please, our religion doesn't teach us to HATE.

To the lost sheep who are dragged into this hate event, please consider why your United States government had approved the plans of building the mosque on that tragedy site.

They have the power to reject the plans, but why they still insisted on it?

Why in the Western media, terrorism is so strongly linked to Islam while it is a religion of peace?

Why after the 9/11 events, your American troops were led to Afghanistan and Iraq?

President Obama promised to take out the troops completely from the Middle Eastern places, why your army is still there? Even if there are terror over there, why can't they just train the local soldiers to deal with counter-terrorism as they go back?

Why are they so many flaws in your government's 9/11 official report? Why are there so many conspiracy theories about Sept 11?

Turn off your mainstream channels. And view alternative news such as Alex Jones' >click here< or check out the 9/11 Truth Movement >site<

In conclusion, it isn't Islam to be blamed, it's your government's mistakes that cause such hatred.

Shame on you! Are you being called by God to do such hatred stuffs? You are a pastor, an advocate of peace, and you're leading a church! To the Diocese of that church, please look into this matter closely. Thank you.

P.S - I don't know if this is true. But the Evil ones may plan this stage.

Excerpts from Albert Pike (freemason)'s letter to Manzini in describing his visions of Three World Wars.

"The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the "agentur" of the "Illuminati" between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other.

St. Paul says, "Be careful of wolves among sheep". Don't say I didn't warn you. Don't you see how much the name of Islam is attacked in this age?

Selepas Tsunami (After The Tsunami)

2010-09-08T16:08:00.000+08:00

Selepas Tsunami (After the Tsunami) from Pusat KOMAS on Vimeo.

And so after Gadoh, I managed to watch this 36 minutes documentary made by Pusat KOMAS. While Gadoh is all about racism and the flaws of the current social system, Selepas Tsunami describes the changes the Opposition made after they took over the 4 states liberated from Barisan Nasional in the 2008 March 8 elections.

It's happy for me to know that what Pakatan Rakyat really did was to practice a more socialist and democratic system where they implemented open tender and transparency in their governing system, thus establishing a more fair system despite the struggle of financial budgets and their conflicts against the current federal government (BN). If they continue not to be corrupted, while putting their policies in line with the people's needs, then I will not doubt that Malaysia will have a more liberal reformation soon.

I am not a strong believer in politics, for it is hard for me to trust both BN and PR, but what I saw in the documentary is enlightening. Real politics in true democracy should be where the parties involved are NOT in a competitive mode, instead they have to collaborate for the people. They have to realize that the government SERVES and SPEAKS for the people, as we are the ones that choose them. Politicians are only people who are after self-interest. But the government doesn't.

Meanwhile, I had change my mind to vote, BUT with a doubt - what if the election system is flawed? I remembered in my Malaysian Studies course, that the SPR Commission is not actually an independent body, as the committee members are selected by the King under the advice of the Prime Minister, who is also affiliated to a party. This same process also applies to the appointment of the Attourney-General and so on. Where's the fair game, though? The SPR should be pressured to play their roles RESPONSIBLY, otherwise instead of voting for democracy, we are only voting under fascism, like what the American government is facing (according to Alex Jones' Prisonplanet.com). Nobody likes that, doesn't it?

Anyway, what's important here is we are approaching a more liberal Malaysia. We have to evolve ourselves from race-based politics into a more welfare-based nation. We can do this! :)

As for the film, it is truly an eye-opening film for Malaysians. I am not opposing or siding any political parties, I am just a person advocating for a more welfare-based world.

Photography - Theme: Hope and Salvation

2010-09-07T21:51:00.001+08:00

NOTE: This isn't a religious post, as this only shows the recent photos I took.
Pics are under 16:9 aspect, taken by the Sony NEX5 with super light editings.

Most of them were taken from my church :) And thus, the theme is this. lols

Admiring this picture a lot. :)

The last picture is the one that I'd edited twice. The first one was seen by Ju Mei once. :) But now, I'd added a second layer of flare in this picture.
By looking at the pictures, I tend to look at the rants and wishes of the people around me, as well as our hopes and fears of the future. Life is hard, like it or not, we have to move, while waiting for a change.