We like to move it, move it

It's been a while since I've talked about movies or anything about the theatre...so here we go!

Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa is pretty original for a sequel... with exception for the overuse of the theme song "I Like To Move It". You would love this one especially if you liked the first movie. Another thing to note: you may not understand certain subtle references to incidents that happened in the first movie if you did not watch the earlier movie... i.e. Alex (a.k.a Alakay) the lion checking out Marty the Zebra's rear-end for the bite mark to confirm if he is talking to the correct Zebra.

The other thing that made the movie fun was the addition of some pretty interesting lines in the script. The most priceless one was with regard to the union of chimps negotiating for maternity leave when they are all male chimps (see more quotes from the movie here).

Quantum of Solace is probably the worst 007 movie I've watched. I could at least fathom the storyline in Casino Royale but the latest installment is riddled with enough black holes that it makes the story rather senseless. The character build up was well thought but the execution of the storyline was quite flawed for a Bond movie. The addition of Strawberry Fields seemed like an unnecessary diversion in the story. Besides, for a seemingly smart woman, it seems that this character was rather... under-utilized in the story.

Furthermore, although the motive of Dominic Greene (a philanthropic environmentalist with a dark side) was disclosed towards the later part of the movie, it was poorly explained... and if you happen to have dozed through the 5 seconds of the view of the underground water source and did not read any synopsis or spoilers for the movie... you will be hell bent trying to figure out what was the actual evil angle of the movie.

Among other things, I can't really fathom why the movie was named Quantum of Solace. Like seriously, are we talking about the consolation required by Bond, Bond girl Camille, and MI6 for the betrayal that each of them have suffered?

Lastly, if anyone paid attention to the ending of the movie... did you notice that Dominic Greene was found with oil in his stomach and 2 bullets shot through the back of his head? How did he get shot from the back when he was left all alone in the desert without a gun and no civilization in sight? Again... it all boils down to a badly written script.

Wanted is one of those movies that you would probably want to watch for the special effects and if you are an Angelina Jolie fan... you watch it because Jolie is in it. It's been a while since I've watched this movie so I took a look at the IMDB writeup first. I didn't know this was based on a comic book. That would explain how the more wacky concepts of manipulation of a bullet's path came about.

The other thing that I am sure most of us can identify with from this movie is the feeling of being in an office with a bully of a boss/supervisor. It kind of reminds one of statistics with regard to the top reason(s) of why people would leave their well-paying jobs.

Mamma Mia is based on the theatrical portrayal of the same name. Having watched this performed way back in 2004 by the Australasian theatre tour group during my trip to Singapore, the movie does appear to come a poor second. Maybe this is because I normally find that theatrical productions are more expressive and comical compared to the movie portrayals.

However, to be fair, I think Meryl Streep was superb in her role as Donna the mum with an interesting past; Julie Walters was amazingly hilarious in her supporting role as the tomboyish Rosie and one of Donna's best friends; the 3 actors playing the 3 guys from Donna's past were quite interesting to watch... especially during the flashback scene when they were in the hippy/disco-age of the 60s/70s. Oh... and I didn't think that Pierce Brosnan was that much of a singer. The other actors were way better in the voice department.

p/s: I would recommend watching the theatrical portrayal... so if you have a chance to catch the performance at the end of this month in Istana Budaya... go for it! It will be worth it if theatrical performances are your cup of tea.

Another rare update and more random thoughts

In just a blink of an eye, it is almost time to greet yet another new year. However, much has happened in this short time. We've all seen the effects of the worldwide economic downturn. We have also not seen the end of violence and unrest in the world we know today.

Just a quick update on all sorts of stuff that I have in my head that I would like to share with all my buddies who do take a peek here once in a while...

1. For those who know where I work:
As far as the rumors that you have heard, there is some kind of reorganization. Due to this reason, many of us have been redeployed to other departments. Most of us have been given the option to take on a role that we would like to move into. While others were comfortable to continue seeking for a front line role, I managed to find myself in a back-end support type of role within the company. I am thankful that I have found my way into something closer to my interest and what I do best.

2. Regarding the recent disruptions of peace in Thailand:
In some way, I must say that I am glad that although we see a lot of argument about positions of power amongst our politicians (they could invest more time in spending more brain power on plans to help promote the healthy growth for the nation in all necessary areas... but oh well...) it has not come to a point that the public will hold innocent people hostage by forcing the shutdown of an International Airport. It really makes a person think twice if one should ever fly into Bangkok in the immediate future for any reason.

3. Regarding the recent terrorist act of violence in India:
In short, terrorism is not dead. It still haunts us all. After the Bali episodes, people grew a sense of paranoia about traveling there. With the recent incident in India where the similarity is the intention to strike where most tourists are (main targets being the Jewish), it makes one feel all the more cautious about traveling out of one's own country. Irregardless of who is the main target, the terrorists out there just doesn't care at all if non-targets are affected at all... it's sick... and really wrong... but what can average Joes and Janes like us do? All we can do is sit around and watch... and if we happen to know someone is in the affected area... we worry too. It's sad the way things are in the world.

The big birthday do for grandpa

Seriously, taking a few days off from work since last Thursday to have some time to help around with my dad's grand plan to celebrate my grandpa's 90th birthday bash is not all fun.

The word rest hardly has a meaning to it. There's been a lot of errands to do and chores to complete. The only two perks were: 1. I was able to squeeze some time to send my car to get a full wash, polish and vacuum; and 2. I get to finally go get a haircut.

The car smells so nice and fresh inside after that Nano Mist thing that I decided to splurge on. Of course, my mum is very happy at the moment because her nose is not reacting to the dust that was in my car and that the car interior does smell pretty good now.

Anyway, there were tons of food from the home cooked lunch to the big dinner do at Jade Palace last night. Lots of Rose wine and the Glenlivet single malt whiskey too. The booze... it was good stuff. The Rose wine was a little on the sweet side but not tremendously sweet, which of course is a good thing. The whisky was really nice for a 12 year old vintage.

Oh yeah, what about the part about not much rest? Errands, babysitting the little cousin Jolene (6-year old), helping out with food preparation, sending food, chauffeuring people around... ugh the list seems endless.

Am glad that is over with but I really do not look forward to going back to a ton of emails in my inbox at work tomorrow. Sigh...

*peep*

Well, hello blog! Long time no see. I kinda miss you. Okay, maybe not as much as I should. I mean... well... it was kinda dead.

I guess it comes with the turf. You kinda start to neglect it after having it around for way too long. The incredible motivation to update a public web journal kinda loses its attraction over time.

I guess one can judge from the frequency of updates that I used to make here by looking at the archives. I mean I was even part of a blogging group aptly named "legshakers". Yup, those were good times.

Back to the here and now, I can't really find much to put on this blog... other than the occasional comment on a movie.

And so, has anyone watched Wall-E? Gotta love Pixar's sense of humor - poking fun at how the general human population will get super obese, evolving into blobs with stumpy legs, and being permanently stuck behind a screen that we don't even know what is actually in our surroundings.

I could use a...

good massage!

That's from sitting too long. Yup...

Anyway... here's what happened last Wednesday. I woke up way too early in the morning only to find that there is no electricity in my house... but wait a minute - the street lamp is working and so are the night lights in my neighbour's place. What's going on?

Oh well... no time for me to worry about that... I need to get into the office by 6 freaking AM in the morning.

Getting to work was another adventure... I took the wrong way and nearly ended up like a car that ended up being stranded in the flood waters in front of Jabil. On the plus side, I was lucky enough to have space to turn around and take the alternate route to work. Fun, yes?

So later when I got home from work, it seems that only two houses had the power outage problem... mine and one house 2 doors down the road. Weird but at least we had TNB to sort it out for us all. Ah... the little perks of life in the mundane lane.

Quick Updates

14 May: My house was broken into in the wee hours of the morning by a petty thief who took some cash and 2 Nikon point and shoot cameras. The thief had come in through the skylight in the kitchen. Yup... it sucketh...

17 May: Shane "Buck-Buck" Tan is officially a married man on this day... and a number of us had roles to play on his big day. E.g. Kok Keong = Best Man; Sze Lin & Pei Ling were the receptionist for the dinner; and moi? --> I was the dinner event coordinator. Daniel Khoo was accompanying one of the singers for the night.

26 May: My first day at my new job in Dell. My new role? Technical Support. How's it like? Can't really tell yet... I'm still in training at the moment... the honeymoon period.

Movies: Watched quite a few by now... erm... The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, What Happens In Vegas, Over Her Dead Body, Iron Man, 27 Dresses, Vantage Point, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep and... further back in time CJ7, The Golden Compass, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Free Plug: For more details, click here.

And now for my yearly community service message

It's that time of the year and the deadline is drawing near. You know you have to do it... but you have always dread doing it...

By the time the clock strikes to midnight and the calendar date flips into 1 May 2008, it would be too late.

Yes, you know who you are and you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't already done so... "Oi! Go to the LHDN website and go file in your income tax report already! What are you waiting for?"

Trust me... you'll only need all of 5 minutes to type in the numbers if you have already prepared all the forms, insurance summary, and miscellaneous claims receipts together and have tallied up the digits that you need.

For those of you who have done e-filing last year, you will already have an account identifiable by your NRIC No. That's your login ID. Your password is something that you have already set the previous year but if you can't remember it... just use the "forgot password" feature and pray that you remember what the answer to your selected question was.

For those of you who used the hard copy and snail-mailed or dropped off to an LHDN branch/office... you have the option of doing e-filing or submitting your report the jolly good old way. However, you do need to note that on your hard copy - there is a code for you to key into the e-filing system so that you can create your e-filing account if you choose to do it the modern way.

F1 GP 2008 thus far

Generally, I was disillusioned last year because of the hanky-panky deal allegedly involving some Brits in the F1 industry and the grand plan for Lewis Hamilton that didn't go as planned.

What a horrible debacle it was and I was darned right pissed off for the huge scandal in the 2007 season. It may be patriotic and all to try to put a Brit up as a world champion but that in no way means that the method was right.

So starting from Albert Park (Australia) in March 2008 - it's a new season, and a new slate.

Australia was by no means an interesting race with only 7 cars actually crossing the line. All the other cars fell off one by one due to various incidents. The 1st corner on the Australian race track has without fail taken a few more victims out on the opening lap - its kind of like a tradition. Others fell off because of eventual accidents and mechanical failures... and also simply because the drivers had to start getting used to the "No auto-traction control" rule that has been reintroduced into F1.

By the end of the Sepang (Malaysia) and the Bahrain (Middle East) races, it cannot be denied that the most intimidating challenger that has the potential to steal points from Ferrari and McLaren is the BMW Sauber Petronas team. The BMW team has been consistent in scoring points when any of the Ferrari or McLaren cars fall behind due to various issues. For the team championship... it is now a three-way battle and not just an outright challenge between the 2 main giants who had been dominating the race for the past 2 years.

As long as there are no major scandals coming to surface this year, this would be a real interesting season to follow.

p/s: Oh and as I mentioned in 2007 and perhaps 2006, Nico Rosberg truly is one of the young drivers to watch. He'll probably be up against Lewis Hamilton one day the way Mika Hakkinen was to Michael Schumacher.

OMG it's an update!

For those of you who didn't already know... I'm back in Penang and I am currently doing a temporary job. It's not that easy looking for a good permanent job in Penang if you are not an engineer. Really. It is not. And that's enough of my griping. Next post(s) coming up!

OMG! It's a flood of new posts!

And now for a touch of comedy

From the maestros of Comedy Court, Allan Perera and Indi Nadarajah, I present to you their latest piece called Goodbye Sam. Enjoy!

Goodbye Samy Vellu

Penang Gives Opposition 2/3 Majority

This was one big win for the opposition - 11 of 13 Parliamentary seats won; and 29 of 40 state seats.

It is time for the opposition to prove their mettle and work towards making changes for the state. They have been given the chance to make their promises happen. Just don't disappoint the citizens or it won't be such a happy picture for the opposition alliance in 5 years time.

The most amazing thing, I have to say, is the huge win garnered by famous blogger Jeff Ooi in the contest for the Jelutong Parliamentary seat. If you lookup the EC's website stating the official numbers (lookup for "Keputusan > Parlimen > Pulau Pinang > 2008 > Semak") and look for Jelutong (P.50) numbers...

You'll see Ooi Chuan Aun (that's Jeff's name in the national register) garnering a whopping 30493 of 46406 (unreturned votes 743, spoiled votes 41)... a majority vote by 16246.

That's just half the story. It was firstly a surprise that he (a first time candidate no less) was put in Penang to contest for a Parliamentary seat.

Secondly, people who had gone to the opposition's campaign speeches had come back saying that Jeff didn't manage to engage the crowd he had... e.g.

1) didn't pick the right topic to speak on when among the audience are a large number of people who most likely never even heard of him and his blog; and

2) can't even cajole the crowd because he didn't speak the local Hokkien dialect.

But yet he won and won BIG.

So, what does that really tell us?

1. Did Penangnites really care who were the candidates they were voting for and whether they had a proven track record? Maybe not. Some may even say "Obviously Not".

2. Or were they just tired of the same old, same old and wanted to see more of what they really want (things closer to their hearts) get done? Probably too complicated to say but it's not something that I want to speculate on. Everyone has their own story to tell.

Note: At this time... if you try to get to Jeff Ooi's blog... chances are the traffic to the website may still be so congested that you can't even reach it.

Malaysia goes to vote

Firstly, are you 21 of age - registered with the election commission and have you done your duty to play your role in the 12th Malaysian General Elections?

If your answer is a big resounding "NO" - shame on you. It's your duty as a citizen to cast your vote in a democratic system. If you have registered at least more than 30 days ago but was told by the Election Commission (EC) that you are not qualified to vote until the next round... shame on the EC for not utilizing the latest technology to enable more qualified voters to participate in today's voting process.

Read the plugged article below as food for thought... is the blame to lie on the side of ignorant eligible (potential) young voters, or is it because of poor record keeping practices on the EC's part or are both equally to blame for poorer turn out of the new generation of voters?

Plug: Malaysia Elections 2008: Young Voters, Where Art Thou?

As I am writing this, the results are starting to come in. My home state of Penang appears to have elected the opposition alliance of DAP and PKR (or according to the Associated Press... People's Justice Party... literal translation of the political party's malay name).

As someone who had just come home to Penang trying to look for a non-engineering (super technical scientific-physics-mind-numbing) related job, I can say that I am not convinced that the job market is all that well in the state.

Are there really as many job opportunities as that has been claimed to be available in Penang? As far as I'm concerned... if you are not an engineer... you are pretty much screwed in landing yourself with a job position in Penang in the shortest time possible. I know it is easier to get into the job field of my choice if I was in Kuala Lumpur. I do have my reasons as to why I have to be back in Penang but that's not the point of this blog post.

The political campaigning of BN (National Coalition) in Penang

Were they confident of winning the state and parliamentary seats in Penang? The answer is a possible "NO". The evidence itself was in the posters and banners of the BN. How is it that the wordings on a prominent politician like Dato' Koay Kar Huah's read something like this --> "Please give me a chance. I will be a better MP"?

Is this the failure of the BN's campaigning machinery because of the poor use of the English language or were they plain insecure of their position in the state? If the poster had said this instead --> "Give me another chance. I will be an even better MP"<-- I would be better convinced that you know what you are doing and would strive to do better. The former statement sounds like a beg for votes. You don't beg if you know that you have the confidence of your people.

Note: I am just giving an example. I am not a voter for that particular constituency.

12:00 AM, Sunday, 9th March: Hot News - Live on Telly

Just over the national news, outgoing Chief Minister (after serving for 4-terms since 1990), Koh Tsu Koon who lost in his bid for the Parliamentary seat of Batu Kawan, made mention that it looks like the opposition is set to win 30 of 40 seats in Penang (yet unconfirmed total).

Koay Kar Huah (BN) vs Karpal Singh (DAP) for the Parliamentary Seat of Bukit Gelugor, Penang:

Karpal Singh wins by a landslide. My point exactly.

Now... I'll just stick to watching the television for the latest... I'll probably link to the site with the final tally at a later time.

*ahem*

I realized that I just started my blog for 2008 with a rather morbid topic... but that's just it... things have happened that I've not been writing on because I was lazy to upkeep my blog space... maybe I'll fill in the blanks later... but really... I need to go buy myself a card reader that supports SD Cards because I have misplaced the USB cable for my *cough* digital camera. Oh no!!

Oh wait... I do of course have to mention about the group photo shoot on 12 Jan that brought together a rather big number of ex-student councilors of KDU Penang (circa 1998-2000)... or more affectionately known as XSC'ers). For more details and some pretty impressive photography... go to Malcolm Foo's blog (btw, that's a direct link for whatever is parked into the Jan 2008 bucket on his blog) and click on the topics about XSC to see the goodies.

Now where's my treat for giving you a free plug Mal? ;P

Edit: Did I mention that I just got myself a spiffy new haircut? ^_^

RIP Heath Ledger

Looking through IMDB's profile on Heath Ledger, I tried to remember when exactly was it that I was first truly impressed by his acting skills.

I believe that he first became someone to look out for after his International big screen debut as Patrick Verona in 10 Things I Hate About You. His next big role was as Gabriel Martin next to Mel Gibson in The Patriot. By the time Heath played the role of William Thatcher in A Knights Tale, I was absolutely convinced that he was a young actor with a lot of potential to go far (although yes... this movie was light fare when compared to The Patriot).

Most recently famous (or I should say rather infamous) for his role in Brokeback Mountain... it's sad indeed to know that someone who had such great potential in his vocation had died and he is just about a year older than me... and at press time... cause of death has not yet been determined and no obvious signs to support popular assumption that it could have been a drug overdose.

Whatever it was... RIP Heath Ledger - a great actor that could have been an even bigger star if he had lived into his golden years.