Desultory MaDness

Over and Out

2005-08-19T17:16:00.000+08:00

I started this blog for a specific reason to keep certain people in the loop of what I've been thinking and what I've been seeing. My initial euphoria of working in a publishing house has also settled down though I'm still very much liking my job. Thank fully. In any case, this blog has served it's purpose for the duration that I've actively been updating. However, the reason to start this blog is now defunct and it is no longer necessary to keep a journal of my mis-exploits. So there, this will be the last entry and Desultory MaDness will truly go where the dinosaurs went.

I'm Alive

2004-11-23T01:11:00.000+08:00

I've not been posting for a long time. But rest assured I'm alive. At this very moment (hint: look at the timestamp) I have JUST returned from work. Although I do not work This late everyday. This is just to illustrate my point that I am really busy. Even if I come home earlier at normal hours, I tend to take the time to do personal stuff and sleep. I haven't even had time to read my books and I now have a whole pile of more than a dozen books which haven't been read. This does not even include books which friends have lent me.

Big things that happened since I last posted?

-Need for Speed Underground 2 was released.
-Medal of Honor Pacific Assault was released
-Half Life 2 was released (completed)
-Went to a book warehouse sale (bought more books)
-Authored my first DVD
-Done ALOT of writing.

So whats with my new job? I suppose I've written alot about it but never really disclosed what it entails. I've taken an editorial position with a prominent IT portal in Asia, HardwareZone I'm working as a writer for the online portal itself (they have a few printed publications as well) and have been busy the past month earning my keep. I tell ya, writing professionally is totally different from personal writing, like this blog for instance. I can rant off and spew my mind without worrying about spelling and grammar. I can use street slang more often than not. I don't have to me meticulous about details and factoids. I don't have to do graphs (Oh how I loathe Graphs) Don't mistake me. It's my dream job and I'm loving every moment of it. It's just that I don't really have the time to rant as long as I used to.

What I'll do is the next post, I'll dedicate it as my article tracker. I'll use that to constantly add the stuff I've done and has been published. Well, I still need to bathe... and relax a while before going zzzz. MaD out...

Indecision Man. Coming to a theater somewhere.....maybe...not

2004-11-04T01:58:00.000+08:00

What the Hell is going on? Now, I've decided to stay away from commenting on the US presidential race or anything political for that matter cause I didn't really want to spew crap onto my blog. However, this is just stupid.

Just in on CNN.com Kerry Calls Bush to Concede.

After the campaigning, after all the drawn out speeches and promises, after all the talk about fighting to the end, "You deserve no less". Now that we're right smack in the middle of vote consolidation, He calls up Bush to CONCEDE????? I mean even if he loses, well the Goddamn people will have decided. Did he just wake up from his nap and thought, "Why am I putting myself through this"...[dials Bush's number]..."Hey Bush, I don't think I want to play anymore... you go ahead and be President, k? bye"

While Bush has been the butt of many jokes about his intelligence and leadership (as far as I'm concern, true on all counts), Kerry is one indecisive mother. I mean, is this the best the US can put forward? The best candidates for the most powerful position in the country and arguably the world are a war-mongering idiot and a 10-year old in a candy shop???????

"President Kerry, the Al-Qaeda has just bombed Times Square. What shall we do?"
"Bomb them back"
"Are you sure?"
"Uh..ok maybe we just talk to them"
"But they just flattened Times Square"
"KIll the buggers then"
"I'll call the General"
"No Wait....why don't we setup a poll and see what the public wants"
"A Poll sir?"
"Yes, if the public wants me to attack, I'll do it... lets have tea for the time being... Is it too late to call Bush and concede? I don't like all these decisions."

Innocence

2004-10-31T23:52:00.000+08:00

Ghost in the Shell. I do have to admit, I initially did not care much for the anime. The only reason I picked it up was due to the fact that there was nudity, gunfights and robots. (I was young). All the techno, neo-realism mumbo jumbo was totally lost to me. When I began to appreciate more philosophical 'thinking' movies, I re-encountered the gem I missed. Much like the Sandman graphic novels (NOT comics), it took the 'older' me to appreciate. A 'cartoon' doesn't have to be brightly colored, fluffy,sweet and/or intellectually empty. In fact, I am now deeply rooted in the belief that it is an excellent medium to deliver serious material.

This brings us to Ghost in the Shell : Innocence. The show takes place after the first movie (For the uninitiated, the movies and the series exist exclusive of each other. So while there has been 2 seasons of the TV series running between the first movie and Innocence, the movies act as if the events in the series never happened and vice versa).

Let me start off by describing the quality of the animation and imagery. In one word, breathtaking. The blend of CGI and hand drawn art was so beautiful, I could have cried. The entire movie was a moving art gallery with a powerful soundtrack.

In the movie any good? Yes, tremendously so. I am not actually going to go into the storyline. There are sentiments out there saying that it's nothing more than a normal 20 minute episode stretched out to make a movie. I have to concur there as the plot is pretty basic. After 2 mangas, a movie and 2 seasons of a TV series, there really is nothing much left to delve into in terms of characters or universe. The GitS franchise has already attained cult status among many and character development has been deeply explored. Innocence drops you into the world assuming you are already fairly familiar with the setting.

While the plot is simple, the theme is far from it. The story is mainly used as a tool to help drive and maintain focus on the underlying motif, which is a philosophical and metaphysical look into humanity and existence.

Think of movies like Terminator, The Matrix, I,Robot or countless others where the human race is threatened by machines. Robots or AI which has gained conciousness , individuality....Life! But what happends when it is the humans who have become machines? In the GitS world, technological and medical advances have made it possible for mechanical or artificial implants for every part of the human body. In fact, it is possible to transfer ones brain and 'consiousness' into a fully cyborg body. A world where everyone is connected to the Net directly through neural implants and AI (software) can be used to enhance natural abilities and functions.

It is inevietable that metaphysical and religious questions arise to the nature of humanity and individualism. What constitutes as human? What constitutes life? Are you alive or are you merely a shell with a soul? Then you will need to ask what constitutes a soul or a 'ghost'? If a 'ghost' can be transferable to a machine, is the machine now alive? Is it human? Can a machine attain a 'ghost'? These are ongoing themes in the entire GitS series, but Innocence probes deeper into the topic becoming a philosphical enquiry into the meaning of life.

The show is strewn with quotes and paraphrases from philosophers, it begs you to look at views from human, machine and even third person perspective. I don't really know how to say it, but in most stories, the theme/plot/topic advances in a linear fashion. Innocence tends to lay everything out on the floor for you to examine yourself.

The heroine of the original movie, Major Motoko Kusanagi, only makes a brief apearance here. Due to an accident as a child, the Major is a full cyborg. In the first movie, we see her questioning her existence. Though she only makes a cameo appearance, her character in Innocence extends the life-death theme and is one of the religious approximations I find intriguing. I see the Major as Buddha, she has attained peace and 'enlightenment' in the sense she has evolved beyond the needs of her physical 'shell'.

Many people seem to find it tedious, slow and incomprehensible but I was exhilarated. Nothing like a 90 minute workout in the 'Mind Gym'. I actually found it easy to understand and I could narrate to the shows terms (I must be getting really smart.. heh!). I thoroughly enjoyed it although I have to say this movie must be experienced on the biggest screen you can find.

Let one live alone doing no evil, care-free, like an elephant in an elephant forest - Buddha (Dhammapada Chapter 23 : Nàga Vagga)

Existence

2004-10-31T17:49:00.000+08:00

"What the individial creates is an expresion of the individual, just as the individual is the expression of its genes."
If the essence of life is the information that spreads through genes, society and culture are also nothing but huge memory systems. The city becomes the huge external memory device.

The doubt over that which looks alive is actually alive. The doubt that things without life might be alive
Science, which attempted to explain the phenomenon called 'life' played a role in producing this fear
The belief that nature can be calculated leads to the conclusion that humans can be broken down to simple machinery
"The human body is a machine which winds its own springs. It is the living image of perpetual movement"

"Most people are neither as happy or as unhappy as they imagine. What is important is not to get fed up with living and lose hope"

"The mirror is not a tool for realizing the truth, but for obscuring it"

Snapshots of Forever

2004-10-28T01:22:00.000+08:00

I've picked up a budding interest while on my new job, Photography. Yup, it's not something I would have usually bothered about. I've written before I'm not the artistic type. I treat the camera as something to point and click. The intricacies of "Manual" photography is something to be locked up in a dark corner and never explored. However, I now have to actually take photographs on the job, something which is not on the jobscope.. and believe you me, I had the toughest time.

I was so afraid I'd break something just by touching it. The studio lamps, flashes, expecially the cameras. I'm somewhat more comfortable now with the surroundings and I'm starting to try and move and adjust the lighting and sets to my liking. I'm also *gulp* learning about Spot Metering, Shutter Speeds, ISO Sensitivity, Aperture. Manually adjusting white balance, saturation, exposure. At least I don't have to retake my shots 3-4 times before it comes out right.... You don't know how much time is wasted just because it's a little dark or the focus is slightly off at the peripheries. Some things even Paint Shop Pro can't fix......

I still don't dare use the more expensive cameras though (there is a Nikon D70 digital SLR around the place), I feel like a total idiot using them, a rookie who does not deserve the prize.......yet!

This however sparked an interest and I feel like getting myself a good digital camera. I actually already own one, which I bought on impulse a few years ago. Not that it doesn't work, but it's the basic auto focus.. auto everything kind. It still takes good shots or so I thought...I'm starting to uncover a mountain and I'm just dusting off the surface.

When You Really Love Someone

2004-10-27T20:12:00.000+08:00

Love you when you're right
Love you when you're wrong
Love you when you're weak
Love you when you're strong
Take you higher when the world got you feeling low
He's giving you his last, cause he’s thinking of you first
Giving comfort when he's thinking that you're hurt
That's what's done when you really love someone

Love you when you're right
Love you when you're wrong
Love you when you're weak
Love you when you're strong
Take you higher when the world got you feeling low
She's giving you her best, even when you’re at your worse
Giving comfort when she's thinking that you're hurt
That's what's done when you really love someone

Sometimes you're gonna argue, sometimes you're gonna fight
Sometimes it's gonna feel like it'll never be right
But something so strong keeps you hold’n on
It don't make sense but it makes a good song

So True!
Boy Do I regret missing the concert now.....

The SOURCE is With You

2004-10-26T21:45:00.000+08:00

I have been harping about CS:Source for a very long time and how good it is, but there seems to be a general lack of enthusiasm among most of the people I know. I JUST found out why.....Many people are eagerly anticipating Half-Life2 and it seems that alot of people don't really know what it means or what it entails.

Many of us are jaded CS players, and people seem to go "So a new version of CS... why is this guy going on and on and on".
Even the namesake given CS:Source does not ring a bell. "You already have Half-life, why are you paying for the Silver package just to get Half-life again???".....After the fourth or fifth person asking the same questions. I decided to write this.

Source is the codename given for the Engine behind Half-Life2. So CS:Source, DoD:Source and even Half-Life 1:Source will mean that all these games are totally overhauled with the new Source engine.

Think of games like Mohaa, Jedi Knight, RTCW.. and all the rest of the games which are made based on Quake3 engine..Same concept.

What makes a game? Story and Gameplay packaged around some Graphics engine.
- Half-Life was a hit because of a great story
- CS was a hit because of the multi-player gameplay
So what happens when you totally remake the above games with the latest graphics engines? Full-Life!

Now ask yourselves this..."If I've never played the original Half-Life before, what will Half-Life:Source mean to me?"

HOLY CRAPOLA! MORE DOOOOM!

2004-10-26T01:47:00.000+08:00

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- id Software(TM) and Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI - News) will unleash an all-new assault on humanity with DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil(TM), the official expansion pack to the fastest selling PC first- person action game ever in the U.S., according to NPD Techworld. Co-developed by Nerve Software and id Software, DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil continues the terrifying and intense action of the already classic DOOM 3, which Maxim and Computer Gaming World awarded "five out of five stars" and the Associated Press called "one of the scariest games ever made." Through the discovery of a timeless and evil artifact you now hold the powers of Hell in your hands, and the demons have come to hunt you down and take it back. Following the events of DOOM 3 and featuring new locations, characters and weapons, including the return of the double-barreled shotgun, DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil expands the terrifying action that fans and critics have been raving about. The title will require the full retail version of DOOM 3, and has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

"DOOM 3 defines first-person cinematic action, and the expansion pack continues right where we left off -- with a terrifying atmosphere, a new story and one of the most classic weapons ever, the double-barreled shotgun," states Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "Now that fans have survived the horrors and edge of your seat action of the original, DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil delivers players deeper into the heart of the UAC to uncover new secrets and technology used to destroy the demon force that's Hell-bent on destroying you."

Building on the most advanced game engine ever created, DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil continues the frightening and gripping single player experience of the blockbuster original. The title also features even more multiplayer action with support for up to eight players in all new maps.

Days of Being Wild

2004-10-22T22:59:00.000+08:00

I watched 2046.

I am conflicted to judge if it is good or bad. You will have to see it yourself. It's very very slow though.....

A theme of the movie struck an emotional chord and I began to relate to parts of it personally, so I'm slightly sad and down at the moment. Thats all I'm willing to say........

PLEASE.... watch the original release and not the DUBBED shit in Singapore. The movie seem to have Japanese, Cantonese AND Mandarin. Idiots dubbed the Cantonese to Mandarin and in those parts the words and mouth movements do not sync anymore. I HATE that. Foreign movies are all intact.... Korean, Japanese, Thai, French... etc. etc... but any and all Cantonese movies are dubbed to Mandarin, mostly by horrible actors. Cantonese is a part of the Chinese language. Over the years I've been living here, I still cannot understand why the FUCK do they have to dub out Cantonese while allowing crude street Hokkien on screen.

Winging It

2004-10-22T22:41:00.000+08:00

With the pace my life has been thrown in the past 3 weeks, I nearly forgotten this gem of a moment. A group of friends an I decided to go watch the New Police Story during opening night. The thing is, the person who was supposed to be buying the tickets called the cinema up and was told the midnght show was already full.... at 10am. So we made other plans for the night. One of my buddies was telling of his 'Winging It' experiences and it got us fired up. Now there were 5 of us, on an opening night of a show which has already been fully booked in the morning.

We arrived at the cinema around 15 minutes before the show started and began putting the charm on the counter girl. We needed 5 tickets now... and LO! not only she had 5 tickets, she had 5 middle row tickets which have still been unclaimed. Woohoo, if the poor bastards came 10 minutes later well... life's a bitch anyway...

The tickets we got by 'Winging It' were even better than those we would normally have gotten for such an opening (Note that the Ipoh TGV sadly does not have internet booking, so there is no way to 'choose' booking seats).

When they say that they'll open up tickets for sale 30 minutes before screening if you don't collect, it seems like they actually mean business. Next time I think I'll just book and collect earlier in case some fool comes and 'wing' my ticket from me......

Ahhhh the Life!

2004-10-20T01:35:00.000+08:00

It's 1:35am and I havent even bathed... well I'm going to now which is why I stopped to write this piece. Stopped from what you say? Stopped from Counter Strike Source. Yes, my addiction has now upped the ante with double dosage per shot. Guess I'd grow old and die with CS in my veins. Oh Well.....

I wrote before during the beta testing stage and I was soo fustrated with the all the people let in, but things have changed. The 'final' is here and what sweet nectar it is. Not only is everything updated gorgeously, every map seems 'Fun' now. Yes the mapcycle runs through all the maps even de_piranesi and it was FULL of people. Now anyone playing CS in Singapore or Malaysia will know that has NEVER happened before, even when those maps were released for 'Vanilla' CS, no one ever played maps like piranesi and cheateu. Maps I thought I knew like the back of my palm gave me some suprises. Areas now seem larger and not so cramped in, more interaction with the environment. You will be suprised what 'adding a door here, or adding an extra pillar there' can do for a map.

Yes, yes, I understand after the first customary run through the maps and finding out whats all thats changed, people might bet bored back, but as long as the 'spankin new' feeling is still around, it's all good.

I've been through several forums and I can't really understand all the bitching thats going on. Some people just can't be satisfied. I found that the 'lag' issue with the netcode, which was very apparent during the beta stage was totally gone. My entire game, even through maps like aztec was smooth as silk.

de_dust is still..... de_dust. I personally think that nothing can save it....

cs_office is probably the map with the most easter eggs. It was a great place to run around and look at stuff. Valve's sense of humor is intact I see. Here are some select quotes you can find through the map. I took the liberty to take some screenshots

Camping - Doing unto others before they do unto you

Ping - Being the scapegoat for your inadequacies since 1974

Spamming - What you lack in quality, you can make up in quantity

I left the last two intact to show how 'pretty' things are now. Notice the detail, you can see the PC is a Dell PC with a Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Microsoft Optical Mouse. If you zoom in closer to the LCD, you can even make out the words and icons. Theres even a Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow on that PC. Hmmmm, someones skiving off work...I think I'll go interrogate some of the hostages after my bath.

Headshot - Those who can, Do. Those who can't, Complain

Sniping - Feel like a player without actually joining the game

The 2nd Coming

2004-10-18T20:32:00.000+08:00

I'm Back.... Again....
Finally my Broadband is re-connected. I'm now on a 1.5Mbit ADSL. YES YES YES! I'm ecstatic Woooha! I'm gonna be taking some time to download all my stuff, especially HL2 and CS:S since i wasn't online, I've already missed a couple of Steam updates and phases, it's gonna take a while, but I promise I'll be updating as per usual now.

Not to leave empty handed, today is the 18th Oct. I started my McDonald's French Fries experiment on the 10th. Well lookie here! It looks all shriveled up AND it started to mold yesterday. 1 Week, not bad. Well there goes to show that McDonald's Fries are still safe to eat. Hooray!

Movie Mania

2004-10-09T15:32:00.000+08:00

I was on a sort of movie marathon last week having watched the following shows, 3 on DVD and 3 in the cinema.

Super Model - Cantonese Zoolander rip-off that's damned funny. Actually, the direct translation of the chinese title is "I want to be a model".
Super-Size Me - The McHating I wrote about previously
The Ladykillers - Incredibly.....BORING (and to think I was looking forward to it). Tom Hanks can play dumb eccentric people very well, but he seems to Bomb playing a "smart" eccentric charcter.
New Police Story - Not bad but no cigar. Some of the young actors just plain suck.

And here we go on two the highlights. The following "Guy Flicks" proudly holds up and even surpases my expectations. Needless to say I watched both back to back in the cinema and came out a very happy "Guy".

Resident Evil : Apocalypse
Zombies - check, Monsters - check, Guns - check, Gore - check, Hot Chicks - check, Hot Chicks Kicking Ass - check, Hot Chick Nudity - check. I don't really have to go on do I? If you watched the first movie, you would know at the very last scene, the heroine Alice, wakes up from a medical facility to find the whole town in chaos. Well basically it just continues from there. As with the games, the location is Racoon City, and the Umbrella Corp's T-Virus has been leaked out and infected the whole city. So instead of the small underground facility in the first movie, we now move on to a large city area. You can imagine that would mean 3 times the zombies, 3 times the action and the directors opted to provide us with 3 times the hot chicks too. Yes, besides the gorgeous Milla "Muulti-Pass" Jovovich as Alice, we have a tough cop chick Jill Vatenline (character from the game) and tag along journalist chick (don't know name). Of course, there is your "Resident" black guy LJ providing us with some pimped out humor. No he doesn't die, some Other Black guy dies. Go Figure! The central storyline actually builds the background for Milla's character and even sets it up for another installment. As long as they follow the same formula. I will watch it AND I will like it.

One thing I learned though, females are more resistant to deadly zombie viruses. If they do get infected, they still maintain their looks and body without horrible grosteque growths or mutations. Guys are basically screwed right off the bat.

I'm going to watch this shit again before it's taken off the cinema.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
While Resident Evil would appeal to the "Man" in you, Sky Captain will stir your inner "Child". This movie is a 30s/40s science fiction comic book dream come true. Think blocky square robots and bubble ray guns. You will see radio waves when it's been transmitted and map overviews when travelling, references to Wizard of Oz, Superman, Indiana Jones, Doc Savage, King Kong...etc. Theres even a Jedi. It's a homage to the Golden Age and even the cinematography reflects this. The whole movie has a musty look to it that really takes you back in time and is expecially apparent in the metropolis areas during the beginning.

The story is pretty basic, character development is minimal. Kinda like picking up "Squidman #253 Double Sized Special" out of the blue. You're thrown right into the fray and it's up to you to figure out the connections. In Sky Captain, top scientists have been abducted, wierd machines appear to be attacking all over the world. It's now up to our charming, cool, composed hero who can still belt out witty repertoire with a straight face under extreme duress (see I couldn't even keep a straight face writing that line) to find out who is behind these attacks, what they want and save the world from immenant destruction. The acting isn't much. I mean, it's one of those entirely blue screen things some people might be put off with. I wasn't really paying much attention though, vaguely following the plot since I was having too much fun with everything else. I liked how they ended the film too, it kept with the mood of the movie.

Of course, no Guy Flick would be complete without some hot chicks. Here we have Gwyneth Paltrow, Bai Ling (you'll see) and Heaven.....uh I mean Angelina Jolie... Jolie get's too little screen time if you ask me but she has the BEST equipment. "Alert the Amphibious Squadron!" Just plain kickass.

Sky Captain is tricked-out to the brim with outlandish gizmos and eye candy that will make the nerd in you have an orgasmic fit every 5 minutes. I have one word for you, "WHOA!" I probably uttered that expression 20 times throughout show. I felt like a kid again getting my very first "Laser blaster with 50 different sound effects. Lights up when you fire!"......."WHOA!!!" There you go, I Loved it and I'm not ashamed of it. I'd go see it again even if the whole demographic is 8 year olds.

Now I'm off to see Exorcist The Beginning and Wimbledon. Two shows I did not plan to see in the beginning but hey, I saw the trailers and I'm intrigued.

McDonald's is G00D!

2004-10-08T19:47:00.000+08:00

I watched Super-Size Me. Well what can I say, it's one man being stupid and eating McDonald's 3 meals a day for 1 month. Not only that, unless McDonald's sells the product, he can't have it. Which means he can't even eat an apple or drink water unless McD sells it.

So how much damage can 90 meals of McD do to you in one month? The guy could have died. So what was he trying to prove? The AFI (America Fatso Index) is going through the roof because of fastfood eating.

This was actually an entertaining docu-movie and I enjoyed it, though I can't say it had the desired effect on me. I actually eat quite a lot of McD, at least 3-4 times a week. I've been back in Singapore 5 days now and I've already eaten McD twice. I'm thin, and I consider myself healthy. I exercise occasionally, I don't get sick often and I have none of the symptoms described in the show.

There was one special feature in the DVD which Really caught my attention though, and I believe that one 10 minute featurette would have more impact than the whole show. What he did was buy the whole range of McD burgers and a pack of Fries. Then he bought "Normal" street side burgers (made with real meat patties) and "Normal" potato wedges (made with real potatoes). They then dumped all these items into individual canisters and watch them "process" naturally. This little experiment supposedly took 10 weeks before they threw everything out due to the smell.

SO! The normal Burger and Fries began getting moldy within the first week and the McD burgers slighty longer, but nothing of importance. Now, pay attention here. The McDonald's French Fries lasted 10 weeks, which is 2 and a half months WITHOUT decomposing. Not a single mold or fungus grew on them. Is that Real Food?????

I'm going to try this experiment. Probably start this weekend and see if this is true. I'll report as time progresses.

Lapping the Lady and Sprinting the Senior Citizen

2004-10-08T19:29:00.000+08:00

Back in Ipoh, it seems my friends have now gone into a swimming craze. We practically went swimming everyday. On the second day, I was introduced to "The Girl". We don't know her but my friends see her everytime they go swimming. So what they tell me is that this girl comes 5 times a week and swims non-stop freestyle laps (not even for a breather, just back forth, back forth) for 2+ hours, gets up and leaves. Her routine is like clockwork and as I was there, I so observed.

SO, as Men, we naturally decided we need to lap her and prove our "Cavemanism". We failed miserably. However, she became a very good lap setter and swimming was just more fun when she was around. Go figure.

Now, I consider myself a pretty good swimmer and I am able to swim endurance. Though after 8 laps or so, I'll stop for a slight breather. This Girl just doesn NOT stop. She doesn't swim fast, in fact she's damned slow but she keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny.

Another phenomenon that put us to shame is the "Old Man". One of the days we were pacing with "The Girl", out of nowhere came "Old Man". "Old Man" does not do endurace. "Old Man" only swims 1 lap and stops for 10 mins. Looking at "Old Man" swim, his movements aren't fast. But "Old Man" glides through the water like a speedboat. He started later and actually sprinted us. WTF!!!! We never saw "Old Man" again after that so a rematch was not possible.

Though we considered our week healty and were managed to get sort of a tan, we were outlapped by "The Girl" and outpaced by "Old Man".

The Good the Bad and the Idols

2004-10-06T17:36:00.000+08:00

It was a dark and stormy night.....On the 29th September 2004. I had completed my packing and was about to head out on a trip. At that moment I was tempted by Lucifer to switch on the idiot box. It was that fateful night, I beheld my very first episode of SINGAPORE IDOL! OH! The HORROR

I have always said I wanted to watch, if anything just for the laughter. Let me spell out what I meant. If I saw a stand-up comic tell a joke about my momma, I laugh. If I see a clown make an ass out of himself, I laugh. William Hung, I laugh. Lightsaber boy, I laugh.

What I saw that night was not funny. I was literally Doggy-Styled in both my eyes and ears. In the short ten minutes I finally saw the Abysmal excuse of a talent show. It's not even a popularity contest. It's a mad rush to screw as many people as possible in a few months. Thats right, Not only was I privy to see one of the finalists ("shudder") croak, in the middle of things they bring out those that couldn't even pass the auditions to sing children songs like "ABC" or "Do Re Me". Forget DooM 3, Hell is already on Earth and it IS scary.

During my holiday, I also managed to watch a delayed telecast of the Final 3 in the Malaysian IDOL. My friends were complaining on how it sucks, and armed with me experience a few days before of the Singapore version, I explained to them that there is no way anything could suck harder. So I decided to risk it. Malaysian Idol, Final 3. What did I get? Actually a pretty entertaining show. There were 2 girls and a guy. There were no "fillers" by audition drop outs. The contestants all sang 2 songs each, one in English and one in Malay. I was actually entertained. The Malay girl was good, those large bodied gospel type voice. There was another girl, voice slighty "squeaky" but she still belted out a mean version of Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You", one of my favourite songs so, Respect. The worse of the lot was the chinese guy Vic, not because he couldn't sing, but because he had a strong chinese accent which made him unable to properly pronounce the words in English and Malay so his song renditions come out short. Nohing some speech therapy wouldn't cure.

I just read the above how you must have read it but, OK it isn't as good as what I seem to have potrayed. Maybe it's because of the Singpaore Idol treatment I was given before that makes anything else look great but it was definaltely watchable

The Return of the MaD

2004-10-06T17:33:00.000+08:00

I'm back from my little getaway to obscurity. During this time, there has been alot of things which has happened. I believe if I was to post it all now, the last items would just get scrolled out of the page. So I'll try to drip them in. I've also started my new job. It's great and I just found out I can walk all the way to work. Just a short 15 min stroll. Talk about a silver lining.

China Girl.. Where art THOU!

2004-09-26T18:30:00.000+08:00

I decided to BACKDATE this post JUST so this post can have the desired Effect.

HOLY CRAP! TODAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2004, 1400 hours. I bloody MISSED the inaugural China Formula One Grand Prix. Yes I was all geared up for the event. I cut my hair. I washed myself. I canceled all my appointments. I had Food and Drinks...and I MISSED it.

What was I doing at this time. I was taking a bloody DUMP. After months of European circuits, I totally forgot that China is in Asia....AND since I was away, I already had it in my mind to tune in at night and didn't double check. Since I do not condone suicide. YOU can Now Kill Me!

I have nothing else to say, but the results once again shows that Jenson Button is Gooood. Since I didn't see it, I can't say what went wrong but Schumi was cruising along fine since he's already the champion. I mean, though 12 placing, he still set the fastest lap time of the new circuit.

Meow Skywalker... nuff!

2004-09-23T19:16:00.000+08:00

I leave you with this masterpiece from them crazy people at Penny-Arcade

Achtung!

2004-09-23T17:28:00.000+08:00

Well I'll be off on a trip back to my hometown for the next week. So I might not be able to post. I'll try though.
I've actually been drafting quite a long rant but I'm busy packing stuff now so I think it will have to wait.
Ciao.

Humans are dumb

2004-09-23T17:00:00.000+08:00

Well another boring day you say? Nay! Apparently there was an attempted suicide at my condo couple of days ago (apparent cause the person is still alive). I was on my way out to work when I saw the eye catching "Police" barrier surrounding part of the sheltered walkway. It looked as if the roof cumbled or something so I didn't care about it too much. So as "news" flies, the cafe lady was telling me a girl jumped from her apartment. I can't seem to find it in the newspapers though.

Anyway, I think these people are just stupid. I don't care what kind of crap your life is, suicide is about the most ridiculous course of action you can take. That's MY view, yes tell everyone, MaD thinks you're a frigging idiot if you want to commit suicide. According to the cafe lady, it was a girl (yep girl in her 20s). So what kind of earth shattering, world ending problems do you think a young woman living in a private condo can have?

To top it off, she jumped from he 5th storey apartment and landed on the roof of the sheltered walkway. Now if you do your math, thats only around a 4 storey fall. Anyone with brains will know that the chances of you dying from a 4 storey fall is slim at most unless you're diving head first. There have been news stories where children have survived 8-11 storey falls. So, if she really wanted to die, why not take the bloody elevator all the way up to the 23rd storey and jump from there. Spoilt brat probably knew she won't die and just wanted attention. BAH! Sorry, I am unable to shed a single ounce of pity for these fools.

Avast ye Scurvvyyy Dogs!

2004-09-19T10:45:00.000+08:00

This day be International Talk Like a Pirate Day Arrr! Neowin has a funny article taking a jab at a Microsoft press release too.
.quote.
MS Press Release:

"Here be monsters

Avast ye, scurvy knaves, beware of piracy!

September 19th in the year of our lord 2004: Ahoy there! Avast ye on Talk Like A Pirate Day!1 Those who sail aboard the good ship Microsoft have a warning for those bilge rats who make choppy the calm seas with their knavish software tricks.

Because those who try to take the piracy off the high seas and onto their PCs face a fate worse than walking the plank. For they risk cursin' their businesses and being left up a creek without a paddle. They be sinkin' too with no patches to shore up systems, and could catch something far worse than scurvy.

Captain Alex Hilton, of the good ship Microsoft, says: "A lack of swordsmanship and sailing skills will leave the landlubbers high and dry."

So, on Talk Like A Pirate Day heed this tale of woe and do not bring the pirates tricks to your PC, for here be monsters. Yaaargh!"

.non compos mentis.

2004-09-18T23:20:00.000+08:00

I read in a magazine today about a budding filmmaker Vintric Thng.
.quote.
"I can't 'create' when I'm busy doing something or having work full time. I need to be lazy, to decompose, rot and die internally, so to speak, so that I can create works."

I think alot of people need to do just that and sidetrack the daily grind for a while.

It's amazing what I get inspired to do after reading a book, watching a movie or listening to a song. Some Haikus (English 5-7-5) which came to my mind. Some are personal, some are just random thoughts..... enjoy...

-----------------------------------------------------
Chinagirl passes
By and by, A dream come true
Heavenly white musk
-----------------------------------------------------
There is no one on
This road travelling but I
To where I know not
-----------------------------------------------------
Flighty, Feeling high
Moon rises serene at night
Sleep tight my dear heart
-----------------------------------------------------
Much ado nothing
What about everything
Lifes many branches
-----------------------------------------------------
Gods and demons old
Forgotten by people new
I am hope arise
-----------------------------------------------------
The seasons change not
Monotonous all year round
Lost in lonely thoughts
-----------------------------------------------------
Caress forgotten
Far and far apart they are
Dusty companion
-----------------------------------------------------
Wait is ever long
Burried deep by time and age
Patience a virtue
-----------------------------------------------------
Define love and hate
Seas part, Earth ripped asunder
Thin line stays in place
-----------------------------------------------------
Heroes aplenty
Honor, Loyalty, Courage
Digital pixels

Milestone

2004-09-14T23:12:00.000+08:00

Today, I wrote my first ever cheque! Don't get me wrong though. I've written cheques before but today I wrote and issued my first and very own personal cheque. I felt all wierd and shit handing that to the cashier at Kino. To think I've had 2 cheque books gathering dust for a few years. I'm all for technology and at this time and age where credit and debit cards are widely used and internet banking has boomed, paying by cheque seemed so "primitive". Ever since I activated my Internet Banking, I have actually NEVER been inside a bank in person for any of my personal transactions (bills, transfers, payments, purchases..etc) over the past 3+ years.

1. Cheques are not instant. Payment is not instant. Clearance is not instant.
2. Carrying a cheque book around is a hassle.
3. Writing out cheques is a hassle (especially on the spot payments)
4. You have to make an extra trip to the bank to cash or deposit it. (more redundancy)
5. Human mistakes (eg. typos) can cause MORE hassle for both parties when the cheque is bounced or cannot be deposited for whatever reason.

I was applying for this membership card and was suprised that I could ONLY pay by cheque, all for a measly sum of 21 dollars, which seemed ridiculous. I didn't understand why I couldn't pay with cold hard CASH since I was there in person at the store and at the cashier (No, Only the main branch accepts cash payment for the membership application....WHA???), but I played along just for the chance of devirginizing my cheque book (No, I didn't have it with me, I went back the next day). They actually issued me my temp card immediately. Which means I get to begin enjoying my membership priviledges....Immediately. DOH! Isn't that just dumb?

Great Balls of Fire

2004-09-13T22:51:00.000+08:00

This happened quite a while ago but I just never was able to find the original news cutting to post. Well I've found it now. Here is the Annanova article and below is the cutting.

This is something I've always been curious about. I've read about it, I've seen it on TV in some silly comedy. But I've never been convinced it actually could happen. Well I guess, I'd better watch where and when I let one rip.

Viva Italia! Vroom Vroooom VROOOM

2004-09-12T23:29:00.000+08:00

The Italian Grand Prix.AH! What a Great well earned Victory for Ferrari. What an awesome race, I was on the edge throughout. I think my couch would have some choice words to say to me if it could talk.

It had been raining all morning at Monza and the track was partially still wet. As the race started, I noticed almost everyone was running Dry tyres. Now, that was a suprise since dry tyres will be a very slick drive. I expected everyone to run Wet or Intermediate. Coulthard was running Wet (Right after the parade lap, he pitted for Dry though) and Barrichello Intermediate, can't remember if anyone else was. At the beginning, it looked like everyone's gamble was wrong since Barrichello zoommed away with the Intermediate tyres and all the other drivers were having trouble with the wet road. Schumacher even SPINNED out right in the second chicane, losing his front running position and rejoined the race in P15 (OH GOD! NO!!!!). I spoke too soon though since only after 4 laps, you see Barrichello's lead diminishing and Alonso catching up. Man, he had an 8 second lead up till now. So an early pit stop for him to change back to Dry tyres. Remember this is the 5th lap in a 53 lap race. Schumacher is 14th and Barrichello is 9th after the pit. Oh DAMMIT! not looking good for Ferrari.

In the lead now is Alonso with Button right behind and Montoya 3rd. The race went pretty much static then for the three leaders, Alonso pulling away abit and pitting at lap 10. This gives Button P1. He actually retains the lead all the way to lap 33 (Remember what I said last time about Button. This guy is really good and with a better car, my bet for new Champion). Pretty much run of the mill at the front of the pack with Montoya and Alonso trying to take out Button. After 30+ laps, only 3 retirements.

Lap 1, Panis. I cant really remember, The first lap beside Schumacher there were a few spins too, I guess he spinned out to the gravel or something.
Lap 13, Raikkonen had enginge trouble (again) and retired. I told you, unless he can constantly show performance like in Belgium. He's a one hit wonder. McLaren need to really polish up their car.
Lap 31, Bruni's car caught fire during refueling. I think the car was alright as the mechanics were giving a go ahead. But Bruni must have inhaled smoke or extinguisher powder and had to retire.

But the back is where the action is. Schumacher trying to catch up the best he can and constantly setting best lap and best sector times. This is where the race gets interesting. Barrichello took and retained a 4th position from about lap 16 all the way to 29 when he pitted again. A very short pitstop which saw him losing only 2 positions and rejoins Behind Schumacher. Yes, thats right. By that time, Good Ol Shumi has fought all the way back to 5th Spot.

Lap 30. P1- Button, P2- Alonso, P3- Montoya, P4- Sato, P5- Schumi, P6-Barrichello.

Lap 33. Alonso, Montoya and Sato Pit together. They also come back out in the same sequence. SO, that means Schumi and Barrichello are now in 2nd and 3rd spot. Button pits at lap 34 and Shumi is now race leader and for the next two laps he sets fastest Lap and fastest Sector times again. Whoop! Did I say this was exciting or what.

Lap 37, Schumi pits. He rejoins the race at P5 right behind Sato, but Immediately overtakes him through the first chicane. So we now have Schumi at 4th. Barrichello has been given a big chance and now has the lead. Only around 3 seconds seperate the 2-5th place and that's where the action is at the moment.

Lap 41, OOH! Alonso spins out at the second chicane. His back tyres are in the gravel and his car cannot move. The track maintenance guys are at the scene and we can see Alonso motioning for them to give his car a little push as he still can rejoin the race. But we see the guy keep shaking his hands. Alonso gets out of the car and storms away. We actually see him kicking the gravel in fustration. Now this is perfectly understandable. It's seemed more to me that the "Italian" crew were just a tad unhelpful there. Tough. I feel really bad for Alonso. He had such a great race. This gives Schumi 3rd place while Button takes 2nd.

We see Barrichello setting fastest lap now and he is trying to create a gap for his last pitstop.. Aaand he Makes it. Lap 42, he pits with a 22 second lead and comes out back in P1. At the very same time Schumi overtakes Button in the first chicane. Ladies and Gentlemen, LAP 43. Ferrari 1-2. Only 10 more laps to go. WHooo Hooo!

Everyone is pushing hard. Now THIS is Racing. After overtaking Button in the 1st chicane, Schumi ran wide in the 2nd chicane and had his rear left eat into the gravel. My heart kinda lurched, I thought NO! Not Now! NO!. Luckily he steadied the car and apparently no major damage. He didn't lose the position too.

Now this is where it gets interesting. 9 more laps. Ferrari 1-2, but Barrichello is in the lead with around 3 secs. What I got was a great race to the finish with Schumi pushing Barrichello hard closing the gap to less than a second. Here is the dillema. Should Schumi fight to the end, overtake Barrichello and take the win or let his teammate take the victory? Ferrari has already secured the Constructors title. Schumi has already won the Drivers title. It's not about points anymore, just pure racing. There were back-markers by the last 2 laps which slowed down the pace, but I don't think Schumi would have rained on his teamamtes parade. It would also be very un-sportsmanship. He did however pushed Barrichello all the way to the end making him "earn" the victory. This was why it was so great to watch.

Regardless of Schumacher or even Barrichello's skill. How Ferrari manages to plan effective strategies is amazing. To have two different strategies for both cars and the need to adapt both in a race to suit the particular driver AND give him an advantage is just.. well... amazing . When a race is stagnant, it's usually the pit stop strategies that make the difference. Ferrari not only pulled 1, but 2 hat tricks this race from a disastrous start. AMEN!

To top off my night. I played a few rounds of CS with my friend. So happens our server was on cs_italy. Now what are the odds of that. We had a good game too, played through 2 maps and practically owned. Now I'm old, I don't play competitive much anymore and pub servers are just filled with kids. To actually play a 2v2, 2v3 tactical games was so refreshing. To be called a Cheater by 3 different people in 1 hour was icing on my already good night.

1,001 Ways to Eat My Jizz, Part 3: Biscuits and Gravy Edition

2004-09-11T11:18:00.000+08:00

Who could resist with a title like that

You've seen the movie Drumline. Here's the real deal. I stumbled over it by accident. But there is a whole archive with videos of real drumlines and Awesome drummers.

Ever since Sweet Child of Mine. I have been constantly having dreams. That is wierd as you might have remembered me saying that I seldom dream at all much less every night. Now, I do not remember most of them, But since I woke up not too long ago. I still remember patches of last nights and had to write it down fast since it's the freakiest of the lot.

First thing I remember is being in a car on my way Out of Singapore. Got stopped at the immigration and for some reason I was not allowed to leave (Now I'm not Singaporean so I didn't understand why they wouldn't let me leave). After what seems like an age, my friends leave and I had to follow the immigration officer to this large building to clarify the situation. (Here, the dream gets hazy) The next thing I remember is that I followed the officer to a corridor which turned into a scene from "Tron". Complete with the lights and Disc weapon. Seemed to be a training course of such and I was busting sentry guns with the disc. At the end of the course, I'm back in reality with the immigration officer which has now turned into a hot chick. We get on the elevator up to the management floor. Half way through something happens, I am not really sure how the lift stops or how we got out of the lift but I remember the "hot chick previously known as immigration officer" told me that her office is a few floors up. Now there are zombies walking around and I seem to have a acquired a revolver. (Not the super fast zombies from the new Dawn of the Dead movie mind you. These are the decaying undead with slow, relentless and inexorable movements. These slow types are 100 times more scary). We're creeping up the stairs when I get mano-a-mano with the zombie. Now I cannot for the sake of god remember details, but I remember that zombie used to be someone I know and it was creeping me out. That's when I woke up. Wonder what it all means. Hmm, great start to a Saturday.

Boong-Ga, Boong-Ga. OOOH! I can't wait for this to appear in the local arcades.

Rejoice!

2004-09-10T11:10:00.000+08:00

I told you to look at this spot for good news. Well Good News has arrived. I've been offered the job I have been talking about. Pay's entry level, but since I'm more or less jumping career paths (I'm moving to writing and a little journalism), I expected it to be so. I'll be starting 2nd Oct. You might start seeing my name pop up here and there.

W00T! Warm Bubbly Feeling!

Reading 101

2004-09-08T23:46:00.000+08:00

After hundreds of dollars and 2 shelves full, I've noticed a trend regarding book authors. English(European) authors are better, fresher and more imaginative and American authors. When I started serious reading, naturally I started with famous titles or stories I am familiar with (Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time cause I liked the game and was interested in the story). The first ever "novel" length book I read was called Jack the Giant Killer by Charles de Lint (Netherlands. Mental note : find other books by this guy to browse). It's a warped tale based upon the childrens Jack and the Beanstalk story. However, "Jack" this time is a female, and the story is much, much darker.

Now after I've read all my "famous" books, I started looking at less known authors. I have in the past made the mistake of buy a whole series from an author (Dennis L. McKiernan : American) on an impulse. I thought I could binge read for a month or so. Turns out that the reason he isn't a "bestseller" is because he isn't really that good. Ironically though, one of my favourite books is by that same author. So some good came out of it in the end. I've learnt my lesson and am now much more caution when I feel the urge to just buy. Nowadays, if I see something that catches my attention, I go look for as many sources and reviews as possible before deciding to buy it. Which then comes to the main topic. I have so far not been let down by English authors on books I've bought through the same impulse purchases. Neil Gaiman, Lian Hearn, James Barclay to name some. Not to say American authors aren't good, but their stories are more "conventional" for the lack of a better word.

Where would you find a Snow White story where Snow White is the villian? An American author would have written a hundred versions of Snow White set in different times/eras/place/settings. But Snow White would always be the poor unfortunate damsel in distress with a happy ending finding her "prince" and getting rid of the evil "queen". Leave it to an English author to warp the story into the twilight zone.

Why am I ranting on this? I was at the bookstore today and I saw this book in the "New Arrivals" section. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Another unknown English author). My eyes immediately trained on the stack of Black and White covered books (I haven't decided which I favour more). They're both the same and I would have bought it on the spot if it didn't cost 40 dollars. It wasn't even hard cover, it's one of those large soft cover versions. Guess I'll have to hunt around for a mass paperback editions or wait or just give in. I have a feeling it's going to be a very good book.

What? Me? NO!!!!

2004-09-08T21:30:00.000+08:00

Tell your girlfriend it's art

2004-09-07T23:57:00.000+08:00

I'm not an artistic person. I can't draw, I can't paint, I cant design. I'd probably draw an ugly stick man. So I am totally at awe with people who are good at it. I do however have preferences. I had recently walked around Takashimaya and saw an art gallery by some french guy. Now, the pieces of junk inside is NOT what I consider art, especially pieces that were going for 10K and above. I read a book once (I think it was online) and the protagonist described himself as an intellectual. He also developed his own art method where, Quote "Artists have been throwing paint at canvases and calling it art. I have decided to throw the canvas at the paint"

I like smooth clean lines, sharp contrast, minimalist.
I do Not like crowded scenes, clashing colors, distractions all around, pointless abstract shit.

Which is why I seem to like Most Anime, B&W or Sepia photography, digital art and thinking about it, It's also why I love the night. I troll the net for graphics and pictures. Usually I browse through deviantART for my fix and I recently stumbled onto something really cool.

Pin-Up Toons.

It's late and I'm tired so I'll let the site speak for itself. Yes I'm tired. It's funny though, I am usually a night owl. I tried playing CS a while just now with my disease buddies, but my damned ISP kept bugging out on me and I just wasn't in the mood. I just feel drained today. I think it's the backlash from having too much time being unemployed for the past two months to the total hectic environment of my current job. I blink an eye, it's 6:15pm and my colleagues are asking if I'm going home. If I was you I'd watch this space for some good news VERY Soon. Anyway,That's another story for another time, I'm poofed.

The Weekend!

2004-09-05T22:04:00.000+08:00

The weekend was pretty bland. Since I now have to work alternate Saturdays, It was also pretty short. I finished Splinter Cell :Pandora Tomorrow. I gotta say the Spinter Cell games are damned cool. The Covert Ops Counter-Terrorist gameplay and plotline is very immersive. I really liked the line in the game where someone said my character "is the unknown author of most world changing events". Can't wait for the 3rd installment, more great gameplay and music. Supposedly some guy from Ninja Tune is going to make the soundtrack for it. Speaking of game soundtracks, I actually like Max Payne 2 theme song a whole lot. Sometimes, I sit in the dark and put it on repeat.

My flat-mate had a BBQ last night down the pits at my place. Him and his colleagues. Well, that was a pleasant event since I was allowed to tag along for a free meal. It was a non-alcoholic kinda party so it was mostly sit, eat and look around. I made some idle chatter and ate a whole lotta chicken wings, though the food pales in comparison to the "Food Fests" I host where the food is prepared by this guy. There was this cute girl there (21 - young and innocent - so she claims) whos face resembles a rodent (mouse). Well at least there was some eye candy while I ate my fill.

Today I managed to sneak a peak at the 'so called' International Beer & Wine Fair at Raffles City shopping center. It was at the ground floor setup in a circle. The cashier counter was placed in the middle and the vendors arranged around it. It was a dismal affair, 10 minutes and you'd have seen everything.. There weren't many vendors to start with. There was also only 1 beer vendor of note, Erdinger (I was tempted to buy this as they were offering this really cool Mug if you buy 4 packs. But $120+ for a mug.. No Way!). Since this was supposed to be an "International" fair, I would thought to see more exotic beers, NOT the usual Tiger or Carlsberg you can get anywhere off the street.

I did however, find a gem. It's a alcoholic sparkling apple cider drink (thats a mouthful) called Sydney Cider. I've never actually seen this on the shelves (although it's maybe I don't really look hard at these kind of drinks). But, apparently it's quite new. You can get it in Cold Storage and I think 7-11s. So what drew me to this drink at an obscure corner displayed beside Japanese sake? They have a "new" ad campaign called "lose your head" with pretty neat posters. The enthusiastic sales person was telling me they use juice apples and not cider apples (apparently there is a difference between the apples we buy to eat and the ones used to ferment into cider) so it isnt sout or tangy. They also use champgne yeast for fermenting (I Google'd it and clicked on the first link I saw and apparently there are different types of yeast) which gives it the "bubbly" feel. So I tried it out. True to his word, it was sweet and light. When I say "light", I meant it's virtually non-existant alcohol taste and smell. I think casual drinkers won't even notice it and this makes it a great social drink. Beware though, it actually packs quite a punch with 7% acl (that's more than your average draft beer). Innocently swilling a few bottles can get you to that happy place real quick.

The kind salesman also gave me some coasters with their funky ad campaign prints I talked about and a little pamphlet with some cocktail recipies (Their website has more). Most of them involve vodka and this intrigued me more since I'm partial to vodka. Grabed 2 packs back home to try. Another thing, It doesn't seem to freeze either. I've had this bottle in the freezer for 4 hours. Drink it right out the freezer.... Awesome! Great find I must say, and cocktails aside, it makes a good general mixer too. Forget Coke, Sprite or 7up. Liquor + Sydney Cider = Highway to Happy Place.

Hmm! Looks like the weekend wasn't so bland after all.

EDIT : Apparently it DOES Freeze up sooner or later, So don't leave your Sydney Cider in the freezer overnight.

Revelation 1:87

2004-09-02T23:56:00.000+08:00

Tonight I found out two things. Both are connected to me through my CS gaming circle in the Past and Present

Present - Dan has openly shown me how gay he really is. (Link will not be provided as to protect the owner)
Past - A little bird told me a plague has resurfaced. Though I knew about it beforehand, I didn't know there already is an infection. The "old" wankers are back and with them, [disease]

Sweet Child of Mine

2004-09-02T20:29:00.000+08:00

I had one of those quasi-beautiful dreams last night. I am not a dreamer. I usually sleep through. The few times which I dream. I usually forget it entirely. There are some dreams however, which I vividly remember a part of it and It usually makes an impression on me.

I don't remember how it started, I don't remember where it end. But what I remember prompted the following :

Darkness gathered around the drowning light
Flushing the world into serene twilight
He stood or sat or jumped the bat
9 moons were seen in sky jet black

Shining surreal in a world of blur
Their beams shone not on the cat that purred
He woke or slept or shot the jack
9 moons were gone in the sky jet black

Who knows the burden acquired at dawn
Who knows the loss remembered at dusk
Who knows the bridge he chose to burn
9 moons were lost and wisdom returned

A journey begins in sable night
to find the end in scamper and flight
He stopped or started or cried himself apart
He saw and hugged and knew his heart
The river Aiôn runs eternal lasting
9 moons but a reflection passing

9 moons were seen in sky jet black, Oh! Sweet Child of Mine.

What is Fear?

2004-08-31T23:49:00.000+08:00

Why do you feel Fear? What causes you to feel Fear? How does it get to you? What is Fear exactly?

When I was a kid, I used to be terribly afraid of the dark. I would switch on every single light, wait for it to light up, then go into the room. I was afraid of ghosts and demons. Although I loved watching ghost films, then only be able to sleep with the light on and have whatever "talismans" I can hold on to nearby few the next few days. Now? Now I love the dark. I am more comfortable in a dark room than a lighted one. I keep all of my shutters closed throughout the day, and I find myself immune, numb to ghosts, demons, and things that go bump in the night. I'm no Goth or Gloomy type mind you. What does the dark offer? Solitude, Peace and a Sublime contrast of all things which full brightness can never achieve. But we're getting side-tracked here.

I am one of those "I Don't Give a Fuck What You Think" guys. I like what I like and I do what I like, when I like it. I've never "followed" anyone or hopped on to the latest "craze". If I happen to be doing it, it's because I like it. I have lived my life so far to these principles and thus do not care about anyone else's impression or expectations on me except my own. Though this "attitude" doesn't really affect friendships, it can be a strain on close family relations as I do not give way, ever. Does it mean I do not "Care"? No, I care very much, However, I govern myself as I see fit. I have not really regretted anything I've done nor can I cannot for the love of god remember anything else which I was afraid of. Since I am where I want to be, Am I content and does it put me in a position where I have no fears in life? I thought wrong.

I was in a total whacked out mood today because of a job interview I had to attend. This is the job I really wanted. Now, I had no fear of the Interview itself and the outcome. Oh! I was wound up on presentation and questions of course, But I had no "Fear". So I found myself wondering, why I am totally zoned out. I didn't feel like playing, I didn't feel like eating. Something was bugging me terribly, which initiated this post. Usually when you want something badly 3 possible things happen when you get it. 1. You are ecstatic. Dream come true 2. Your joy is shortlived as it ist really that good 3. It's not really what you wanted at all. I sat down thinking, and this is totally on a different level. I Want it so much, I'm Afraid to Get it! I fear that this IS what I want and I end up not being able to do it. For once, I am thinking, Is it possible to "fail" myself? That freaked me way out. I attended the interview and came out alive. It actually went very well.

Recently I read some books on Alexander the Great. In one of it, he meets a philosopher called Diogenes (student of Antisthenes). Diogenes practiced his teachers philosophy of Cynicism, which pondered and questioned intellectual/physical persuits and sought a "back to nature" living. In today's world, it is comparable to buddhist monks or any religious men who have renounced "worldly attachments". But Diogenes was more base. he lived like an animal. He wore nearly no clothes. He lived on the streets, refused to use "man-made tools" (like forks/spoons knives) to assist him. He lived in a tub. Nature provides everything. Alexander was supposed to have had a meeting with Diogenes and asked the philosopher what he wanted. Diogenes merely wanted the King to step aside so he could feel the Sun again. The Sun, source of all life, light and heat was the greatest gift the King could have given. Alexander was also supposed to have said "If I was not Alexander, I want to be Diogenes". I am side-tracking again, but I cannot seem to focus on one emotion without bringing in the rest. So why all this talk about Diogenes. Cynicism emphasizes breaking-free of conventions and renouncing the world for self-sufficiency and nature. At the very Base of Man, we have peace and with peace, no fear.

So was Diogenes a great man or was he just a coward hiding from life's dissapointments. You've probably heard of the idiom "The Bigger they are, the Harder they fall". Remember I mentioned my interview went well, which increased the chance of them actually hiring me. But this also exponentially increased my fear. I'm terribly excited and sick at the same time.

Is fear tied to responsibility? hope? dreams? Remember my tale of me being afraid of the dark and of ghosts? I realised that I liked watching horror movies NOT because of the story or even the monsters and demons, But because I Liked getting scared. I wanted to be afraid and have demons hiding in every shadow.

Why do we put ourselves through this? What actually spurs us on. Is it the Challenge? Is it the Hope? Dreams? Will? Courage? Or is it in actuality, the Fear?

CS:S Counter Strike : Stupidity

2004-08-31T01:42:00.001+08:00

GODDAMMIT! ARE YOU REALLY THAT FRIGGING DUMB????
Counter-Strike has been out for ages and I myself have played it for, well over the past 5 years since beta 4-5. Though I'm not involved anymore in competition, I am still a regular pub player. Now this scenario NEVER EVER happens in a pub server for CS.

So we come to CS:S. The old CS lovin' + new fangled graphics and physics. With Half-Life 2 coming, they are giving CS a facelift with the new Source Engine. (To be honest with you, I am more psyched up about CS:S then HL2.) So basically gameplay-wise everything is the same, and one should fit in immediately.

Now comes the part where they will be Closed Beta Test of CS:S. Well it's "Closed" because not everyone gets into the beta, only Cyber Cafes under Valve's program, ATI HL2 Voucher owners and CS: Condition Zero Owners.

1. Cyber Cafes - They have been running CS for as long as it has been out, and anyone frequenting these places and play CS everyday will be well informed
2. Condition Zero Owners - This group are usually die hard CS fans who would dish out Money to buy CS with new skins/bots/scripted maps (which can be downloaded free) that pass of as a "new" game. They would also be well informed
3. ATI Voucher Owners - I would presume that at least half of this group bought the card mainly because of the Voucher itself and again half of this would be Half-Life fans, thus have at least played CS or any of the numerous HL mods throughout the past 7 years. I mean COME-ON.

So what Am I ranting about? I've been playing the CS:S beta for the past 2 weeks and I'm Dumbfounded by the incredible amount of people who seem not to know anything about CS, but also about simple aspects of computing as well.

"Why I have no console?" - Click on the bloody OPTIONS and Enable it! Can't you see a Big Check box which says Enable Console??? If you can't even navigate though simple point-click graphical menus, you don't have any business messing with the console.
"How do I Change Team?" - AAAARRGGHHH! I'm vomiting blood
"Does CZ need HL2 to play? I cant connect to Game" - I rest my case
"How do I get other weapons?" - There is a big Menu that Covers the ENTIRE Screen where you click to choose your weapons even with pictures and descriptions. What the Hell kind of Question is this?
"Change Map Please" - There is ONLY 1 MAP in the BETA. Change to your Fathers House? But then, this particular request is very common in everytype on Online FPS game which I find very funny. Generally servers are setup with certain rules, Map Cycles are done automatically when these rules are met (eg. time-limit, frag-limit, goal-limit..etc.) or they can be changed Manually by Server Administrators "IF" they are around. I usually see these Dumbos come in, play 5 minutes and continuously asking to "Change the Map". Admins are not around, who's gonna change the map for them. Do they think the server can parse they're request and automatically understand and change the map? Morons.
"How to plant/diffuse bomb?" "Why is my screen so big?" "What option to Reduce Ping/Lag?" "How to Speak?" "It's so slow, game sucks" "Can I buy more grenades?"

I've even had a guy ask ME If this is the First Time I'VE played this game and If I understood Plain English. The Idiot was screaming at me telling me the enemy is at the "Underpass" while he was dead. "Living" and "Dead" players Cannot comunicate with each other so obviously I didn't see squat shit that he wrote. The fact that Nobody corrected him when he was "shouting" at me showed that no one actually even knew of that fact.

I'm telling you I've seen even more wierd comments and questions. Some of them are understandable but some are just plain ridiculous. Sure there are new players every once in a while. But the amount of these #@$&#*^#$@ in the "Limited Closed" Beta of CS:S is staggering.

Valve is milking the cash cow. At a developers point of view, a beta test should be targeted at veteran gamers that would have given valuable insight into the game and able to actually point out gameplay issues or bugs. NOT People who do not even know how to change screen resolution or use a menu. People who seem to be playing CS for the very first time in their lives. How the hell did these people even get the beta running is beyond me.

Need for Speed and the Belgium GP

2004-08-30T19:22:00.000+08:00

The Formula 1 Season is winding to a close. Though there are still 4 more races to go, both the Constructors and Drivers Championship has been determined so I thought I'd do this write up now.

One day has passed and I haven't really digested last nights Belgium Grand Prix. Everything's floating in my head and I don't know what to say but I'll try to put my thoughts chronologically as the race progressed. This was one of the most exciting, incident filled and emotional races the entire 04 season.

Right at the start of the race there was a massive pileup causing 4 cars to retire and 3-4 more to pit for repairs. Safety Car had to be called out. The race leaders were largely unaffected but Barrichello had to pit during the SC, so this saw him lose his position all the way to the back in the restart.

Schumacher had 3 lost positions being overtaken by Coulthard before the crash, then Raikkonen and Montoya after the restart. For some reason he seems to be damned slow. And it wasn't fuel load as well because he pitted almost the same time as everyone else. Possibly the tires (but more on that later). So he's now is 6th position. Now I said Raikkonen passed Shumacher. Raikkonen started the race in 10th Position and at this point in Lap 6 he has already fought his way to 3rd. That is clearly NOT an easy feat for 2 laps (the SC was out for 3 laps) in F1. Both Renaults are in the lead.

Lap 11 - Alonso's Renault spins into the gravel pit. Supposedly an oil leak. So Alonso's OUT and gives Mclaren the 1-2 lead. Raikonnen in the lead and Coulthard behind. But this was short-lived as Coulthard's rear right tire puntures in the same lap, forcing him to limp back to pit effectively seeing his 2nd place evaporate. He rejoins the race in Lap 13 Last.

In Lap 13 after Raikkonen pits. Montoya leads and Schumacher is now 2nd. Then Montoya pitted at lap 15 giving Schumacher the lead. NOW, right at the beginning we see Shumacher's Ferrari driving unusually slow and I though "OK this guy has tons of fuel". We usually see him out for at least 3-4 laps after everyone else has pitted gaining valuable time before his first pit. This strategy has always given him an atvantage. But NO, he pitted at Lap 16, Only 1 lap in the lead. SO WHAT GIVES???? After the first pit, Schumacher is still going slower than usual. He is 3rd now and Trulli is actually gaining on him. What the Hell man, what are you playing at???

MORE Drama, by lap 20, Trulli started slowing down, though he tried to defend his position. Montoya tried to make a move on him. Montoya wasn't anywhere near enough to overtake but he "Bulled" himself through on the inside of a bend which caused a slight collision and forced Trulli spinning into the side. He rejoined the race though but had to pit. Now if there are any drivers in F1 I dislike, it's Takuma Sato and Juan Pablo Montoya. Sato while being the only Asian in F1 and Is fast, he's a total BASTARD. Inconsiderate, Cocky Bastard. He makes moves which endanger others, doesn't give way when he's obviously slower. Montoya is another, although he isn't even half bad when compared to Sato, he's a sulky and arrogant person. He complained like a baby a few races back when Schumacher tried to overtake him forcing him to steer into the side, when he himself in the Same race did the exact same maneuver on his teammate, Ralf.

We're halfway through now, and Raikkonen has been leading all the way. This is the FIRST time this season someone is in pole other than Schumacher with a 10+second lead. This is Amazing. Schumacher seem to start gaining speed now and sets a fastest lap. Man it's 27 laps already, I still cannot figure out why he's been so slow for the first half of the race. Now I'm thinking, can he close a 13 second gap.

Lap 29. WHAM! Button's rear right type explodes, spins and ram into an unfortunate Baumgartner (Minardi) who was just minding his own business letting Button through. He must have been miffed. Of all the blasted luck. Anyway, because of this, the Safety Car is brought out again. Now this is a 44 lap race, which means we only have about 15 more laps to go. This is where it get's exciting. Since Raikonnen's 10+ second advantage has effectively been flushed down the toilet. I was hoping to see a Very Exciting finale. This will be a fight to the end for Schumacher and Raikkonen once the restart goes. I wasn't dissapointed. Both Mclaren and Ferrari were racing like never before. I had no doubts whatsoever what Schumacher would be able to overtake Raikkonen with 10 laps to go.

Lap 38. POOF! Montoya's right rear tyre punctures. OH MAN! He had to limp back to pit and with only 6 laps to go he decided to retire. Bad Luck. Now thats 3 Michelin types busting up in the same race. :)

Lap 39. GODDAMMIT! David Coulthard tried to overtake a Jaguar (Klien). He lined up for the maneuver and probably misjudged the speed/distance. Whatever, but as he swerved out, he "tapped" the Jaguars back, which shattered his front nose. Now while both Klien and Coulthard were able to resume the race. This crash littered the circuit full of Debris and the Safety Car was AGAIN brought OUT. AAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH! 5 Laps to go and someone with Coulthard's experience pulls a stunt like this. 5 Fucking Laps. The Safety car was out for 2 laps which means the restart will happen with only 3 laps to go. There went my evening. There was no way now for Shumacher to win unless Raikkonen crashes out or something. So there. Raikkonen wins. Schumacher 2nd and Amazingly Barrichello is 3rd. He was Last due to the 1st lap crash and he kept it steady, avoiding most of the incident after that and drove his way home to a podium finish.

Even with this 2nd Place finish, Schumacher has won the Drivers Championship and he and Barrichello has won Ferrari another Constructors Title. There can be no doubt, Ferrari's performance this entire season has been spectacular, they were I think the ONLY constructor with a car that did not have major problems.

Historically, The main contenders are the Drivers Skill and the Cars Construction(speed, power, maneuverability). Now we have a 3rd "prominent" element into the game. Tyres. Every since the 2003 season where a huge amount of criticism came under Bridgestone tyres for actually causing the cars to underperform. In fact, in the 2004 season, we find that almost All the constructors have switched over to Michelin. Ferrari stayed with Bridgestone and this entire season up till now has been their oyster. So Raikkonen had a great victory on the Michelin. Ferrari's Bridgestones seem to have problems getting into the right racing conditions, especially with so many restarts. However, saying that, we've had 2 tyre punctures and 1 type blowup on Michelin this race alone. Come to your own conclusion, but never before since F1 have I witness tyres having such a big impact on the performance of a car in terms of pickup and speed.

Michael Schumacher - I was really rooting for him to win. to go out in a blaze of glory. He has won Every Single race this season except for 1 which he retired because of a crash. Now thats 12/13 races. I have conflicting thoughts however. I want him to continue racing. He's the best and with the amazing strategies and solid Ferarri, he chews up the competition. He has already secured the Championship this season and his contract still stands till 2006 if I'm correct. Thats 2 more seasons to go. Now, should he retire? He's practically beaten every type of record out there and he holds the fastest lap times in more than half the circuits. Half of me want's him to retire. It does actually get boring seeing him win without anyone within 10-15 seconds (now in F1, even a 2-3 second lead, you are unable to see the car behind you anymore). But then, if he retires when no one can successfully beat him, then is the skill level in F1 declining? I would Never know if the new champions are good enough.

Kimi Raikkonen - He shown the speed and skill at 2003 season and was the talk of the town after winning the Malaysian GP. He was labelled the next Winner, Schumacher's main competitor. However, in 2004 it was a disaster, Mclaren (one of the top three constructors) had engine and car problems the whole season and Raikkonen never had the chance to show for anything. Out of the 14 races so far, he has retired out of 7 and only has 28 points up till date. Spa's win gives him 10 points, which meant he only had 18 after the last 13 races. Because of this, I've never even noticed Raikkonen, so it was a HUGE suprise to see him literally tearing up the circuit. I don't actually feel anything towards Raikkonen. Neither For or Against him. This Spa win is his First win since the Malaysian GP in 2003. So is it fluke? Was there something wrong with Ferrari cars? Was it the tyres? Unless he can consistently perform like this, I'm afraid he'll only be an obscure dot on My Radar.

Jenson Button - This guy is my best bet for future champion. We see him take his 1st ever podium finish in his career and since then out of the 14 races he has had 7 podium finishes (Four 3rd place and Three 2nd place). He has given Shumacher a run for his money a few times and I believe if he was in a better team than Honda, he could very well rake in some wins. It was unfortunate his tyres exploded in Spa, as he had a chance for a 3rd place podium. He is now 3rd in the Drivers Championship with 65 points and could still fight Barrichello for 2nd place with 4 races left.

Now in 2004, we had some suprises (forget about Ferrari for a moment). BMW and Mclaren-Mercedes were down in the dumps, BOTH constructors seeing horrible engine and car stability issues. Renault has managed to pull a hat trick. Both their cars and drivers were absolutely amazing throughout the season. F1 cars are highly tuned to each driver, and most of the time, there is a "main" driver and a "backup" driver. The "main" drivers car is usually better maintained. Since they banned team-orders, it was supposed to be every-man's game, but of course there is still a favourite. So, seeing a constructor with Solid cars for Both their drivers is great. This season Renault has shown a great package. I believe Alonso and Trulli are good drivers who are quite evenly matched. With a good complimenting strategy, they have a good chance of winning. Indeed, Renault has had many 1-2 leads this season but lacked a solid follow through.

Well we're off to Monza, Italy in a fortnight. Home of Ferrari, I hope they win. I'm also dying to see the new China Circuit. I don't know about you, but I really liked the Bahrain circuit as well.

Daddy's Not Coming On Anything!

2004-08-29T17:47:00.000+08:00

I just returned from the cinema and I'll tell you, I've never laughed so hard with a movie (as opposing to "at" a movie which I've done a lot lately) in a long time. Harold & Kumar goes to White Castle is a candidate for THE Stoner movie of the year and is directed by the same guy who gave us Dude, Wheres My Car. Our dynamic duo this time is Korean-American investment banker, Harold and Indian medical school candidate, Kumar. Harold is potrayed as a typical hard working asian, shy, soft-spoken, neat, tidy, clean. Kumar is your brainy slacker with a rich father paying for his life (ala Van Wilder). What they have in common? They are flat-mates and pot buddies.

You have all the hallmarks of the stoner genre. Slapstick humor, physical humor, scat jokes, sexual references. You name it. The premise of the film is simple, Two guys have the munchies and need to go out to grab a burger. The underlying theme or sub-plot involves parodies of issues like racism, discrimination and stereotypes. This drives the events that happen along the journey. The dialogue is witty and intelligent. Thats right, the characters do not try to ilicit laughs through sheer stupidity (a.k.a Tom Green or Beavis and Butthead. "Dude, Where's My Car" falls into this category as well).

....................
Dr. Woodruff : Do you actually believe that after the way you've just behaved that I would even consider recommending you for admission?
Kumar : No. I'm gonna be honest with you. The only reason I'm applying is so my dad will keep paying for my apartment. I don't have any desire to go to med school.
Dr. Woodruff : But you have perfect MCAT scores!
Kumar : Yeeeah, just cause you're hung like a moose doesn't mean you gotta do porn.
....................

Right from the beginning of the show with a scene involving a mirror and a pair of scissors, playing to Black Eyed Peas, "Let's Get Retarded". The results in Harold & Kumar are hilarious.

Ever since Cheech and Chong smoked up the silver screen in the late 70s, pot induced idiocy is still a tried and true formula 3 decades later. This film is at the very top, even on par with (I dare say) Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back.

As Kumar would put it, "Congratufuckinglations!"

Ninja Moves. I guess he should have trained harder.

Pink Packing Peanuts or Buy 2 Get 6 Free

2004-08-28T12:03:00.000+08:00

The Love of my Life (JC) is a charmed person. She would visit a coffee shop and get a free cuppa. Buy chicken rice and the hawker would give her an extra egg, a whole drumstick, a big smile and say "same price". We go in a retail store, she chats with the sales girl while trying on shoes and gets an employee discount. "Next time you come ask for me OK?". You get the picture. Well recently, we found out that her "luck" reaches out to a higher level. Not only does she charm humans, the Powers that Be seems to give her free stuff too.

JC recently became a "momma" and then a "grandmomma" in the short span of 2 days (boy don't they grow up fast these days). I'm talking about Hamsters here. She bought a set of two female hamsters. The idea behind this was that two females don't produce offspring. 2 days later she wakes up to 2 female hamsters and what seems to be a bad case of diarrhoea. Tiny pink "stuff" that looked like foam packing peanuts were packed near one of the hamsters. Closer inspection shows that she had just given birth to sextuplets (6 babies). Now isn't that Special. (I bet the pet shop owner would be banging his head if he knew)


Children and Grandchildren. Mother on Wheel (I think)	Mom has that "Don't mess with my babies" look	The mighty Sextuplets. 3 white 3 brown.

Plump, Lazy Aunt...uh..I mean The Sweet Furball	One of the babies going to visit it's Aunt	Don't run. Come back here White Boy

Sweetness to me. Blog to You.

2004-08-27T22:16:00.000+08:00

Several things happened which totally made my day. Sorted by my personal "Wootness!" Factor

1. I got called to an interview for a job I really wanted. This is THE BEST news of the day. The Irony? I've been giving excuses and pushing back several offers just to wait for this. On Wednesday, I accepted and signed an offer. Today I get called (it's like those warranty things. Something always happens the day it expires). I guess I won't be too popular at the company I just signed on to, heh!. I know it's just an interview, I still might not get the job. But the prospect is tremendously exciting, since this job slightly defers from my area of "expertise". Wish me Luck!

2. Half-Life 2 preload on Steam has started. It's ALIVEEEEE! (Whoop-di-doo).

3. Episode 13 of Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG is out. So, why is this hot stuff? Episode 12 left off with a total cliffhanger and I've been biting my nails to see what happens next.

4. I've finally gone to cancel my current ADSL ISP (contractual period is over). I've been having terrible connectivity. This is supposed to be an Unlimited Access account, and it's my personal Conspiracy Theory (Doesn't everyone just love those) that they're screwing me over behind my back. Pacific Internet, you can go shove it up where the sun don't shine.

5. TGIF

Bourne Again

2004-08-27T20:04:00.000+08:00

I've just watched Bourne Supremacy yesterday. So what did I think about it? It was a good show, though it offered nothing new to the character ( No, I've not read the books. I've been tempted though and actually read the synopsis on the back cover at the local bookshop ). We see Bourne, again had to run blindly trying to find out whats going on, and in the process mess up a few people. In this aspect, the first movie was great. We did not know who Bourne was and it was more satisfying piecing the puzzle together. The action was far better too. In the Bourne Identity, we see Threadstone assasins after Bourne. So we had some good fights and shootouts. Who can forget the amazing down the stairs headshot scene as well. In Bourne Supremacy, there wasn't really any worthy opposition and the action wasn't on par, which was a slight let down.

I did Not Like the shaky camera though. It didn't feel polished, like some low budget movie with only one camera man running behind the whole time. The effect was great in the opening sequence in India. It fitted in perfectly with the crowded populace and gave a sense of confusion as they weaved through India's rural traffic and thronged alleys. However, they kept doing that throughout the movie, in chase scenes, in fight scenes.. everywhere. "Hey you remember the (insert scene here)" "Hell yeah, the camera shaked a whole lot all over the place. Something Big happened" "Yeah!"

1. They over did it
2. Bourne is supposed to be a highly traned Assasin. The Best. Nicky (Julia Stiles) mentioned "They don't make mistakes. Everything they do has a reason and motive". This is evident in his composure. You don't see him panic. He just springs into action. Always calm. Always thinking, improvising. The camera spoils this image. Makes it all look so chaotic.

The much touted car chase in Russia wasn't all too hot either. Bourne was crashing into everything and still kept going, which was highly unrealistic and comical. Either he rammed into other cars or other cars rammed into him. The other cars would be the one to spin out of control or crash. He would just keep on going. Again, I find myself more partial to the Mini chase in Bourne Identity. (On a side note. The Taxi seems to be a BMW with a Skoda logo stuck on? My cousin and a friend who saw the movie with me pointed this out)

If you want to see some really good car chases/races check out BMW Films (hmm more BMW? I guess they are good cars for chase scenes?). There is a series of 8 short films which are directed by some of the top International directors today. Names like Ang Lee, Wong-Kar Wai, John Woo, Ridley Scott comes to mind. If you've never heard or seen of it before, I suggest you pop over now. The downloads are free.

I didn't say it wasn't a good movie. It was. The plot was plausible, the continuity was there. Just Enjoy the story, which I did very much. I can't wait for the third installment. There will then be a bad guy. An arch-nemesis. It would be great to see them pitting wits against each other, or so I hope. This is why I liked the Bourne movies. A hero with brains and a killer instinct. He just seems to act, and later down the line I'd find myself going "Oh, so thats why he did that. Brilliant".

Hello World

2004-08-26T02:41:00.000+08:00

This is my first post as another unfortunate soul sucked into blogging. I swear this phenomenon is getting out of hand. Who would have thought I'd even contemplate doing this? First, I read blogs. Usually hotlinks from sites I visit. Then my friends started having their own blogs. Somethings going on here...and it's spreading. God Help Me.

I ask myself "What the Hell is a Blog?" Seems to be just like any other personal website (which used to be called Homepages) or more appropriately a personal forum. If you've actively participated in forums of any kinds, you'd know the amount of nonsense a person with free time can say. So why provide a space for people to actually post shit day in, day out with little or no control? Beats me, but it's about damned time I get to spread my warped thoughts to the world. It's like the search for extra-terrestrial life. Someone out there must be watching...........