How to lose a friend...

No, no.. no date his girlfriend kinda stuff here... give me something more unique. I shall start the ball rolling...

1. (On behalf of JoChan...) If she's got a mole on her nose, call her Snoopy.

2. Buy his/her kid a drum set as a birthday present.

Hmmm.. looks like this thread has been frozen since a long time ago. Perhaps I do not know of enough ways to lose my friends ;-). Maybe we should leave this as it is and revisit later when I have something else to write about.

Good boys go to heaven, and the bad ones go everywhere

Take a pick - The Dark Knight or The Green Lantern? Interview with a Vampire or Notting Hill? Robbie Williams or Gary Barlow? Incredible Hulk Part 1 (the neon green hulk) or Incredible Hulk Part 2 (the meaner, darker hulk)? Which had more character? Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader? Get my point? No? Read on..

Most people are inherently good but most are by nature attracted to the darker side. Perhaps it's the turn of events in their lives that make people the way they are - not bad, but hardened. Look around you, people queueing up at the counters, drivers stuck in traffic jams, even mothers waiting for their kids at school. Well, that's the way the world is. Deal with it!

And good guys finish last? Well, take a ride on the wild side. See a whole new perspective.

And the perfect start to life on the rough side would be a BMW K1200R - the ultimate superbike in my own definition. For what it lacks in legacy compared to the Ducati, it makes up with character. And I haven't gone on about the figures yet. 163HP @ 10,250RPM,  127nM of torque, 0-100 km/h in 2.8secs, and all the way to 300km/h. There's just no better way to die than in this! Really! If you want to go, go with a blast, and have a blast while you are at it! Don't just go to heaven, go everywhere!

Of poor misguided souls...

I love ads surfing, especially on YouTube. And I particularly like ad-fights. I particularly like this one:

What started as an ingenious (but poorly researched) idea for an advertisement...

evoked this response...

and just when you thought it'd end right here... comes another seemingly more creative (but again a poorly researched) response from another auto maker...

... and those poor sods probably forgot the fact that VW, the parent company of Audi, also has Lamborghini, Bugatti, SEAT, Skoda and Bentley in their illustrious stable. Hence this response...

... and the grandeur of that response from VW never fails to amuse me every time I see it.

And that would be the same kind of response that I'd give to the chap in the (only) 2-litre Camry who tailgated me in my "Asia's answer to BMW" (to quote a Proton billboard seen in Melbourne). Any sort of decent driver would have picked on someone his own size. Which misguided soul in a car whose advertising tagline is "Oh! What a feeling" would go after a Waja, the epitome of Malaysian automobile mediocrity? I'd call it a cheap thrill.

And I have my answer for him... "Nah!!" *with my Bentley advert pose*...

Watch out for the return of the "Blue Thunder" in the next few days...

Growing pains

I've got a zit. This, under normal circumstances, would not have been a problem. This time, it is a problem. It is a problem because I can't smile a wholesome smile. I can't execute fluent speech. I can't breathe in hard. I can't smirk - something which I do a lot. I can't do many things that I took for granted. All because I've got a zit.

Zits can be found in faces and bodies of over 70 million people, young and old. So why is it bothering me? Zits are more commonly known as pimples and acne. Why did I choose to call it a zit? I'd normally call them pimples. This one's different. To me, a zit is the epitome of all things evil. It sounds evil. This one's evil.

Not being one who'd be labeled a narcissist, I wouldn't care if a pimple appeared on my face or my forehead. This little bugger appeared overnight, robbing me of my ability to smile and smirk. It hurts even when I'm brushing my teeth. For the next few days, my face shall remain expressionless. Perhaps all I can do is to roll my eyes. But that would be rude.

So while I sit here blogging and wishing it away, I hope you see zits in a whole new light. That behind the innocence of that little red spot, lies a great evil.

I blogged all this, because I've got a zit in my nose.

On how music and time are related...

I bought five CD's over the long weekend - the weirdest combination of genres imaginable. I was rather surprised that they only cost RM286 altogether, in a combination that included a XRCD and some audiophile recordings. I think they undercharged me but it only occurred to me after I got home.

I particularly liked Sarah McLachlan's "Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff", which is a bit like this blog - unconventional. Shirley was not too bad either as a chinese jazz vocalist, though I didn't understand a word she was singing - proof that, music transcends the language barrier, much like how I'm such a hopeless sod at playing music but can feel every nuance of music even with the slightest change in environment or equipment. Yeah, call me a non-participating music geek if you must.

While my musical taste is still exploratory at best, I did realize one thing - that a large number of songs I like are sung about time. I'd come to this realization while blasting Madonna's "Four minutes" which I think is almost a modern musical masterpiece. Hmmm.. never thought I'd say this for a song which wouldn't feel out of place in a Britney album, but it's good fun, and I like it. It's all that matters. Among them are:

Four minutes - Madonna & Justin Timberlake

24 - Switchfoot

Time Machine - The Click Five

Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

What's the Frequency, Kenneth? - R.E.M.

Last Seen October 9th - Eleanor McEvoy

And I guess the list goes on... my memory's failing me...

Speaking of time, do people really feel the spiritual presence of someone long after that person's left or is it our senses serving us reminders of that person? Well I know for sure that the sense of smell does serve as a reminder of people or places that we've been to. That I know for sure. And it's quite powerful. How else would you be reminded of happy thoughts when you smell something familiar, or how the way some people smell remind you of wet carpets or dead cats? The worst one with the longest lingering effect is "the skunk" :-P

How then do objects leave their "spiritual remnants" after you've thrown them away? I find this really amusing and intriguing at the same time. In fact the thought has been bugging me for weeks. The object in question is the "world famous Little Trees" air fresher. My friend Andy had very kindly forewarned me not to put one of those little buggers in my car or suffer the wrath of little creepy trees inducing eye-watering effects for weeks after you've thrown them away. Yeah, it's as though they leave their spiritual remnants (in Andy's exact words) in your car after they are gone. How very interesting is his choice of words? Oh yea, I'm said to have weird friends. So if you are reading this, it's highly possible that you are not normal either ;-) But that's what makes people interesting! Signing off with a little present for you... ;-P

Got my Eggies over the weekend

Well a colleague told me today that I should blog about something useful.. sort of like telling me to do something useful in my life. Well here I am. Trying to blog about something that hopefully someone out there would find useful. Probably not...

So the latest happenings in my life.. yes I got my Eggies after a 2-month wait. They finally got shipped in from the US. The prettiest things I've seen, with the sound to match. What can I say? I was blown away, the same way I was when I first heard them 3 years ago. The thought of wanting something so bad, and finally getting it, and then not being dissapointed despite the anticipation and high expectations really made them more than worthwhile. Suddenly I'm revisiting all my old CD collections again, and they never sounded like that before. I love my Eggies!

On to something useful... Maybe a CD review of what I'm listening to - Forget About It by Alison Krauss. One word - forgettable. Yes, there are a few interesting tracks, but it isn't an album that you'd pick as a first choice if you only had an hour. With her soft and lush vocals, the first few songs sound pleasantly sweet, but imagine a whole album of this... Overall, not bad as music for reading or sleeping ;-)

Janis Ian's Breaking Silence, on the other hand was quite enjoyable, very much like Sinead O' Connor and Alanis Morisette less the anger. Simple, uncomplicated with a mostly acoustic accompaniment of instruments makes this a relaxing and yet interesting album. This one's recommended for those who are exploring beyond the boundaries of their commercial CD collection.

There you have it... my first attempt at writing an album review, and failing miserably at it.

Honestly, I prefer the 911, really!

Would you rather have this.....

or this....

After all the fuss about the Nissan GT-R, on how it is faster than a Porsche 911 around the track and all the electronic trickery to keep it from crashing, I still prefer the 911 for 2 very simple reasons:

1 - It's got soul. Period. It looks way better from every single angle and yet doesn't call out for attention like a Ferrari would. The GT-R... hmmm... a shape probably made out of technically correct lines makes it one dull car, no different from any other cars on the road. Which one of the above cars make your heart skip a beat?

2 - The 911 is a stunning car that was built on a fundamentally wrong concept, with its engine in the wrong place, and yet honed to perfection over many years. You could say that this contributes to its character. So what if the GT-R is fractionally faster? If they wanted to beat Porsche, they should have made it light years faster. Beat the norm, not the competition by only a small margin. Take the Veyron for example. There is nothing like it. That's what makes something special.

If all we wanted to do was to get around the track faster, we'd have GPS-linked cars which would calculate the best driving lines to shave off precious seconds from the lap time. What most drivers want however is a bit of fun, sometimes, or most of the time. What's wrong with a little tail slide just for fun? What's wrong with the car threatening to bite back when you don't show it a little respect? To me, this is what separates real drivers from people who want to be seen driving.

OK.. now that I've stated my opinion in a public site, I rest my case. Hmm... while I'm at it, I think the Alfa 156 has more character than the GT-R. Want to know why? Drive it and listen to the engine! So there you have it, from a guy who can't afford both cars, but offering opinions like he is the foremost authority in cars. ;-P

Of Nim's and Mim's

Two movies, "The Last Mimzy" and "Nim's Island". What do they have in common? No, one is not the sequel of the other. These two are connected by the fact that they are movies made by adults, supposedly for kids, but turning out to be movies produced to satisfy the directors' twisted, deprived childhood dreams. I fail to see how two movies, one based on a stuffed talking bunny, and another on a girl suffering from delusions who has animals on drugs as her companion, made it through the censorship to preserve sanity in humanity board.

So what on earth was I doing watching them, you might ask? Well, one was forced upon me (over and over again) through an in-flight programme (thanks United Airlines! $#@##) and the other, well, shall I say was a totally voluntary effort.  Yeah, call me stupid. Should have trusted my instincts when I saw the movie poster. To make matters worse, the tickets were given away by Hello! magazine and I was invited along because a friend had 2 tickets. Yeah, imagine the cinema full of people who read Hello! magazine in true Malaysian muhibbah style. Uncles, aunties, grandpas, grandmas, fathers, mothers, kids, couples, serial killers, psychopaths, nut-cases and other assorted hybrids. So pick me from one of the above classification ;-P

So should you catch the movie? Need you ask? Of course! While you are at it, why not catch "Sea Horse" or was it "Water Horse" or was it "Water Buffalo" or was it "hmmmmm... I can't remember what I watched just 5  hours ago". Yeah, do that, and turn instantly into a dimwit.

*No animals were harmed in the shooting of the above movies. Any harm towards human beings after watching the movies is regrettable*

Sudden inspiration to create a blog

After having seen a number of interesting blogs, I finally summoned all my energy to create one for myself. So this is the result of my fascination for some things that people do. Still don't know what I'm going to blog about. It's most probably going to be about the things that I like to do and some random, incomprehensible musings. So here I go....