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*