High Profile Bloggers in Indonesia & Iran

Priyadi Iman Nurcahyo - Defence Minister of Indonesia
* Update - the real Defence Minister of Indonesia is Juwono Sudarsono. Priyadi himself updated me on this.

Mahmood Ahmadinejad - The President of Iran (wow!! available in 4 languages - Parsi, Arabic, English & French.

The above blogs are real but the best of all pranks made is a Friendster website for - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - The President of Indonesia.
Tags: Priyadi Iman Nurcahyo, Juwono Sudarsono, Defence Minister of Indonesia, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia, Bloggers

31 Aug - International Blogging Day

Co-incidentally, 31 Aug is also known as the International Blogging Day.

Blogs that I browse through often:-
Jeff Ooi - A renowned Malaysian blogger who brings up "in-depth" Malaysian news with dozens of blog commenters leaving behind their opinions.

Lim Kit Siang - Reprensenting all the Opposition Parties in the Parliament as the Opposition Leader. Brings out controversial news on his blog.

Sarah - based in Darfur of Sudan, will write about her daily happenings with photos in her blog entitled "Pretty One Day?".

RockyBru - a journalist, somewhere between veteran and retired. Last post held in mainstream media was Executive Editor. A fellow blogger who is straightforward with their words on certain true scenarios happening in Malaysia.

Aisehman - fellow blogger who will highlight or just want readers to know what's actually happening ("behind the scene") around Malaysia.

James Wong Wing On - a former member of the 8th Parliament, former senior and award-winning journalist, writer, author & strategic analyst - being a journalist himself you will find lots of interesting write-up on various issues.
Tags: Blog, Blog Day 2006, International Blogging Day, Jeff Ooi, Lim Kit Siang, RockyBru, Aisehman, James Wong Wing On

Malaysia - 49th Independence Day

TODAY, my country of Malaysia is celebrating her 49th birthday.

A website under the name of Road to Nationhood related the milestones in achieving the Independence Day on 31 August 1957.

Everyone that I knew in Malaysia is having a public holiday but I'm stucked in my office here in Khartoum, Sudan. Well, tonight itself, staff of Malaysian companies based in Khartoum will gather at a Malaysian-owned restaurant together with the Malaysian Ambassador to Sudan to commenmorate the Independence Day. Meantime, back to work.
Tags: Malaysia, Independence Day, Road To Nationhood

Annual Tomatina Festival

People throw tomatoes at each other during the "Tomatina" festival that takes place on the last Wednesday of August in Bunol, near Valencia. Some 40,000 Spaniards (including thousands of mainly British, French and German tourists) gathered at this year annual event hurling some 100 000 kilograms (220,000 pounds) of tomatoes, one of the world's messiest festivals.

This event was believed to have begun as an argument between two carnival participants in 1945. So popular is the event, the Spanish authorities have recognised it as a "festival of international tourist interest".

Tags: Tomatina, Festival, Valencia, Spain, Tour, Travel, Carnival, Tomatoes

UK Sports Academy

Well, this Sports Academy (proposed to be constructed in UK) thingy is springing up again and it seems that the Ministry of Youth & Sports will respond/update, by end September, upon the completion of an in-depth study. In-depth study? The project is definitely not viable so why still need to carry out an in-depth study. Many people have voiced out that this project will be a "white elephant" once constructed.

RM490 million (approx. US$132.4 million) could be better utilised if it was used to upgrade existing sports centre in Malaysia. Otherwise, it could be used to build more sports complex (smaller scale) to be used by sportsmen/women participating in the bi-annual SUKMA event.

Or the fund could be used to send elite/proven sportsmen/women to Australia (having the best Sports Institute in the world) for further improvement.

Alternatively, the fund could be used to finance elite/proven sportsmen/women to participate in certain sports event that could benefit them.

Otherwise, the fund could be used to build more sporting facilities for the public's usage and rental of such facilities could be obtained too.

By building such a big facilities overseas, who will manage the sports complex? what's the maintenance cost like as UK pound is high on the currency exchange rate? what's the usage rate going to be? Reason given was that the new sports complex could be used as a base for sportsmen/women in preparation for sporting events to be held in similar kind of weather conditions. Who could that be as majority of the M'sian (not looking down on them) do not qualify for the major sporting events. Even sporting giants (referring countries) only send their sportsmen/women to the host country few weeks prior to the event for acclimatisation purposes. And M'sia is trying to do one better - by having a costly underused overseas base.

The current batch of squash and badminton players (who have excelled in their events) do not such costly overseas base and they still succeed. It's all in their minds. But I'm wondering what's in the mind of those government officials who are so adamant to have this sports complex.
Tags: Politics, Sports Academy, UK

Glass Bridge Skywalk at Grand Canyon

It was stated, via an email being circulated, that a Glass Bridge Skywalk is being constructed at the Grand Canyon National Park's visitors' area. I have sent an email to a person listed in the linked website but todate no reply. Is the construction of it true?
Tags: Glass Bridge Skywalk, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon

Another Big Sandstorm

This time my colleague was really fast with his camera ...........














And I caught the following scenes at our villa's rooftop. My camera lense was not dirty but that's the kind of air that made the whole area blur.

Tags: Weather, Journal, Life, Diary, Khartoum, Sandstorm

Uncyclopedia on Malaysia

What's that?????

Well, if you (Malaysians who read this blog) want to have a good laugh, please read this Uncyclopedia about Malaysia.

As for other nationalities, please go to this link http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page and type in your country's name under the Search area. You'll be shocked to know how come this writer knew so much about so many countries. I know why.
Tags: Uncyclopedia, Search

Privilege Ibiza - World's Biggest Club

Ibiza is a small island lying 90 km off the east coast of Spain, in the Western Mediterranean. It is part of the Balearic islands. Ibiza is known for its partying nites at bars/clubs.

Privilege Ibiza, located half way between Ibiza and san Antonio on the main road, near San Rafael, known as the world's largest club.
If it's your first time in Privilege you're highly likely to get lost. It's extremely easy to get separated from your friends and not see them again till the sun comes up. Don't worry tho, you'll make new ones.
Upon entering the club you go down a massive staircase. You are now are bang in the middle of one of the world's largest dancefloors. At its centre the dj is suspended above a swimming pool . At the far end is a stage where girls and boys dance around in varying stages of undress and a show with a non-linear dramatic structure (i.e. it's confusing) takes place.

Entrance fee: expect to pay up to 60€ (approx. US$113). Vodka lemon costs approx. 10€ and a beer 8€. Queuing is the norm so need to buy tickets beforehand. Privilege has its own range of merchandise too.

Privilege is hosting the gala of America's Best DJ Award on 28 August 2006. In June 2006, Privilege Kiev has opened in the city of Kiev, Ukraine.
Tags: Privilege Ibiza, Ibiza, Spain, Privilege Kiev, Entertainment, Club, Disco

Hong Kong TVB series

Another series finished off by me during the night time at home in Khartoum.

Women On The Run - a comedy throughout the series esp when you have Chan Pak Cheong in the cast. He plays the role of a private detective with a helper too. He will appear in most cases which somehow involves the 4 main ladies also. It was something like CSI investigation too where he used his wits to help the police to solve cases.

Towards the last 8 episodes, it was more of relationship with a guy (former gangster), his mom and a lady (intending to cheat his mom's property). But which also requires some wisdom to overcome those sticky situations. You will like the series as the jokes are quite original.
Tags: Hong Kong, TVB Series, Review, Women On The Run, Chan Pak Cheong

Petronas & ChevronTexaco chased out of Chad

How come the Malaysian news have not reported on this yet?

The Chad government has given a 24 hours ultimatum to both Petronas of Malaysia and ChevronTexaco of USA to move its staff out of the country and close their offices. It's a real blow to both companies. Reason for the immediate clearance as mentioned was due to non-compliance to tax obligation matters. Other sources claimed that the removal was to make way for the entrance of China companies into the picture as reported in BBC News/Africa & CNN News.

In Sudan itself, China companies are making headways too. China's top government officials recent visits to a number of African countries are actually paving ways for China companies' path into the largely untapped markets. Apparently, Chad just resumed its international tie with China 3 weeks ago.
Tags: Chad, Petronas, ChevronTexaco, China, Oil

Scomi's Involvement in Nuclear Instrument Resurfaces

There are new reports on the abovesaid title where it mentioned that Japanese authorities had charged a Japanese company of exporting certain equipments to Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd as reported yesterday in Japan Times.

An earlier investigation by the Malaysian police has cleared Scomi (police report released in 2004).
Tags: Scomi, Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd, Japan Times, Nuclear Instrument, Investigation

Pokemon Trading Card Game

Pokemon USA, Inc., a worldwide leader in trading card games, had just concluded the Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) World Championships that was held on 18-20 Aug 2006 at Hilton Anaheim, California, USA.

World Champions (of different age categories) would have earned educational scholarship awards worth more than US$100,000 (at specific education institutions), invitations to the 2007 World Championships, travel awards and additional Pokemon prizes. The 2007 world series will be held on 10-12 August 2007 in Kona, Hawaii, USA.

Malaysian's own 13-year-old Adwin Lim, emerged sixth out of 128 contestants in his category of 11 to 14 age category.

Tags: Pokemon, Pokemon Trading Card Game, World Championships, Kona, Hawaii

Hong Kong TVB series

La Femme Desperado (a Hong Kong TVB TV series of 22 episodes) – starring Melissa Ng/Sheren Tong/Raymond Lam/Michael Tse/Kenneth Ma/Kate Tsui/Cindy Au. From being a daughter to a girlfriend, all the way to being a mother, it's definitely not easy being a woman. Seeing from the female gender's point of view, this series shows us the hardships a female has to go through. Whether it's holding family honor, break-ups, relationships, divorce or being a single parent, the series will bring you through an experience from a female's point of view.

But from my point of view, at times it's way out / unreasonable / illogical for a lady to act like what the actresses have potrayed.
Tags: Hong Kong, TVB Series, La Femme Desperado, Family

World Cyber Games 2006 Championship

The Malaysian leg of the World Cyber Games 2006 Championship ("WCG") began yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in which the opening ceremony was graced by the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports who commented such activities will boost computer literacy ...... hehehehe.... my mom doesn't think so......I'm still into computer games such as the CounterStrike (world's #1 online action game). Back home before I was posted to Sudan, almost every Friday at 12midnite (till 4/5am) will be my session with 2 other friends at a cyber cafe famous for Counterstrike gamers.

Winners in the WCG's respective game categories - Warcraft 3, FIFA 2006, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and CounterStrike 1.6 - will represent the country at the grand final in Monza, Italy, later this year. ......... just look at the reward. Unbeatable!
Tags: World Cyber Games, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, CounterStrike, Warcraft 3, FIFA 2006, Need For Speed, Monza, Italy

BIG Astronomical Announcement!!

The International Astronomical Union has voted on a resolution to de-list PLUTO from the list of known planets in our Solar System in their 26th General Assembly being held in Prague, Czech Republic. The General Assembly was attended by more than 2,500 astronomers.

Educationists all over the world have to revise their teaching materials now to reflect the Solar System having only 8 planets.

Pluto has been re-classified into a new distinct class of dwarf planets.
Tags: Science, Astronomy, Pluto, Planet, Dwarf Planet, Solar System, International Astronomical Union

Find Me Guilty - movie review

Find Me Guilty - starring Vin Diesel & Ron Silver is a movie about a group of 22 mafia-linked bosses being prosecuted for you-name-it kind of offences. The prosecution took 22 months to go through 400+ of evidences and dozens of witnesses.

Only a guy (was already in jail for other offences) opted to defend himself on his own and he made a mockery of the government's attorneys. This movie has no violence part even though it's about mafia-linked story. The action was mainly in the court room and the jail house. At the end of the trial, all 22 persons being prosecuted were found not guilty after impressive questioning by the self-defended guy. This movie was based on a true story.
Tags: Movie, Review, Cinema, Find Me Guilty, Mafia

Fantasy English Premier League

Was “forced” to participate by a colleague of mine. Registered a team for the Fantasy English Premier League new 2006/2007 season and named it Excalibur. In fact, I’m quite knowledgeable about English Premier League and had been watching English football since I was in primary school and started supporting Man Utd for last 24 years. Hopefully with the vast knowledge I could make good predictions too.

Following are my team members:-
Goalies: Shay Given (Newcastle), Andre Isaksson (Man City)
Defenders: John Terry (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Sylvain Distin (Man City)
Midfielders: Michael Arteta (Everton), Scott Parker (Newcastle), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Lee Bowyer (West Ham), Gary O’Neil (Portsmouth)
Strikers: Louis Saha (Man Utd), Henri Camara (Wigan), Bobby Zamora (West Ham)

Have to work around with the above players due to limited funding provided in the game. Unlike what Chelsea has in the real world of football. Anyway, it’s just for the fun of it.
Tags: Fantasy English Premier League, Fantasy Football, Prediction

Most Expensive Home in USA

In 2004, Donald J. Trump bought former health care executive Abe Gosman's palace, Maison de L'Amitie, at bankruptcy auction for $41.25 million. With the refurbished version--complete with a ballroom, conservatory, 80,000 square feet of space, 100-foot-long swimming pool and 475 feet of oceanfront--he aims to set a U.S. sales record (could be a world record too) at a price of US$125million.
Tags: Donald Trump, Property, Oceanfront, USA, Lifestyle, Luxury

State Of The Art Toilets

Paying RM1 to use an air-conditioned fully-automated street toilet (AST) for 15 minutes is set to be a new experience for Malaysians and tourists soon.

Twenty of the hi-tech toilets made by GBH Bhd will be placed at various parts of Kuala Lumpur soon, two of them in the Jalan Bukit Bintang area (shoppers' paradise) by the end of this month. However, users should take note that the automatic door will open by itself once the 15 minutes are up. I can imagine the embarassment but of course, there will be a notification at the 14th minute.
Tags: Toilet, Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Bintang, Technology

Luxury Cellphones

Talking about luxury lifestyle, some people cannot do without the daily cellphone (a.k.a. mobile phone or handphone in other countries) even though it cost a bomb.
Vertu, a Nokia subsidiary, retails cellphones around €4,000 up to €80,000, or US$5,100 to US$102,000. Such customers, as commented by Vertu, bought it because people noticed them. Egoistic???? Vertu is expensive due to it being assembled by hand in pristine workshops, Vertu's internal architecture features more than 400 mechanical parts, among them 18 jewelled bearings, all inside a case constructed of the finest materials. The effort to create such an instrument alone resulted in over 20 new patents. The sapphire used on the face is a scratch-resistant crystal second only to diamond in hardness.

GoldVish, a Swiss company, plans to ship in October a line of solid gold and diamond-encrusted handsets that start at US$24,500 (entry level cellphone). Goldvish is marketing their products as a collection for buyers. Next week in Cannes during the Millionaire's Fair, Goldvish will launch their top of the range, a 1001hp Bugatti Veyron, dressed up in platinum, gold and diamonds, costing a cool €1million (US$1,278,000). A Guinness world of records.

Siemens introduced a series of phones called Xelibri in 2003 with unusual shapes and odd- looking dialing keypads intended to appeal to style-conscious users.

Not getting left behind, the popular Motorola Razr VEi DG phone, a co-branded between Motorola & Dolce & Gabbana and sells for US$600.

Tag Heuer, the Swiss watch brand, will introduce a branded phone retailing at around €1,500 (US$2,835) next year, said ModeLabs Group, the French company producing it.

Why luxury cellphones appeals? "Ask yourself how bad it looks at a meeting when you wear a Patek Philippe watch, carry an Hermès briefcase, use a Montblanc pen and then answer a plastic phone?"
Tags: Mobile Phone, Cellphone, Handphone, Vertu, Nokia, Goldvish, Siemen, Xelibri, Motorola, Razr, Dolce & Gabbana, Tag Heuer, Modelabs Group, Lifestyle

Made In Japan!

A Japanese man was in a hurry to go to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, so he took a Proton (Malaysian-made car model) taxi. The taxi driver took his sweet time driving within the speed limit but the Japanese was getting impatient. The following is their conversation on the way to the airport.

A Toyota Camry overtook the taxi.....zoom.... Jap: Look ...look ...Toyota!! ...very fast!!!.... made in Japan! Proton...no good.... made in Malaysia . Driver: yah....

After a few minutes a Nissan overtook the taxi....zoom. Jap: look.... look.... Nissan!!!..... very good!! very fast! made in Japan! Proton.... no good.... made in Malaysia. Driver: yah....yah...

After a few minutes a Honda overtook the taxi...zooom. ! Jap: look.... look... Honda!!.... very GOOD!!....very fast!!....made in Japan! Proton...no good...made in Malaysia. Driver: yah...yah...yah....!

Arriving at the airport,the Jap is about to pay the taxi driver.
Jap: How much?
Driver: RM150/-
Jap: Oh... very expensive..... you overcharge ! !
Driver: Noooo .... look .... look .... Sony meter!!....very good!!.... very fast!.... Made in Japan!
Tags: KLIA, Malaysia, Japan, Toyota Camry, Nissan, Honda, Sony, Proton, Jokes, Funny, Humour

Wet Market

Extracted from LensaMalaysia, a group of enthusiastic photographers took some interesting shots and played with the colorful backgrounds. Suddenly, you don’t see the dirty environment usually found in a wet market.
End of day's work in the wet market but it's still wee hours in the morning.

Tags: Wet Market, Kuala Lumpur, LensaMalaysia

"heart4love” project

Yvonne Foong is a 20-year-old full of heart and soul.

She suffers from a genetically incurable disease called neurofibromatosis (NF) that has robbed her of her hearing and scarred her face. Sadly, Yvonne has NF2, the more rare form of NF with the characteristic of acoustic neuroma, where tumours grow on hearing nerves, impairing the ability to hear.

The computer became her window to the world as she scoured for information, and her search led her to Dr Rick A. Friedman, an expert in hearing preservation in acoustic neuroma treatment. He performed surgery on her for free in Los Angeles on Sept 13, 2004. Dr Friedman and the co-surgeon will not be charging me for removing the tumour and doing the implantation,” said Yvonne. Out of the RM230,000 (US$62,162) she needs, she has received RM63,581 (US$17,184) so far.

From selling T-shirts to giving motivational talks to organising a rock concert, Yvonne will do whatever it takes to make sure she does not burden her old-age parents with her operation expenditures.

Yvonne and her friends are also organising the Rock4Hope concert featuring Deja Voodoo Spells and A Day at The Zoo at the Sunway University College on Sept 9 under the "heart4love" Project. Tickets are at RM20 each.

“My journey is really tough but I need to travel this road because I yearn for a normal life. A life so normal that I will be able to pursue an active career in journalism, write books, give motivational talks and have my own family in years to come. All I ask for is a chance,” she said. (Extracted from The Star)

I like Yvonne's persistency and strong DREAMS as I always call for in everybody's mindset. If your dreams are powerful and big enough, it will bring you places. If you don't have dreams, you won't be going anywhere at all. Trust me!
Tags: heart4love, Neurofibromatosis, Sunway University College, Dream, Yvonne Foong, Rick Friedman

Nexus Residence

My dream villa at the Nexus Residence located at the peninsula of Karambunai in Sabah of Malaysia. The state of Sabah is part of the Borneo Island. The class, design, environment, landscaping and exclusiveness. Check it out. If you are getting one, remember to invite me for the house warming reception.

World renowned Hawaiian architects Wimberly Alison Tong & Goo (WATG) who were responsible for acclaimed works such as The Palace of the Lost City (South Africa), The Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, USA) and The Atlantis (Bahamas).

Click each of the resort (even the website is professionally done) and see for yourself those great places for your private getaway. Note: You will be requested to download the Adobe Flash Player 9 while entering the website.

Tags: Nexus Residence, Karambunai, Sabah, Property, Investment, Resort, Leisure

Little Man - movie review

Little Man – starring Shawn Wayans & Marlon Wayans brothers. About a couple of crooks who had stolen a big diamond and dumped it into a lady’s handbag while escaping. Meantime, this unsuspecting lady and her husband wanted a baby in their family. And the crooks came up with an idea to take the diamond back by one of them acting as a toddler (due to a crook’s size that looked like a toddler) left by someone at their front door.

Throughout the story, the “toddler” tried many ways to just take the diamond and get out of the house. A good comedy and the “toddler” sometimes forgot he’s supposed to be a toddler.
Tags: Movie, Review, Cinema, Little Man, Wayans Brothers, Comedy

Hong Kong TVB series

Men In Pain (a Hong Kong TVB TV series of 21 episodes) – starring Damian Lau, Ron Ng, Louis So, Toby Leung, Florence Kwok, Rebecca Chan, Johnson Lee. The story is mainly about a family man who works as a Project Manager in a large construction company largely responsible for 2 main projects. Back home he has to take care of his family and in-laws too. Pressurised further when he found out that his “mojo” couldn’t function.

His high ego brought his relationship with his wife deteriorated. His wife found out that he had an intimate relationship with another lady more than 10 years ago. Meantime, a big misunderstanding occurred between him and his newly married son/daughter-in-law. After being left alone, he tried to protect his wife and hoped to win her back before the divorce procedures are finalised.

Meanwhile, his brother-in-law (husband to his wife’s elder sis) also had problems with the wife. After challenging times at his company, he changed into a considerate/understanding man and the wife took him back. Very funny TV series and entertaining enough while spending my “time” in Sudan.
Tags: TVB Series, Hong Kong, Men In Pain, Review

America's Got Talent Contest

Winning the hearts of viewers , 11-year-old singer Bianca Ryan captured the $1 million prize Thursday night on the finale of America's Got Talent. Little Bianca Ryan gave her soulful performance of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart". I saw her singing session and felt truly amazed with the talent she has.
Judges for the first America's Got Talent were Piers Morgan, Brandy & David Hasselhoff with Regis Philbin as the host.
Tags: Bianca Ryan, America's Got Talent, Piers Morgan, Brandy, David Hasselhoff

Top Class Restaurants at Starhill Gallery

Top restaurants found at Starhill Gallery at the Feast Village.

Seafood is the flavour at Fisherman’s Cove, and here you have the option of cosy bamboo-lined booths in case a little privacy is desired.

Enak explores the continuum of Malay and Indonesian cuisine in a modern environment. MyThai presents the best influences of Thailand. Koryo Won sizzles with a Korean barbecue on every table.

Indian flavours are served in a colourful atmosphere created by beaded glass lamps at Vansh. The Middle-Eastern fare at Tarbush is served among images of camels and caravans. The mood switches to European at Sentidos Tapas bar and Norwegian Bakery Moments.

Meat eaters can fill up on the grills of Shook and Jake’s Charbroil Steak House. The menu at the Shook was as thick as a telephone directory. It took me quite some time to go through it. After going through, I had a tough time deciding what to eat. Lots of unique cooking style (Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Western) that will suit people all of ages. Pricey but for worth it for the food quality.

A breath of Hong Kong rushes out of the steamy kitchen at Pak Loh Chiu Chow but, for me, the highlights of them all are the dim sum and Cantonese specialities from an elegant menu at Luk Yu Tea House. Here you’ll also find a range of fine teas.

On the 3rd Floor of Starhill Gallery, there are two Japanese restaurants, namely Gonbei and Jogoya. Gonbei is mainly ala carte menu meanwhile Jogoya caters to big eaters like me, buffet style. As for Jogoya, if you go in a group of 10, you can reserve a room or a big table in the centre of the restaurant. There steel pegs on your table which has your table number engraved on it. Bring it along as you go round the whole restaurant to place your orders for food. If you think you like that cooking style/taste, place a peg at the bowl in front of the food sample. Food will be cooked and brought to your table. Food is definitely fresh and I took lots of the reddish raw salmon fish. Tiramisu and ice-creams gave a good ending to my dinner. For once, I can’t try all those food available.

Even the task of washing your hands takes on an element of luxury. The rest rooms are artfully lit spaces lined with sandalwood and sandstone. The wash basin is serviced by an attendant who pumps water along a bamboo aquaduct and hands you a fresh towel to dry off.
(main source: ytlcommunity)
Tags: Starhill Gallery, Feast Village, YTL Community, Food, Seafood, Restaurant, Dining, Cuisine, Kuala Lumpur

Colonial Days

During the colonial days the late Tunku Abdul Rahman and late Mahatma Gandhi were invited to a dinner by the queen at Buckingham Palace. While having dinner both of them noticed that the whole dining set was made of gold and it came to their minds to steal one of the spoons as a souvenir (It was very hard to find a gold spoon in Malaysia and India in those days).

In their attempts, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman managed to slip one of the spoons into his pocket and to pretend nothing happened. Everyone at the dinner was not aware of this except Mahatma Gandhi, who himself tried to steal a gold spoon but to no avail. He failed because everytime he tried to slip the spoon into his pocket there would be someone looking at him and asking him about India.

Finally Mahatma Gandhi came up with an Idea ! He stood up and asked the people for their attention and then said "Its a great pleasure for me to show you some magic from India......I will slip this gold spoon into my pocket now and after I clap my hands you will find this spoon in my honorable friend Tunku Abdul Rahman's pocket " .... !!
Tags: Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia, Mahatma Ghandi, India, Buckingham Palace, Gold

Signboards/Notices To Be Aware Of

Tags: Signboard, Noticeboard, Jokes, Funny, Humour

Ricky Martin at a Clinic???

Some patients at a clinic saw "Ricky Martin", reportedly to be sick too.


Tags: Jokes, Funny, Humour, Ricky Martin, Clinic

Hong Kong TVB series

Yeah, I actually watched these TVB series.....nothing better to do during night time at home.
The Dance of Passion (a Hong Kong TVB TV series of 32 episodes) – starring Charmaine Sheh/Choi Siu Fun/Lai Chi/Lam Bowie/Chan Ho) & set in the early 1900s (if not wrong). The story is mainly on 2 major clans in the town located in the desert region (sounds familiar to me), namely the Yim and Sung clans. These 2 clans have been together for the last 100 years. But things were not smooth throughout. Betrayals, mistrusts, love & greed somehow are in the blood of the town’s citizenship. Talks about how the poors/poorly connected people (just like in many countries...hehehe) survived in such environment. The script is good but they packed too many “suddens” where they rushed to reveal lots of truth towards the last 3 episodes.

The Biter Bitten - starring Benny Chan, Linda Chung, Shirley Yeung, and Michael Tong. Basically it's about Benny, Linda, Shirley, and Michael finding treasure, but before they find the treasure they have to have enough clues to know where the treasure is located at. You will see the silver and gold eggs as the clue, as well as Linda's necklace, a photo, and the sword.

Each episode you will see Benny or Shirley uncover a clue that has to do with the treasure. Benny is really smart, he can answer IQ questions, and riddles. Benny was the only person who found all the clues to help to find the treasure. While the four of them looking for the treasure, the love relationships also complicates the situation. A humorous series at the same time as the 4 main young characters are of young age.
Tags: TVB Series, Hong Kong, Review, Charmaine Sheh

World's Top 100 Universities

The top 10 Universities in the world:
1.Harvard Uni (US)
2.Stanford Uni (US)
3.Yale Uni (US)
4.California Institute of Technology (US)
5.University of California, Berkeley (US)
6.Cambridge Uni (UK)
7.Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
8.Oxford Uni (UK)
9.University of California, San Francisco (US)
10.University of California, Columbia (US)

Top 10 Universities in Asia:
1.Tokyo University (Japan) (no.16 in world ranking)
2.Kyoto University (Japan) (29)
3.National Uni of S'pore (Singapore) (36)
4.Osaka University (Japan) (57)
5.Hong Kong Uni of Science & Tech. (60)
6.Tohoku University (Japan) (68)
7.University of Hong Kong (69)
8.Nanyang Tech. Uni (Singapore) (71)
9.Nagoya Univers (Japan) (94)
10.Chinese Uni of Hong Kong (96)

Top Australian Universities:
1.Australian National University (no.38 in world ranking)
2.University of Sydney (50)
3.University of Melbourne (53)
4.University of New South Wales (64)
5.Monash University (73)
6.University of Western Australia (78)
7.University of Queensland (91)
8.University of Newcastle (97)

Malaysian universities dropped out of sight......really sad.....can someone tell me why? Reasons given (by M'sian Uni officials) could be that "biasness" was used in tabulating such rankings or not according to certain standards. What you are is what you teach. With such low qualities of M'sian Univs, you can't expect to find a better lecturer (who hails from a M'sian Uni too) in future also.
Tags: Education, University, Ranking, World, Asia, Australia

Miami Vice / 2 Fast 2 Furious-Tokyo Drift

Miami Vice - starring Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx & Gong Li (yeah, the lady from China). Story was made based on the 80s TV series of Miami Vice (but no stories are linked). Both Colin and Jamie went undercover to nab drug lord operating in Miami & to investigate murders linked to the drugl ords. Wherelse Gong Li was a Chinese-Cuban wife to arms/drugs trafficker. You have to pay attention to the conversations throughout the whole show otherwise you will lose the plot. The criminals-police shoot out only occurred, where they were within 200-300m of each other, towards the end of the show. Police investigations are so shallow.
2 Fast 2 Furious-Tokyo Drift - starring Lucas Black, Shad 'Bow Wow' Gregory Moss, Nathalie Kelley, Sung Kang & Brian Tee. A US guy notorious for his bad behaviour on the road with his car has been sent to Japan to stay with his enstranged father, a military man. In Tokyo, he befriended an American guy who introduced him to underground world of drift racing. In his first race, he challenged the Drift King who has ties with the local Yakuza (not that he knew since he's new in Tokyo). His borrowed car was badly damaged and he was indebted to this car owner. He continued his friendship with this car owner who taught him about drifting at the same time. Unknowingly, he fell for the Drift King's gal. The Drift King has ties with the local Yakuza. In the end, the hero has to face off stake with the Drift King, with the loser leaving Tokyo for good.
Tags: Movie, Review, Cinema, Miami Vice, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Tokyo Drift

A Day in the Life of Malaysia

Come next year, 31 Aug 2007, Malaysia will celebrate its 50th anniversary as an independent nation.
A photography contest jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, the National Art Gallery, the Heritage Department and The Star with the theme of “Malaysia @ 50: A Day in the Life of Malaysia” – a national photography contest by Malaysians, and for Malaysians, has begun.

Pictures selected will be published in a souvenir book that will form the collection for a nationwide exhibition to commemorate the Merdeka Celebrations in 2007.

The contest is open to three categories of participants, with focus on seven subjects: Our Home, At Work, At Play, Our Beliefs, Our Culture, Our Heritage and Our Towns, Villages & Cities.

There is a category for school children and youth (aged 18 and below), the Open Category, and an Open Photo Essay Category, both for those aged 18 and above.

Renowned photographer Eric Peris has been appointed the Chief of the Panel of Judges for the contest. The contest has started now and the closing date for the contest is on 28 February 2007.

For more information, do log into National Art Gallery or LensaMalaysia.
Tags: Independent, Celebrate, Photography, Contest, Category, National Art Gallery

Creation of a Trust or Will

Keep yourself updated/well informed with good articles/knowledge on Creation of a Trust or Will with its benefits. The weekly article is usually posted at The Edge Daily website each Monday.

This week's article is on "Children Need Protection" written by Joshua Lim (my childhood friend) who is a founding member and the CEO of BHLB Trustee Berhad, a subsidiary of Southern Bank Berhad. Joshua Lim is also the author of the industry recommended book, “Wealth, a Burden and a Legacy”.

Next week's article, BHLB will focus on another aspect of Maintenance Trust called Education Trust.
Tags: Trust, Will, Protection, Legacy

Driven to Perfection-Richard Mille

Watchmaker Richard Mille has two new creations inspired by fast cars, architecture and navigation.
The handwinding RM012 Tourbillion has a baseplate/bridge construction crafted from a special inox alloy and is limited to 30 pieces worldwide. It also has the distinction of being the first tubular Richard Mille watch.

This watch is inspired by world-renowned architectural wonders like the Atomium in Brussels and the Louvre (world's largest museum) in Paris.

The RM012 Tourbillion (Platinum version) is priced at RM1,579,556 (US$428,064).
Also, new this year is the RM014 Perini Navi Cup, which is inspired by nautical themes from the sailing world, or as the name tells you, from the sailboats produced by Perini Navi in Viareggio, Italy.

Perini Navi is renowned for producing top class competitive sailboats with the most elegant and artistic designs, and they boast extreme technology and craftsmanship.

The RM014 Perini Navi Cup is priced at RM789,778 (US$214,032) for the Rose Gold, RM825,332 (US$223,667) for the White Gold and RM918,721 (US$248,976) for the Platinum.

Richard Mille is available exclusively at Swiss Union, Adorn Floor, Starhill Gallery.
Tags: Watch, Watchmaker, Lifestyle, Richard Mille, Tourbillion, Perini Navi

Net Phone Calls

For a long time Skype has been the trailblazer for net phone calls. It has won millions of fans because the service is free if you call another Skype user.

Then came other new innovators Jajah, Babble, VoipCheap and Project Gizmo. Jajah launched earlier this summer and claims to offer free global calling with a twist as it allows you to connect two phones via its website.

Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger were one of those early birds in the ventures.
Tags: Skype, Jajah, Babble, VoipCheap, Project Gizmo, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger

Bright Malaysian Sportsmen/women

Squash
Nicol David - World No. 1
Ong Beng Hee / Mohamed Azlan Iskandar - both in World Top 30
Low Wee Wern (19 yrs 0ld) - newly-crowned Asian Junior champion
Ivan Yuen (15), Elvinn Keo (19), Asyraf Azan (19) and Choong Kam Hing (19) - bronze-team event in the World Junior Championships

Lawn Bowls
Nor Iryani Azmi (19) - World No. 3 / Singles Champion of Champions tournament / Melbourne Commonwealth triples team gold

Bowling
Esther Cheah (19) - won World Women’s Championships last year and partnered with Zandra Aziela in the World Youth Championships in the doubles event.
Sharon Koh (19) - won World Youth Championships girls’ singles

Diving
Bryan Nickson Lomas - world junior champion

Badminton
Lee Chong Wei - World No. 2
Zakry Latif & Gan Teik Chai - World No. 10
Tan Boon Heong & Hoon Thien How - World Junior boys’ doubles champions 2 yrs ago
Arif Latif & Vountus Indra Mawan (both 17) - runners-up in the Asian Junior Championships
Lydia Cheah - girl's singles silver at the Asian Junior Championships

Cycling
Fatehah Mustapa (17) - fourth in the recent Asia Cup
Fauzan Ahmad Lutfi (20) - won men’s individual pursuit, Asia Cup
Tags: Sports, Nicol David, Squash, Lawn Bowl, Bowling, Diving, Lee Chong Wei, Badminton, Cycling

Telephone Conversations

Hotel : Mr Han-sem Wingz?
Me : Yea Speaking, who is this speaking?
Hotel : Oh I’m Ms. Kamlan calling from XXX hotel
Me : What can I do for you Ms Kamlan?
Hotel : Our hotel is having this promo, if you pay RM500 then we will give u 3 nights free stay at our hotel here in KL and 1 nite in our hotel in Penang. On top of that, we will give you 50% discount if you come and dine in our hotel plus we also giving you a few room vouchers with discount from 50% onwards from our publish rate.
Me : Tenkiu for the infos I’m not interested and I don’t want to waste your time.
Hotel : But sir, RM500 is a very good deal! The 3 nites free hotel stay alone is alredi worth more than that and if you bekam a member you also can come n use our gym also.
Me : I originated from KL, and do you happen to know that I m staying in KL also? I don’t see the needs of me staying in a hotel in KL nor I do like that idea .... I’m fine with my home.
Hotel : But if you got client or relatives kambing to KL they also can use the free stay.
Me : If got client come I doubt they wanna stay in your hotel also ... and as far as relatives is concerned I don’t freaking care where they stay as long as its far far away from me!
Hotel : You can bring you frend to dine in our rest for free and use our gym facilities.
Me : Look Ms, I don’t fancy hotel's food nor hotel's gym ... there is plenty of nice food around KL without the need to go to a hotel and there is also plenty of gym.
Hotel : But but ....
Me : look, you might have a lotsa time on your hand but I m extremely busy now ... so I’m gonna hang up, better luck next time.

Then not even 30 minutes later anoder call from anoder fellow, this time credit card pulak :

Credit Card : Sir! my name is Soandso and I am calling from TownBank. We are having the promotion for this Unclear credit card this month first year annual fees waved plus free gift upon approval of your Credit card application! On top of that you also eligible to join our 100 billions lucky draw contest also! Can I have your Fax number sir? I want to fax you the form now.
Me : No Thanks, I got enuff Credit cards ledi ..... I don’t need anymore.
Credit Card : But Sir, our credit card got free gift sir! first year it’s free!
Me : Eh ... you new one har? Every bank also giving free gift and 1st year annual fees waiver one la!
Credit Card : But Sir we also got this lucky draw contest where you can win 100 billions wor! Me : C’mon la! You think I dunno meh? those contest bruff ppl wan la! Your boss will choose his own relative to win wan mah! U think I Lobert ka?
Credit Card : Sir, our card also got free insuran if you use our card to buy air ticket wor ....
Me : Most card also have one lar!
Credit Card : Sir .... c'mon ler sir ... help me ler, today i notchet sell one card also and now alredi 4pm
Me : Wuah So cham meh? Sure anot?
Credit Card : Real one ler Sir, if knot get one card today I sure kena bombard one ler ... help me ler
Me : Ok la Ok la .... I help you la
Credit Card : Tenkiu Sir! Can I have your fax number sir? I fax the form to you now.
Me : Eh dun fax to me ... this kinda things my wife handle for me wan ...you fax to her and she will fill it up for me ok?
Credit Card : Yes Sir! no problem sir! Whats your wife's fax number Sir?
Me : Later I married ledi I give you her fax number lar! *Hangs up*

Worst of all, the calls were made on roaming line (high roaming charges).
Tags: Jokes, Humour, Funny, Conversation

Cartoons

At times, you need to have proper English pronounciation!
Tags: Cartoon, Jokes, Funny, Humour