Misleading Airlines Website

When I was reading an article entitled EU warns airlines over misleading website deals, the sale of air tickets locally are about the same too. It was stated that the European Union's Executive Commission has launched an investigation on a number of European airlines' websites on the following basis:-

* The ticket price is first shown without airport taxes and additional fees;
* Offers promising tickets for free or at a low price, but such tickets are unavailable to the consumer who wants to buy;
* Tick boxes for insurance or additional services are set to 'yes' by default, trapping the consumer into buying unwanted items; and
* General terms and conditions are not provided in the language version used by the consumer during booking procedure - or not available at all in any language.

Airlines that were implicated includes Ryanair, Vueling, Iberia and Spainair. Well, to such profit making entities, their earnings are more important than news of consumers being misled. With the rise of low cost carriers throughout the world, I guess this won't be the end of it, just the beginning.

I did highlight about a similar issue under Misleading Air Tickets Pricing but relating to Malaysia scenario.
Tags: Airlines Website, European Union, Ryanair, Vueling, Iberia, Spainair, Air Ticket, European Airlines

Malaysian Revival Song Competition 2007

The Malaysian Revival Song Competition 2007 ("MRSC 2007") is just round the corner. The finals will be held on 2 December 2007 at the Matrade Hall, Menara Matrade, Jalan Duta (street map available here). Be there to witness songwriters displaying their proficiencies in music.
Activities for that day at Matrade Hall will start from 3pm onwards. Star Maker, the organiser, has lined up the following programmes:-

3PM
- an open mic session, for stand up bands, comedians, singers or performances (15 mins each group). If you are interested, please be there early to book your slot, plug in and play. Simple!
- Food available at Traders Cafeteria.
- Buy your reflective items, claim free gifts and free passes.

5.30PM
- Workshops on "HOW TO RECORD A SONG DEMO" (recommending the most workable and affordable computer software and gadgets to produce a song demo as a finished product in CD)

- Workshop on "LYRIC & MUSIC" (helps to answer questions how to submit song entries for MRSC 2008)

- Health Talk - "What Should I Know To Avoid Kidney Failure" (conducted in Mandarin) by the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia.

- Health Talk - "What Leads to Confused Sexual Orientation?" is a session for parents, youth counsellors or anyone who wants to be informed of this topic.

6PM
- FREE food at the Traders Cafeteria at the Ground Floor.

6.30PM
You should be making your way into the Matrade Hall (3rd floor) because the Sibuk Sibuk Quiz will start on time (not joking) and this reality show has the easiest to win questions only if you dare to be interactive with the hosts. Prizes like iPOD, mini cooker, vouchers and Motorola mobile phone (rumor has it that it's a L6i worth RM600) are waited to be won. It's so easy that a 10 years old walked away with a hand phone last year.

6.45PM
The celebs and bands, judges will make their way from VIP holding room into the hall. Guess who are the celebs. William Lee and Yasmin Haran will be the emcees for the night.

7.30PM-10PM
Competition begins, get ready to shoot sms to vote.
* Erra Fazira, Vince Chong and Danny One (all songwriter singers) and BLISTER band from Bangkok (winner of MRSC 2006) will be there to sing their songs too.

Call now to 012 335 3511 for FREE passes (conditional and limited) or simply make a donation (anything above RM10) for admission tickets. Walk-in on that day is possible but get your tickets earlier is better. Email us, sms us, call us and we will arrange to give you instruction concerning payment and sending of tickets to you.

Transport wise, please click here for more info.
Tags: Malaysian Revival Song Competition 2007, MRSC 2007, MRSC 2008, Matrade Hall, Menara Matrade, Jalan Duta, Star Maker, Song Demo, National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia, Sibuk Sibuk Quiz, Yasmin Haran, Erra Fazira, Vince Chong, Danny One, Blister

Play to Meet the Needs

Any told you before that while playing you could contribute to the needful. Free Rice, a website that was set-up on 7 October 2007 has this idea of getting website visitors to play a game and if the visitors succeed, donations in the form of grains of rice will be made.

You will asked to provide the meaning of an english word. Four options were given for you to choose. And if you get it correct, 20 grains of rice will be donated to United Nations World Food Program (it was increased to 20 grains per correct answer w.e.f. 28 Nov 2007 compared to 10 grains earlier).

On the first day, 830 grains of rice were "donated". As the website community caught on with this game, people continued to play the game and by 8 November 2007, 77 million grains of rice were gained.

As of today, I have partly contributed 340 grains of rice. Phew! Some of those english words were alien to me. And I can't recall the meaning for some words as we seldom use such words. It was a good way to refresh my english vocabulary. On the point of publishing this blog posting, total grains of rice donated = 4,550,033,230. Find out where the grains of rice will be sent to here.

This genius idea was the brainchild of American online fundraising pioneer John Breen. There is also a sister website under the name of www.poverty.com.
Tags: Free Rice, United Nations World Food Program, World Food Program, Grains of Rice, English Vocabulary, John Breen

Shopping During Big Sales

How often do you go shopping? Be it window shopping or actual buying of stuff you like. Do you go during Big Sales period or you rather shop with peace knowing not many people will patronise those shopping centres during non-peak period.

In Malaysia, during those Mega Sales during mid-year or end of the year holidays, you could sense how big is the crowd just by entering the basement car parks. Normally, I'll drop by Mid Valley for my stuff. But this megamall's car park is definitely not enough for the crowd that it could draw. My worst experience was 30 minutes going round and round.

During those Mega Sales time, you could every shops reducing their prices/giving discounts to clear their stocks in anticipation of the arrival of new stocks. You could see people thronging those lowly priced items but you would still be able to have a look or touch/feel that item to see if it suits you.

Well, in China, Carrefour in Chongqing city had a tremendous shock of their life. As known, Carrefour is famous for buying their goods in bulk which enabled them to sell it to their customers at a lower price. Carrefour displayed a notice staying that vegetable oil would be sold at 39.9 yuan instead of 51.4 yuan for a limited time, a savings of 11.5 yuan (only about US$1.50).

When the news leaked out, huge crowd started to gather for the opening of that particular Carrefour. Not knowing what to expect when the door was opened, the crowd pushed their way in and a stampede occurred. People were pushing their way through and started hunting down the vegetable oil.

End result:-
* 3 customers died
* 31 customers injured
* China government has banned sales promotion with time limitation

Bear in mind, even in a city like Chongqing their population could number a few millions. So, such tragedy if it happens could result in terrible stampede. Stay faraway from those Big Sales if China if you are there. You have no experience in handling such crowd......hehe

Reading: How to avoid another Carrehour stampede - Danwei
Tags: Carrefour, Chongqing, China, Mega Sales, Big Sale

Rioting in France

BERSIH and HINDRAF's demonstration are so far peaceful and with proper objectives.

Really just hope that whatever rally or demonstration being called won't erupted to a free for all situation like what is happening in France now. Riots that begun at Paris has overflowed to Toulouse, a city at Southern France.

It has caused injuries to 80 police officer due to bullet wounds and the streams of flying objects such as stones, fireworks and petrol bombs. Wow, this is really crazy. Malaysia doesn't need this type of riots in order to deliver a message across to the gahmen.

Hopefully the gahmen listens well after the BERSIH and HINDRAF incidents. Act if need to but not to brush off their claims/requests. By quoting "Act", I was not referring to ISA detention or impose legal actions on participants but ask what was the root of it. Will the gahmen see this point?
Tags: BERSIH, HINDRAF, Riot, ISA

Conman Preying on Church

This is a notice from National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia in view of All Saints' Church ("ASC") case where ASC has been duped into parting with 200 tickets meant for a luncheon supposedly to be held at Janbo Restaurant (Pudu) on 25 Dec 2007.

If you have been approached to purchase the above ticket, by a Chong Kim Kooi (mobile no. 012-6957499), in the name of God, please report to the police (a police report has been lodged on 16 Nov 2007 - police report no. PUDU/006715/07).

Tags: All Saints' Church, Naitonal Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia, NECF, Janbo Restaurant, Pudu, Conman, Chong Kim Kooi

Maintaining Fitness

Though I was tired from the weekend bliss owing to the dramas' preparations, I made an effort to pay a visit to my gym. Haven't been there for the last 2 weeks due to my left's arm situation.

When the gym owner asked why I was missing for so long, I told him about my left arm. When he took a look at it, he asked when did it happen. "Three Sundays ago" I replied.

He said "You better go and check your elbow with the doctor again. If it was still swollen after 3 weeks, I suspect that it is dislocated now."

Ouch! Yeah, if you were to press on one particular spot, I would still feel the pain and I can't rest that part of my elbow on my office desk.

One question, how do you recover from a dislocated elbow?
Tags: Gym, Dislocated Elbow

Contrasting Report at Batu Caves

Normally, I will buy a copy of the STAR newspaper at a small convenience shop on the ground floor of my building and will quickly flip through the newspaper once I reach my workstation just before I start my work assignments.

This morning, the main headlines were the HINDRAF demonstration that happened on Sunday around Jalan Tun Razak / Jalan Ampang area. Far off from this place, a smaller incident happened in Batu Caves too, the place where the main Thaipusam festival is held annually.

By reading the STAR newspaper, it was understood that demonstrators was quite violent right in front of the Batu Caves' entrance and it was stated that the main gate was destroyed. There were some discrepancy that I have noticed in this report.

* The crowd was asked to disperse but they ran into the Batu Caves compound.
* It was mentioned that passing cars were hit by stones and bricks thrown at them.
* No tear gas or water cannons were used at the demonstrators during the incident.

After you have read the above, please go to Screenshots website to view the photographs that were taken at the place of said incident at Batu Caves. Judge for yourself.

Was the STAR newspaper used to distort the whole scenario????????
Tags: HINDRAF, STAR Newspaper, Batu Caves, Demonstration

Follow Mom's Advise

If you’re striking out in the game of love, it may be time to call in the ultimate dating coach: Mom. The dynamic combo of a) her keeping your best interests in mind and b) her relying on a lifetime of experience make Mom the ultimate authority on what you need to look for in a man. Need a preview of what you can expect her to tell you? Below, find some of the best bits of mom-wisdom:-

Mama says: Look for a guy who's generous
While many guys need to carefully monitor their spending habits, one who never splurges on his sweetheart may not be who Mom would consider Mr. Right-For-You. “My mother always told me that cheap’ is a first cousin of selfish’, so I should steer clear of guys who are always wanting to split the tab or unnecessarily counting every penny, says Rayna, 27, a flight attendant in Dallas, TX. “She said that guys who were cheap were just another version of selfish: mostly thinking of themselves more than thinking of others.

Emily, 24, a retail salesperson in New York, NY, said her mom had similar views and warned her against a particularly frugal man she once dated. “I once lived with a guy for a year who was a well-paid stockbroker. Even though he made nearly 10 times my salary, he always insisted on splitting all of our living costs—even including food and the expenses whenever we took a vacation together. My mom hated that he was so cheap because she thought it showed a lack of selflessness, and she warned me that marrying him would be a terrible mistake because he’d always think of himself before me or even our future kids. I ignored her, but when he got us tickets to go see a Broadway show on my birthday — one he wanted to see — and asked me to pay for my ticket, I got an inkling that Mom was right. Later his true selfishness became very apparent. I never would have wanted a lifetime of that, so I broke up with him. Should have listened to Mom from the get-go!"

Lesson learned: A guy who’s willing to make a sacrifice to treat you like a queen thinks (rightfully so!) that you deserve to feel like one.

Mama says: Look for a guy who is well-mannered
After raising perfectly polished kids of her own, Mom knows that training a grown man who is rough around the edges is a challenge that you don’t want to be saddled with. "My mother always tells me to pay close attention to a guy's manners — how he eats, if he interacts appropriately with the waitstaff, if he follows the basic principles of etiquette — when I am out on a first date with him," says Molly, 30, a radio producer in Boston, MA. “She says that if he’s off’ in any of those areas, I might want to reconsider having a future with him because she claims it’s tough enough teaching manners to children; imagine trying to teach them to an adult!’

Fran, 27, a day-care assistant in Atlanta, GA, says that her mother never approved of her ill-mannered ex, and now she understands why: "When my mom first met my ex we were out to dinner and he talked with his mouth full the entire evening, didn’t know which silverware to use, and when dinner was over, he never thanked them for it. She assured me his behavior was indicative of future situations that would embarrass me in other social situations. I thought she was totally overreacting and being way too judgmental, but I later discovered that she was right. Any time we were out with friends his manners would always mortify me. Eventually I found myself making excuses for why we couldn’t meet friends out. I finally stopped canceling plans with friends and ended things with him. Mom was right—a poorly-mannered guy who isn’t making an effort to improve in that area makes for a bad boyfriend!”

Lesson learned: A guy who knows the appropriate ways to act in social situations (or is eager to train up) will never embarrass you.

Mama says: Look for a guy who’s industrious
Have you ever met a mom who wishes that her daughter would date a lazy guy? Didn’t think so. When it comes to recommending you seek out a hardworking guy, Mom knows what you might not always understand: A guy with a good work ethic will always take care of her little girl. "My mom told me that I should only date guys who are hardworking at their jobs, because that would be a good indicator of whether he would as a husband be a good provider for me and our kids, says Paula, 25, a nursing student in Washington, D.C. While Linda, 33, a catering services representative in Villanova, PA, said her mother also recommended looking for a man with a strong work ethic, her mother’s advice involved looking beyond the workplace: "My mother told me to look for a guy who not only worked hard on the job, but also at home. She always told me to make sure he was willing to do his share of taking out the trash and helping out with the cooking and cleaning, too. She probably advised this because she raised five kids and kept up the house without the help of a husband who was willing to do those things, and it wore her down! Pretty solid advice, I think.

For many mothers, industriousness and maturity go hand in hand (and you know Mom always warns you against those Peter Pan types): “My mother hated this one guy I dated who was habitually — and happily — unemployed, says Becky, 28, a computer programmer in Vienna, VA. “He’d veg out on the couch all day, playing video games and order pizza while I worked to support us both. Mom would always ask me, Do you really think this will change once you get married? Why have kids? You’ve already got one!’ and she’d urge me to find a guy with some semblance of a work ethic. Eventually I took her words to heart and started making sure that any guy I dated was not only gainfully employed, but had career goals for his future. Mom was right—an industrious guy is a mature guy."

Lesson learned: A guy with a good work ethic, who always does his best to make your life together comfortable, is a solid partner.

Mama says: Look for a guy who's flexible
Mom knows that life is full of ups and downs, which is why she always wants you to meet a guy who can help you make lemonade should life hand you lemons. “My mom’s number one piece of advice for me when I was dating was to find a guy who was adaptable, because she said life requires that we all be able to roll with the unexpected, says Megan, 34, a web administrator in Moreno Valley, CA. Stacey, 28, a public-relations coordinator in Ft. Myers, FL, says that she realized how valuable her mom’s similar advice was when she was faced with a career opportunity: “I once dated a guy who was very set in his ways and pretty unwilling to deviate from his ideas of the way things should be. My mom would always say, How are you going to live the rest of your life with someone who can’t handle all of the things that life throws at you?’ When I got my dream job that involved moving to another town, he refused to budge. I took her advice and went without him, and it was the best decision I ever made. I can’t even begin to imagine what my life would be like if I had stayed like he wanted to. Mom was right—sometimes in life you need to be willing to reconsider your rules.

Lesson learned: Life’s full of both rain and shine—having a partner who can weather both with you is a keeper.

Mama says: Look for a guy who loves children
If you dream of a future filled with kids, Mama will always be the first one to tell you that you’d best look for a man who wants the same thing. Dana, 32, a teacher in New York, NY, says she always knew she wanted four children, and her mother always advised that she look for a guy who was on the same page: “My mom always told me to not only never considering dating a guy who didn’t want to have kids, but to also make sure that the one I picked really loved being around children. She always said that I should never want to be with the kind of guy who I’d have to convince or beg to have kids because he’d probably make a not-so-hot father anyway. Even if you’re not sure you’re ready for a brood of babies, chances are Mom will still tell you that picking a guy who enjoys being around children is a good idea. “My mom says that men who are good with kids are always good-hearted men because they are giving people,’ says Ashleigh, 23, a store manager in Akron, OH. “She always tells me that men who like kids are the sweetest kind, and in my dating experience, I’ve found that she’s totally right.

Lesson learned: Whether you want kids or not, in general, men who like kids are kind-natured souls.
(Love: Follow Mom's Advise by Chelsea Kaplan)
Tags: Mom's Advise, Frugal, Selfish, Well-Mannered, Industrious, Flexible, Children

Preparations for the Dramas

This is the place where I'll be stationed for all the 5 dramas, up at the balcony. That's my laptop besides the desktop monitor. Have to sync with the PA system to show those video clips that we act compiled. That's one of our sound engineers concentrating on the drama this afternoon.




This is part of the PA system, the mixer, that I'm still trying to comprehend. Never mind, just leave it to those technical guys to handle it.
Tags: Christmas Drama, Christmas, PA System, Sound Engineer

Barbie's Pregnant?

The famous Barbie toy for young girls has taken a strange twist to capture the young girls' market. Has Mattel, the toy maker, made Barbie an adult now? Why did I ask that question?

It seems that Barbie has another doll version where it shows that Barbie is pregnant and the young girls could play a giving birth scene too.
Are they trying to teach the Sex Education subject in an indirect way?



Tags: Barbie, Pregnant Barbie, Mattel, Toy

Government Imposes National Savings

How does a government get their citizens to have a savings (of money) mindset? Some people tend to save all earnings after deducting their necessary expenses. Some will spend all their earnings without proper planning for their future.

In Iran, the government has an idea that will surely drive their message far across all walks of life.
Tags: National Savings, Bank, Iran

Medical Treatment in Africa

After reading about a terrible mix-up of operations in the nation of Tanzania, it revived my memory when I was sick while I was in Khartoum, Sudan.

The mix-up incident in Tanzania was met with tragic. A patient (Emmanuel Mgaya) who has tumour in his head was operated on his knee. While the other guy (Emmanuel Didas) who was supposed to be operated on his knee, was given a operation on his head.

Mgaya died from late operation on his head.
Didas is now partially paralysed due to the unwanted operation on his head.
Reason: Both patients in the same hospital have the same first name.

So simple to wash their hands clean. When I had diarrhoea in Sudan the last round (a Saturday night), I had to buy medicine from a pharmacy as there are no clinics in Sudan. Even after being discharged from a hospital, you would have to buy medicine from a pharmacy instead. When you are really sick, you either admit yourself into a small or big hospital.

My diarrhoea continued on the whole Sunday. On Monday morning, my company's medical arrangement with a hospital, Fedail Hospital, arranged for a hospital medical officer to bring me to their hospital.

When it was my turn to see the doctor she enquired what happened to me.
Me: I had diarrhoea since late yesterday night but having stomach muscle cramp now.
Lady Doctor: Do you know what caused it?
Me: No idea as I ate the same food with my colleagues.
Lady Doctor: Did you take any medicine since yesterday night?
Me: Yes I did. I bought an anti-diarrhoea medicine from the pharmacy to stop the purging.
Lady Doctor: Was it effective?
Me: Yes but it seems that it had stopped all purging too effectively until I can't let go now and it's causing that pain in my stomach.
Lady Doctor: I will give you another medicine which will relieve your muscle cramp. Since you don't know what caused your diarrhoea, I need you to provide sample for me so that we could examine the cause of it.
Me: What do you mean? What sample? (I was really that naive)
Lady Doctor: Whatever you purge out later on, please get some sample of those stuff. I will provide a bottle for you.

Did I follow the doctor's instruction? Of course not. It was not the first time I had diarrhoea and where did that doctor graduate from. First time hearing that I was required to obtain my pooh so that a medical test could be conducted to determine what caused my diarrhoea. Goodness me! As if it was life threatening or an epidemic that has struck Sudan.

After taking the new medicine provided by this doctor, it did help my stomach to relieve what has been stopped by the medicine provided by the pharmacist. I rested well on Monday and went back to work on Tuesday.
Tags: Medical Treatment, Diarrhoea, Tanzania, Khartoum, Sudan, Lady Doctor

Christmas Drama Trailer

Yeahhhhhhh....... we have our own trailer as well for our upcoming Christmas Dramas. When you go for a movie, you will normally get to watch a trailer of an upcoming movie. The movie trailer tends to capture your attention and gives you a glimpse of what to expect.

Well, we are not that far behind (behind in terms of money of course). Nevertheless, our multimedia guy produced this excellent piece as our movie trailer. Enjoy the trailer!

Praise City Church is presenting to you their Special Christmas Presentation - "The Bridge"



Tags: Christmas Drama, Christmas, Church Drama, Church, Movie Trailer, Multimedia, The Bridge, Praise City Church

Bad China Food in Malaysia

If you do like to eat food, please be wary of the following food products from China:-
1) honey (reason: drug residue) - more of this will make my muscles grow? enough time to build up for Beijing Olympics?
2) oyster sauce (reason: cancer-causing agent 3-MCPD); and
3) dried mushrooms (reason: pesticide residue)

The list doesn't stop there for China which has included frozen eel, seaweed, frozen royal red prawns, shitake mushrooms and salted turnip too.

Others as highlighted in the newspapers are as follows:-
* groundnut kernels from India (reason: cancer-causing agent aflatoxin)
* natural honey, kicap manis, prawn crackers and chilli sauce from Indonesia (on Ministry of Health's watch list)
* roasted seaweed from Singapore (reason: contain metal contaminants)

Just when you thought you were safe from China products as highlighted here and here, it has came upon the Malaysian shore. What went wrong with their quality control over there?

Good thing our Malaysian Health Ministry's Food Quality and Safety Division was on full alert and able to detect such anomalies and all the above stated China food would be cautiously tested before being given a clean bill.

But some of those tainted food products did make it past the Health Ministry's testing and are found in various supermarkets/convenience stores around Malaysia. Was our Health Ministry negligent in their work? They had even confirmed earlier that China food products were clean.
Tags: Malaysian Health Ministry, Food Quality and Safety Division, Drug Residue, Pesticide Residue, Cancer-Causing Agent, 3-MCPD, Aflatoxin, Metal Contaminants, China Food, Food

Ant Power

Once upon a time, there came along a company named Yilishen (蟻力神) in China. The company sells health and food products that derived from ants.

But how does the company ensure that it gets an adequate supply of ants from which to extract the ingredients required for their products?

Yilishen actually used the well-known behavior of ants by recruiting massive numbers of ant farmers. Each ant farmer signs up with the company with an initial fee of 10,000 yuan, and then he gets supplied with the company ant-breeding equipment. The ant farmer gets paid for the number of ants produced at a price that ensures him a good profit if he meets the quota. Hundreds of thousands of people sign up.

The ability of the company to pay the ant farmers requires that enough of the ant-based products are being sold. If the sales exceeds the supply, all is well. If the sales is lower than the supply, it is hell to pay.

Recently, Yilishen suddenly discontinued buying from the the ant farmers as well as the payments. The rumor was that the company was bankrupt and the senior company officials have esconded. Several tens of thousands ant farmers converged to the company headquarters in Shenyang to protest without effect.

So last night, the protestors switched their target and surrounded the Liaoning provincial party committee 's office and broke through the police cordon to wave banners and chant slogan. The police are on full alert. Meanwhile, all discussions about Yilishen and the demonstrations have been disappeared from the mainland Chinese Internet. (Extracted from ESWN website)
Tags: Ant, Ant Power, Ant Farmer, Yilishen, Shenyang, Liaoning, Liaoning Provincial Party Committee, China

Outer Space Eyeview

A friend's friend's granddaughter who works for NASA sent these pictures that were from past missions. The last picture was taken during Hurricane Dean.

Tags: NASA, Space, Hurricane Dean

Things To Do When Free

Do you know when I saw this picture, it gave me a wild imagination for my drama as well ...... hehehe

Oh well, as for this picture ...... it's just marvellous how poor people can fully maximise their talent even without the basic writing instruments. It won't stop them from sharing their knowledge with others.

How thoughtful of this 3 guys!
Tags: Unique, Drama, Writing Instrument, Funny, Humour

Beyond Control

This drama depicts a man who thought he knew everything and that people has to rely on him for his intelligence and wide knowledge.

In office, he will not tolerate imperfection.

At home, he can't understand family members' weaknesses.

What will make him realise that his actions were tooooooooo much?

Read this para:
A friend of mine who is a jet pilot once told me that whenever a jet goes out of control and begins to spin, the only thing to do is totally take your hands off the controls and the plane will right itself. This goes against our natural inclination to control and manipulate in order to bring things back under control. It is scary to be out of control. Or is it?
(The Dangers of Overcontrol by Os Hillman)


We were trying to finish the video shooting for this drama at a friend's home.
Just when we wanted to finish fast, the battery's life ended even faster. Good thing Kerk brought along his spare battery.
Tags: Christmas Drama, Christmas, Beyond Control

Buying an English Football Club

Any interest in owning an English club in one of the world's hottest football league? It's still not too late.

The members of a football fans' website called MyFootballClub website has actually gathered together in an unprecedented move to buy a majority percentage of an English football club by the name of Ebbsfleet United.

The forum members of the MyFootballClub website, numbering to 20,000 each contributed £35 to a fund which made up to £700,000.

With this deal done, the 20,000 members have an indirect ownership of Ebbsfleet United (formerly known as Gravesend & Northfleet), which plays in the Blue Square Premier League. Their indirect ownership don't just stop there. Each of the 20,000 members has a say on the club's future transfers, player selection, all major decisions and an option to buy all the club for a fixed price in future. You can still join their business venture - click here.

Maybe this idea could also work in Malaysia to overcome the unsuccessful Malaysian football situation.

Reading: Unique takeover as fans website buys club - Soccernet

Tags: Football, Soccer, Business, English Football Club, Ebbsfleet United, MyFootballClub, Blue Square Premier League, Gravesend & Northfleet

Invitation to PCC's Christmas Dramas

At last, the banners are out and below is our invitation to you to attend our Christmas Dramas on dates stated as below. Bloggers are most welcome.

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED ...

to Praise City Church's Special Christmas Presentation this December! Beyond Control (DEC 2)
An arrogant, know-it-all corporate figure trying to be the perfect man in the office,home and church. Is he able to maintain a tight control on all front?The Ladder (DEC 9)
A young go-getter who is hungry for success faces the dilemmaof a materialistic girlfriend, ethics and making fast bucks easily.Can he juggle with the challenge of upholding his integrity while climbing the corporate ladder?The Right Match (DEC 16)
A highflying corporate lady who has no time for love decides to try matchmaking route to look for a life partner.Is she able to find her right match?Feel Good, Feel Bad (DEC 23)

An impressionable college girl struggling to keep up with her peerson the latest trend resorts to undesirable activity to fund her lifestyle.Can she maintain her dignity and sanity altogether and still feel good without feeling bad?The Bridge Finale (DEC 25)
A contemporary version of the Christmas story where the hope of all mankind is revealed.Do you know about it? Have you found it?OUR LOCATION:Come and feast your eyes on this multimedia production which underscores the love of God reaching a world blinded and trapped by pride, pleasure, prestige and pain.

On all of the dates

Time: 10am at the venue above

* Lunch will be provided on Dec 25th

Tags: Christmas Drama, Christmas, Praise City Church, The Bridge, Beyond Control, The Ladder, The Right Match, Feel Good, Feel Bad, The Bridge Finale

Drama Practise with PA System

Three teams went ahead with PA system fully in place. Now, besides remembering their scripts they have to remember who is to take which microphones, that too, whether it's the clipped on wireless mike or the wireless handheld mike.

A bit chaotic this time .......... but full of laughter. At times, some just throw their voice without even holding the mike to their mouth (even though they were holding the mike). So, you can hear people jeering and teasing those individuals.

For the first time, the three teams's cast members got to watch the other teams's video clips and I tell you, it was truly laughing out loud as other team members couldn't believed those video shootings that had taken place. My Co-Director, Lud Lee, was at the floor ensuring the finer touch on the way they speak, act, express.

I was up at the balcony, controlling the video clips, seeing from a higher angle provides a better assessment of the drama, telling the two guys (Eugene and Joel, who are secondary students having their year end holidays now) in charge of Lightings to blend the lightings with respective scenes. At the same time, the two sound engineers (both Ben Ngh and Tan Kah Hooi not fully qualified guys in this field but truly experienced enough playing with our PA systems for the past number of years).

We got our Stage Manager, Albert Lee, writing down notes to see what sort of props were required and where should it be placed on the stage. And he shouted to me "We need to buy three laptops as there are office scenarios" .................. hahahaha. There goes my budget.

Our two make-up artists, Sabrina Seong and Shirley Woo, were scribbling some notes on their note pads. Maybe noting down what sort of make-ups to be applied on those actors/actresses. They'll be buying those make-up stuff too.

At the end, arranged with a few of them to plan for two more video shooting scenes, coming Sat 10am and 6pm at different places with different cast members. This are the last two video shootings ........................ my cinematography guy (yeah, we got this name for him after seeing him put the word cameraman only in the banners ........ not high class enough hehehehehe).

After this last two video shootings, I can sleep much better. This weekend onwards we have to concentrate on the stage designing, preparing for the Christmas decorations and the BIG steel bridge will be delivered on 27 Nov morning (have to take leave). All the five dramas' main theme is about The Bridge.

Watch for the banners which will be unveiled tomorrow.
Tags: Christmas Drama, Christmas, PA System, Co-Director, Lightings, Sound Engineer, Stage Manager, Make-Up Artist, The Bridge

Failed Promotion for A1GP

A website called GP Passport, seems to be supported by the Genting World Card and Sepang International Circuit, looks promising. But when you try to click on their other pages, it would be unavailable.

I was re-directed to this website through an email from GP Passport via Faces Magazine and registered for their A1 Grand Prix competition. An apparent attempt to promote the upcoming A1 Grand Prix to be held in Malaysia.

After keying in the answers for two questions and the moment you click the submit button, you will get the following error message:-

"ADODB.Command error '800a0d5d'
Application uses a value of the wrong type for the current operation.
/a1gp/contest_func.asp, line 28"

Numerous attempts through different ways of attempting to submit were futile as the same message was there again and again. Maybe their website was not ready yet. But when you send emails out to get people's attention, please make sure your website if ready for such traffic. Otherwise, people will get pissed off.
Tags: A1GP, A1 Grand Prix, Genting World Card, Sepang International Circuit, GP Passport

Feel Good, Feel Bad

The name of the drama to be acted out on 23 Dec is called Feel Good, Feel Bad. Story revolves around a teenage girl who felt being picked by her parents.

The drama cast members rehearsing their scripts before going up on stage.
Some of the youth were practising their dance which is part of the drama.
They were moving quite fast till my camera couldn't cope with that movement. Does that mean I need a more powerful camera? hehehe
See, I told you ........ can't catch that speed. But those youth were enjoying their dance.










The two choreographers for this dance, Niki and Ria (centre, in black & yellow), had to fine tune their steps even during a rest peiod.
This was a classroom scene where full nonsense was going on at the back of their class, paying no attention to the lecturer who was standing besides me.

The guy in blue (left) was my co-director trying to instill some sparks into the scene.
Tags: Christmas Drama, Christmas, Feel Good, Feel Bad