Merry Christmas Happy New Year!!

Wishing u season greetings n a many blessings for the new year!!

These KiWi Guys are BRILLIANT!!!

Flight of the Conchords intertitle from Wikipedia

Lately been checking "Flight of the Conchords"!!!

F@#KIN BRILLIANT!!!

From Wikipedia :
Flight of the Conchords is an Emmy Award-nominated ^[1] television comedy series that follows the adventures of the Flight of the Conchords, a folk duo from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show portrays a fictionalized version of the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who play themselves.

Kudos to the Kiwis. Have to say that the Kiwis have always been rather unique to me, possibily because i was there at an impressionable age (NOT). But these 2 guys really show creativity unique to the Kiwis. Well, just my personal opinion.

But i shall say no more.. CHECK THEM OUT!!

More here..

WOULD LOVE 1 OF THIS FER CHRISTMAS!!!

Running out of Christmas ideas???

Check this out wei!!! Full car sim setup..
Puts the MOMO Logitech steering to shame... hehehhee..

A friend shared this with me today. Pretty darn cool!!! :)

Original link from for the Apex SC830 for more pics, brought to u by the good people at SimCraft.

My Favourite Animes...

The father of them all..

A list of my all time favourite animes as below.

Series:
1. Ghost In The Shell SAC I
2. Ghost In The Shell SAC II
3. Ruroni Kenshin/Samurai X + OVA's
4. Samurai Champloo
5. Trinity Blood
6. Macross/Mospeada :)

Movies/OVA's
1. Appleseed I & II
2. Ghost In The Shell I (Innocence sucked)
3. Akira
4. Gundam OVA's
5. Macross

Currently watching:
1. Bleach
2. Naruto Shippuuden Chronicles

Have i told you Lately..

Lately i have not been updating my blog, not inspired...

Lately i've been going for interviews, waiting for replies & offers & 2nd round interviews..

Lately i've been feeling depressed, probably because this is one of the downest i've been in the holiday season.

Lately i've not celebrated my 31'st, dunno jus wasn't in the mood...

Lately i've been learning mandarin, need to work harder on this...

Lately i've been having a tough streak, where things don't run as smoothly as they normally do..

Lately, projects have been problematic & hard to close..

Lately i've been feeling alone...

Latest News & Political Analysis of Thailand..

Asia Sentinel
Tuesday, 02 December 2008

Thailand and the Coup for the Rich
Written by Giles Ji Ungpakorn

The constitutional courts, as expected, disband a democratically
elected party

Thailand’s Constitutional Courts dissolved the country’s
democratically elected governing party for the second time Tuesday,
forcing the government to resign. This follows the refusal of the
Armed Forces and the Police to follow government instructions to clear
the two international airports blocked by armed People’s Alliance for
Democracy fascists.

The royalist alliance against the government is made up of the fascist
PAD, the military, the police, the judiciary, the mainstream media,
the "Democrat Party," most middle class academics and The Queen. They
are all behind this judicial coup. A leading Democrat Party MP is one
of the leaders of the illegal blockade of Bangkok’s two airports.

The Yellow-shirted PAD have armed guards which have repeatedly shot at
opponents. They constantly use violence and now demand "joint patrols"
with the police. The PAD has constantly broken the law, and yet they
are untouchable. On the rare occasion when PAD leaders are forced to
attend court, they are given bail and allowed to go back and commit
the same crimes over and over again.

The majority of the Thai population, who are poor, face a double
whammy. First, the elite royalists are doing everything possible to
take away their basic democratic rights. Secondly, mass job losses are
occurring among workers in the tourist industry as a result of the
airport blockade. Jobs in agriculture and electronics are also
affected and of course we are faced with the serious world economic
crisis. The elites do not care if the Thai economy is trashed and
Thailand returns to a poor third world nation. In such nations the
elites continue to live the same lives as the rich in the developed
world. The PAD protestors are middle-class extremists who do not have
to go to work, hence their prolonged protests.

We are constantly told by the conservatives that the poor are too
stupid to deserve the right to vote. The army staged a coup in 2006
and rewrote the constitution in order to reduce the democratic space
and also to absolve themselves of any wrongdoing. The electorate have
repeatedly voted in overwhelming numbers for the government party,
whether it be Thai Rak Thai, which brought the former Prime Minister,
Thaksin Shinawatra, or its successor, Peoples Power Party. Now
People’s Power politicians are moving to the new Pua Thai Party. Will
a fair election be held? Or will the elites engineer a "fix" to make
sure that their people win?


What is the root cause of this crisis?
The root cause of this crisis is not the corruption of the Thaksin
government in the past. It isn't about vote-buying, good governance,
civil rights or the rule of law. Politicians of all parties, including
the Democrats, are known to buy votes. The elites, whether
politicians, civil servants or the military, have a history of gross
corruption. Even when they don't break the law, they have become rich
on the backs of Thai workers and small farmers. The Democrat Party is
stuffed with such millionaires.

Ironically, the Thai Rak Thai party was helping to reduce the
importance of vote-buying because it was the first party in decades to
have real policies which were beneficial to the poor. They introduced
a universal health care scheme and Keynesian village funds. People
voted on the basis of such policies. The Democrats and the
conservative elites hate the alliance between Thaksin's business party
and the poor. They hate the idea that a government was using public
funds to improve the lives of the poor. This is why the
anti-government alliance is against democracy. The PAD have suggested
reducing the number of elected MPs and a recipe to do away with the
principle of "one person one vote". So the root cause of the problem
is the conservative elite's contempt for the poor and their contempt
for democracy. They are prepared to break the law when it suits them.

What is the solution?
Business leaders and the royalist elites are demanding an un-elected
national government. The Democrat Party leader has "volunteered" to
provide the Prime Minister! Such a national government would complete
the judicial coup for the rich. It would be a victory for the PAD and
a defeat for the electorate.

The Red Shirts, who are organized by government politicians, are the
only hope for Thai democracy. They have now become a genuine
pro-democracy mass movement of the poor. This is what is meant by
"civil society", not the PAD fascists. Thai academia fails to grasp
this basic fact. But the Red Shirts are not a pure force. Many have
illusions about ex-Prime Minister Thaksin. They overlook his gross
abuse of human rights in the south and the war on drugs, in which
hundreds of people were shot as drug dealers without arrest, trial or
proof. But these human rights issues are also totally ignored by the
PAD and their friends.

Throughout this three-year crisis, the majority of the Thai NGO
movement (especially the NGO-Coordinating Committee) has failed to
support democracy. Many welcomed the 2006 military coup. Many
supported the military constitution. Now they are either silent or are
echoing the demands of the army chief, who said last week that the
government should resign.

At no point have they attempted to build a pro-democracy social
movement. Many believe that the poor are "uneducated and lack enough
information to vote". The honorable examples are the Midnight
University in Chiang-Mai, some sections of the labour movement, groups
of new generation NGO activists and Turn Left.

The economic crisis
Millions of jobs are being destroyed by the world economic crisis and
the unrest in Thai society. People are being driven back into poverty.
Yet the Democrat Party, the military, the conservative elites and the
mainstream NGO movement do not have a clue or do not care one jot
about the necessary policies to defend the living standards of the
poor. They chant about the King's Sufficiency Economy and the need for
fiscal discipline. In other words, the poor must trim their spending
and learn to live with their poverty while the rich continue to live
in luxury.

We desperately need massive government spending on infrastructure, job
protection and a serious expansion of welfare. The value-added tax
should be reduced or abolished and higher direct taxes should be
levied on all the rich elites without exception. The bloated military
budget should be cut. Wages should be raised among workers. Poor
farmers should be protected. This will only happen in a climate of
genuine democracy. This is why we must oppose this second "coup for
the rich".

Giles Ji Ungpakorn is an associate professor at the Faculty of
Political Science, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. He regularly
comments on Thai affairs.
http://www.asiasentinel.com/

Max Payne abit of a pain la...

Just recently checked out the movie Max Payne starring Mark Wahlberg, Beau Bridges, Mila Kunis, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges , Chris O'Donnell, Nelly Furtado, Kate Burton , Donal Logue, Amaury Nolasco , Olga Kurylenko & Marianthi Evans.

Movie is based on the game which introduced the "bullet time" Matrix like sequences and Mark Wahlberg, so i considered checking it out. Well personally i was struggling to keep my eyes open to get through the movie.

But Olga (best known for being the Bond girl in the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace) played Natasha Sax , Mona's sister, who was the ever typical hot & sexy eastern european/russian tease... ;)

Would only reccomend if its a really stormy sunday night with mothing better to do.. *yAwnZzzz*

I'm back...

Have been tied up with some work related stuff lately... has not been the most smooth sailing of all times.. But hanging in there and going through the motions..

Does life get harder when u turn 31?? Ohhh wtv!!!! :P

Malaysian news & politics been the dogs bollocks lately too.. & the economy outlook of nx year is "Go stick yr head in a hole & u will not be affected!!!". I too, sometimes practise the phrase "ignorance is bliss" but i think it may apply on case to case basis lo...

Over & out... will keep posting!!

Breaking News in Malaysia!!!

2 very interesting pieces of news today...

ITEM 1

Court frees Raja Petra (Update 2)

Friday, 07 November 2008 14:14

By M. MAGESWARI in The Star SHAH ALAM: Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin succeeded in his bid to obtain a release order from his two-year detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA). High Court judge Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad allowed the blogger’s habeas corpus application on Friday. Justice Syed Ahmad also ordered for Raja Petra to be brought to the Shah Alam High Court before 4pm Friday for his immediate release. Upon hearing the court decision, the crowd seated at the packed public gallery clapped and cheered. This prompted the judge to tell the crowd that “this is a court of law”, which caused the court to be silent, albeit briefly. The court erupted again with claps and shouts from the public gallery when the judge said that Raja Petra had to be brought to the court for his release on the same day. At the outset of court proceedings, Justice Syed Ahmad ruled that the grounds for the detention order by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar for the blogger did not fall under the scope of Section 8(1) of the ISA. Therefore, the judge said the Sept 22 detention order was unlawful. Raja Petra was detained on Sept 12 on the grounds that he had intentionally and recklessly published articles which were critical and insulted Muslims, the purity of Islam and the personality of Prophet Muhammad. It was said to have caused anxiety and anger among Muslims in the country. He had also allegedly published defamatory articles concerning national leaders which could affect public order and prejudice national security. He was said to have published the said articles in the Malaysia Today news portal between Jan 16 and Sept 12 this year. The Home Minister was named as the sole respondent in the application. Raja Petra was taken to the Kamunting detention camp on Sept 23. The minister had issued the order against the blogger under Section 8 of the same Act. However, the judge said Section 8 of the same Act is constitutional as it falls within the ambit of the Article 149 of the Federal Constitution. (Article 149 is regarding actions to be taken against anyone who participates in any activities which could pose a threat to national security even if it violates their fundamental liberties). “I find that there is no merit by the counsel’s argument that Section 8 is unconstitutional as it does not fall under Article 149,” he said. “Section 8 can only be reviewed under procedural non-compliance as provided under Section 8B(1) of the same Act,” he added. On lead counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar’s argument that the order was mala fide (in bad faith), Justice Syed Ahmad said: “Mala fide is not procedural non-compliance under the ISA,” he said. The judge said the court only has the power for judicial review for matters which violated the procedures under the ISA. The judge also commented that the ISA was promulgated not only to counter communism or subversive activities but also to halt any activities which caused a threat to national security. Outside the court later, Raja Petra’s wife Marina Lee Abdullah said she was very happy with his impending release. “I am glad that everything turned out well as I had hoped. It is a fantastic breakthrough. “I hope there will be a change in the country,” said Marina, who was accompanied by daughters Sarah, 19, and Suraya, 34.

Original post here


ITEM 2

Rulers Can Reject Govt Advice

2008-11-07 13:59

KUCHING: The Rulers shall not agree with advice given by government leaders which goes against the spirit of the constitution, rule of law and universal principles of justice, the Raja Muda of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah said Thursday (6 Nov) night.

"Generally, the Rulers act based on the advice by government leaders elected by the people. Nevertheless, the Rulers cannot accede to acts which do not symbolise justice or sanction moves which do not mirror truth.

"The Rulers' views, observation and counsel in the administrative affairs of the country touching on the question of integrity which encompasses justice, law, judiciary, misappropriation, power abuse, corruption and wealth distribution, are with the desire to strengthing the government so that it is stable and receives people's trust," he said at a dinner in conjunction with the National Integrity Day here.

To ensure the Rulers' integrity is not questioned and the throne remains respected, Raja Nazrin said, the Rulers shall always be intelligent and wise, master knowledge, understand the surroundings and changes, and possess a group of advisers comprising experts and people knowledgeable in the relevant fields.

"This will enable the Rulers fulfil their roles with integrity and make the smart, accurate, just and fair decisions," he said.

Present were Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi.

Raja Nazrin said the Rulers are part of national institutions whose role is to strengthen the democratic system by carrying out the check and balance responsibility and the function as an independent tribunal for the legislative, executive and judiciary branches.

As a source of reference should a crisis occurs, he said, the Rulers function as the balancing mechanism which safeguards national stability, protects people's wellbeing, ensures justice, enhances the government's integrity and strengthens the democratic practice in the country.

"The Rulers have a role as the pillar of stability -- source of justice, thrust of unity -- hence enhancing the level of people's confidence in the systems of governance and society based on democratic practices, rooted on the doctrine of separation of powers.

"The Rulers have constitutional responsibilities and the responsibilities need to be carried out intelligently so that it can help build a high-integrity country," he said.

Raja Nazrin said the institution of Rulers shall have the role and function to productively and constructively contribute to the nation.

"The Rulers reside at a special position, have the opportunity to give smart views to influence and determine the direction of the nation positively and constructively through counsel, encouragement, persuasion, reminder and admonition," he said.

To strengthen integrity practice, Raja Nazrin said, the Rulers shall hold consultations and negotiations, gather opinions and be open minded to assess each advice rationally, objectively and fairly. (Bernama)

Original post here

Bangkok Dangerous - Movie

Bangkok Dangerous - Movie Poster

Aom - Panward Hemmanee.. :D

Just picked up this movie & watched it over the weekend.Enjoyed it thoroughly. Action was fast, plot was expected, chics were HOT!!! LOL..

From Wiki:

"Bangkok Dangerous is a 2008 crime film written and directed by the Pang Brothers and starring Nicolas Cage. It is a remake of the Pangs' 1999 debut film of the same name, a Thai film for which Cage's production company, Saturn Films, purchased the remake rights.^[2] Known by its working title, Big Hit in Bangkok,^[3]Time to Kill, it began filming in Bangkok in August 2006, with locations that include Soi Cowboy.^[4][5]"

The movie stars, Nicolas Cage. Think they did it very tastefully with inserting some Thai culture into the movie.

My favourite part of this movie must have been the all scenes with the dancer, Aom in them (view it below). Aom was played by a Thai model/actress Panward Hemmanee. For those who are abit more familiar with Thai Pop(T-Pop) Panward or Pie as she is popularly known made it famous when she appeared in Ice Saranyu's hit song Kon Jai Ngai, 2 years back (view the MV here).

Nose bleed material.. Pass me the tissue PLEASE!!! ;)

BTW, for more pictures of Panward, go here or here. What u waiting for go la!!! ;)

Kuala Lumpur vs Bangkok , A Malaysian Illusion

Long Live H.R.H. King Bhumibol!!!
- Photo from The Jazzy King by Bangkok Post.

Just something that I realized today, was that over the past several months I've have had this conversation several times with different friends, family & acquaintances, of many who are Malaysians of different ages as well as a Thai friend or two.

Many of us(Malaysians) have been brought up with the illusion that we have and are always next to Singapore. I don't mean in a physical sense but more from an economic, social & infrastructure developement point of view.

Well I'm no economist or sociologist, so i won't be able to give you facts and figures to justify what I have to say. I speak only from my observations as a layman who grew up as a PJ boy(PJ is a suburb 15min from KL) and a visitor who has been to Thailand several times in the past few years. I also speak based on experiences related to me by friends and acquaintances.

Malaysians(here i generalise, just my personal opinion) has always had a notion that Thailand/Bangkok was always abit more 3rd world than Malaysia/KL. This could be due to the mainstream medias & governments' constant salvo of how great/developed/advanced our country was in the region. How we were no. 2 only to Singapore. etc, etc..

However, after visiting the country I beg to differ from this viewpoint and change my personal stand on this.

I have several very simple reasons to justify my viewpoint, as below:

1. I've you've flown to BKK(my 1st was via Airasia), once you depart the Suvarnabumi airport you will hit BKK's multi-storey highways into the city. I thought, "Wow!! this is such an architectural feat(also a practical one)". I can't understand why can the Thai's build such straight & organized roads and Malaysia can only build curvy & pothole filled roads. First topics that come to mind for KL'ites when it comes to roads will always be MRRII incidents, potholes & tolls.
2. This brings me to my 2nd subject tolls, I have done road trips around the Northern & Central regions in Thailand and never seen a tolled road. How does the Thai government do this??? KL have many tolls(with never ending payment to toll concessions, it seems) yet we still have incidents like MRRII.
3. Well since we are on the subject of transportation, yes both BKK & KL have a traffic problem, but I dare say that BKK has a better public transport infrastructure as opposed to KL. They have the Skytrain(our equivalent of the LRT), easy availability of taxis which run on meters unlike KL's infamous taxi touts as well as tuk-tuk's & motor-taxis. Not to mention their taxis are mostly Toyota Vios or Altis compared to our 15 year old Proton Iswara's & Saga's.
4. Yes their cars are cheaper but they pay world prices for petrol. However, we are easily looking at a RM20,000 difference in car prices for our CKD cars in Malaysia. A Vios in Malaysia would cost around RM70,000 but in Thailand it would cost RM50,000(500,000B).
5. Having said that the Thai's pay world prices for petrol, however they already have 2 alternative fuels compared to Malaysia's 1. The Thai's have NGV and Gasohol. Yes Malaysia has NGV too, but the availability of NGV at petrol stations are a far cry from Thailand's.
6. Well enough, of the costs comparisons above. I think Malaysia Tourism always used to say we are warm & frienly lot, yes we are, but depends on who la...(u know what I mean). Few years back if you meet a cop on the road to ask for help it seems like u asking him a big favour, see a Thai cop & ask him for help and see. I think the naming of Thailand as Land of Smiles is spot on. This may probably be due to the Thai's Buddhist upbringing of being polite.
7. Freedom of speech/expression, look at the protests in Thailand. We only see the sacry part on TV, but if you are in BKK, u realize that it doesn't really affect yr daily going about town, just don't go to the affected area. Malaysia means, FRU & ISA.
   
8. Ok la... this post is getting abit long. I'll end it with some food for thought la. GO check out the public toilets in both our countries. Check out the toilets in LCCT and Suvarnabumi and see for yrself la... Cleanliness is Next to Godliness.. I shy, shy wei!!!

Good on the Thai ppl, Malaysian's if we wanna stick to the claim we need to buck up..

One Festival I'd go check out.. :)

Well if you don't already know the 21st High Times Cannabis Cup is just round the corner.

According to wiki;

"The Cannabis Cup is a festival that was started in 1987 by High Times editor Steven Hager, who came to The Netherlands for an interview with the founder of the first Dutch cannabis-seed company. The Australian owner, Nevil, lived in a mansion filled with growrooms that Hagar dubbed "The Cannabis Castle". The festival, held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands is one of the most famous cannabis events among cannabis smokers and cannabis-oriented businesses. The public is exposed to a large variety of marijuana strains which they then help to judge. A team of judges decides every year which company brought the best marijuana, best new product or nicest booth to the festival."

And its here;

View Larger Map

Cruising on my M65... :)

No its not a Beemer(BMW) M65.. though i could wish it.. lol.. Just got myself a DELL Precision M65..

No its not sexy & sleek like the Mac's but its a workstation class, workhorse for me.. This is my desktop replacement, after running my good ol' PIII into the ground..

Well, little history on my PIII, it started as a PIII 550Mhz with 128MB of SDRAM in year 2000 whilst i was doing my final year of uni in Kiwiland(NZ)... it was actually good enough to do 3D modelling & animation on Lightwave 5 ok?!! dun pray pray.. After numerous upgrades & repairs for the past 8yrs she ends her commision as a PIII 1Ghz 512MB SDRAM with a souped up video card (thanks to Chris Mob), 32bit Creative Live soundcard, Asus P3BF(i think old mobo fried), changed Power Supply(old one fried also).

Neways, check out the pics below.. ;)

The Red Pill or Blue Pill???

The BLUE Pill PLEASE!!!!

Roche's Synflex (or its generic name Naproxen) was a godsend today, the weather in KL's been bloody HOT lately... I finally succumbed to it.. Woke up with a mild migraine today!!! Throbbing pain in the pit of my left eye and the nerves on the left side my head all tense..

1st attack in a long, long, long time.. (FYI, writing this post with sunglasses on)

No it wasn't due to setting up this blog.. :P

(*Note: This blog is not endorsed by Roche in anyway.. :P)

Microphone check 1, 2!! 1, 2!!!

Watsup!! watsup!! My first posting y'all.. LOL... :)

Just setting this up for me to rant & rave.. all views are purely personal y'all..

U'll be hearing more from me.. Laters..