The opening match is tonight at 12 am - Switzerland vs. Czech Republic. It's football action everyday but it's gonna be problem if you live in the wrong time zone. In Malaysia, the group matches are at two time slots only, 12 am or 2.45 am. The thing is that unless it's the weekend, a lot of sleep would have to be sacrificed. Unless of course if all the TVs around Nilai telecast the recorded matches 24/7 during the day time. The worst thing is that all the hot group C match up happens at 2.45. And if one can only stay up at 12 am the most, he'll probably watch Romania in all their 3 matches..lol.
Anyways..here are my predictions. Let's see how many of them I got correct at the end of the tournament..haha.
Group Stages: Russia, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Turkey, Italy, Romania
Quarter Finals: France, Sweden, Croatia, Czech Republic
Semi Finals: Netherlands, Portugal
Final: Spain vs. Germany
Champions: Germany
P.S. Okay, I'm a bit biased here cos I support Deutschland..lol =p
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Friday, 6 June 2008
Fuel Price Hike
This is probably the biggest news since the end of elections. Petrol prices in Malaysia had risen by 78 sen/per liter and the problems would be more than just cars. Stan will attempt to comment on this issue using a little of his noobish and horrendous economics knowledge..lol (so do forgive him if he makes some noob mistakes in analysis..haha) But mostly it would be sociological lar..
The common citizen would complain that the govt is bloodsucking with such a sudden increase but they have to see that sooner or later, petrol subsidies would have to be removed. Continuous subsidies would plunge Malaysia's budget deficit into a dangerous level and that won't be good for the economy in long run. Besides, prolonged subsidies also encourages some wasteful habits from the citizens. BUT now that subsidies are being pulled out, the federal government would probably have some additional funds and history don't look very kindly on the BN where these funds would either end up as rasuah, useless projects or inefficient policies. Anyways, great job by Tony Pua in critically analyzing the situation using economics instead of blind outright opposition.
Closely related to the petrol hike is on the state of public transportation in the country. Poor public transport services meant that people don't really have much choice but to continue using their cars as means of transportation even for short distances. KTM trains arrive at irregular intervals, taxis that charge their customers at ridiculous rate and buses that are maintained poorly are some of the persistent problems.
From a common citizen's point of perspective, it's gonna be some hard days ahead no matter how bad or how good the reasons are for the sudden price hike. Stuff like electricity, water and certain daily necessities would increase in addition to soaring food prices. The common citizen ain't gonna be speaking Economics. They are looking at the end-result and what is directly affecting them. And this brings to the question whether such a move is one of the political suicide actions taken by the Badawi administration.
Already deep in trouble internally within the party, the basis of Badawi's hold in power is further corroded as all sections of Malaysian community (including Dr. M's camp) heaped more criticisms on the PM. Massive scenes of chaos and panic are reported around the petrol stations in the country even before the announcement of the price hike. The quick implementation and withdrawal of the foreign ban on petrol reveals the fickle-mindedness of policy makers in the government. These are the issues that provide free ammunition for the anti-Pak Lah camp. Reactions are coming in thick and fast in all sorts of media. It would be interesting to see how far the reactions (be it physical or virtual protest) would go.
The common citizen would complain that the govt is bloodsucking with such a sudden increase but they have to see that sooner or later, petrol subsidies would have to be removed. Continuous subsidies would plunge Malaysia's budget deficit into a dangerous level and that won't be good for the economy in long run. Besides, prolonged subsidies also encourages some wasteful habits from the citizens. BUT now that subsidies are being pulled out, the federal government would probably have some additional funds and history don't look very kindly on the BN where these funds would either end up as rasuah, useless projects or inefficient policies. Anyways, great job by Tony Pua in critically analyzing the situation using economics instead of blind outright opposition.
Closely related to the petrol hike is on the state of public transportation in the country. Poor public transport services meant that people don't really have much choice but to continue using their cars as means of transportation even for short distances. KTM trains arrive at irregular intervals, taxis that charge their customers at ridiculous rate and buses that are maintained poorly are some of the persistent problems.
From a common citizen's point of perspective, it's gonna be some hard days ahead no matter how bad or how good the reasons are for the sudden price hike. Stuff like electricity, water and certain daily necessities would increase in addition to soaring food prices. The common citizen ain't gonna be speaking Economics. They are looking at the end-result and what is directly affecting them. And this brings to the question whether such a move is one of the political suicide actions taken by the Badawi administration.
Already deep in trouble internally within the party, the basis of Badawi's hold in power is further corroded as all sections of Malaysian community (including Dr. M's camp) heaped more criticisms on the PM. Massive scenes of chaos and panic are reported around the petrol stations in the country even before the announcement of the price hike. The quick implementation and withdrawal of the foreign ban on petrol reveals the fickle-mindedness of policy makers in the government. These are the issues that provide free ammunition for the anti-Pak Lah camp. Reactions are coming in thick and fast in all sorts of media. It would be interesting to see how far the reactions (be it physical or virtual protest) would go.
Thursday, 5 June 2008
Music stuff
A couple of days ago, in a moment of absent mindedness, I left my pencil case at the lecture theater where I had my Malaysian studies lessons. I really don't know how that could happen and I realised about that boo boo when I wanna start on my contract law tutorial. Fortunately, I could trace back my steps and discovered it below a chair, with its contents ransacked of course. Lol, I'm just thankful that I didn't lose the entire thing. My current G2 pen, a ruler and a stapler is gone but the rest of the stuff like my highlighter, a memento of my previous Eng Lit class and G2 refill is still there. Ahh, looks like I gotta be more careful with my stuff. Previously, I even left my ELS book at the moot court...zzzzz..
On last Tuesday, I had my first guitar class which is organised by Impac. It's easy to learn since they are only 4 people in the class..haha. One thing which made my day was that I finally learned how to play the B and F chord! I tried finding in chord books but I don't have a real human telling me how it's done. And on that day, the mystery is solved! Another interesting that I found out about the guitar is about scaling where I can actually play all the piano notes on the guitar. It's kinda fascinating and I guess that's where all the guitar solos come from.
Then yesterday, I was invited by CF to play drums for the worship team. I must say this was a personal record time of practicing for 1.5hrs and jumping straight into performance mode. The previous one held was 1 week of practice with Jordan back in 2006. Well, I did the best I could and hoped that it turned out well..(fingers crossed..haha). From the feedback I get, it was generally positive lar..lol. So, thank you God for the guidance during worship session :)
Anyways, I still need to improve on my high-hats and come up with some creative beats other than the typical monotonous 16 beat taps. And for guitar class, it is definitely very convenient and useful if I had my beloved guitar with me but as of right now, it's stashed away in Taiping! Oh man, it's gonna be tough to find a time to go back..and it looks like I have to borrow one from someone in the university..haha.
On last Tuesday, I had my first guitar class which is organised by Impac. It's easy to learn since they are only 4 people in the class..haha. One thing which made my day was that I finally learned how to play the B and F chord! I tried finding in chord books but I don't have a real human telling me how it's done. And on that day, the mystery is solved! Another interesting that I found out about the guitar is about scaling where I can actually play all the piano notes on the guitar. It's kinda fascinating and I guess that's where all the guitar solos come from.
Then yesterday, I was invited by CF to play drums for the worship team. I must say this was a personal record time of practicing for 1.5hrs and jumping straight into performance mode. The previous one held was 1 week of practice with Jordan back in 2006. Well, I did the best I could and hoped that it turned out well..(fingers crossed..haha). From the feedback I get, it was generally positive lar..lol. So, thank you God for the guidance during worship session :)
Anyways, I still need to improve on my high-hats and come up with some creative beats other than the typical monotonous 16 beat taps. And for guitar class, it is definitely very convenient and useful if I had my beloved guitar with me but as of right now, it's stashed away in Taiping! Oh man, it's gonna be tough to find a time to go back..and it looks like I have to borrow one from someone in the university..haha.
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Indiana Jones and the Cystal Skull
[Warning: Spoilers ahead] Indiana returns to the screens in 2008 with an adventure that is set in Mayan jungles. It's being 19 years since the last Indy movie was on the cinemas (lol..it's almost as old I am). So, one can see it like maybe when Star Wars first returned back to the major screens in 1999.
Of course, there's no young-looking Harrison Ford in those Han Solo days. He's already 65 years old but nevertheless, Ford still looks graceful in the movie. In the opening scene, the audience can feel there's still some charm left in old Ford, just like Sean Connery. One thing this new Indy installment does is to reintroduce back those classic old days where the commy Soviets are always the baddies! lol..
Cate Blanchett is really awesome and impressive in her role as a Soviet agent. Top class acting from her and she could reproduce the Russian accent very well. There's a great sense of profesionalism about her and her stern icy look is truly a memorable feature of the film. There are very few actresses that command such a respect from the audiences and Blanchett is one of them. It was not only her Hollywood career but also her role in theatre works which is admirable, similiar to Sir Ian McKellen. Actors/Actresses that have theatre background previously are a distinct breed from the rest.
One thing that I noticed is that the movie is created with the nostalgic theme in mind. It feels very eighty-ish where some parts are just rather corny but nevertheless enjoyable. There a couple of punch lines and in-house jokes that are quite hilarious. I think the alien bits there are probably an allusion to Spielberg's and Lucas' work of sci-fi such as E.T. and Star Wars. Lol, they could have put the alien space craft as any sort of creative shape but they had to put one that is cliched - the flying saucer. Again, this is probably to comply with the zeitgeist (spirit of the time). Speaking of Indy meeting his own son, i wonder whether it rings a bell on the audience about Anakin and Luke..haha.
The CGI is well-done and at times, it reminded me of the maze and levels in Tomb Raider..lol. Music wise, it's from Lucas' good pal John Williams who is also the composer for the Star Wars movies. So, the Indy film music is the classical orchestra style, something which is in line with the original series. Anyways, the end is reasonably concluded and I happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching the show :)
Of course, there's no young-looking Harrison Ford in those Han Solo days. He's already 65 years old but nevertheless, Ford still looks graceful in the movie. In the opening scene, the audience can feel there's still some charm left in old Ford, just like Sean Connery. One thing this new Indy installment does is to reintroduce back those classic old days where the commy Soviets are always the baddies! lol..
Cate Blanchett is really awesome and impressive in her role as a Soviet agent. Top class acting from her and she could reproduce the Russian accent very well. There's a great sense of profesionalism about her and her stern icy look is truly a memorable feature of the film. There are very few actresses that command such a respect from the audiences and Blanchett is one of them. It was not only her Hollywood career but also her role in theatre works which is admirable, similiar to Sir Ian McKellen. Actors/Actresses that have theatre background previously are a distinct breed from the rest.
One thing that I noticed is that the movie is created with the nostalgic theme in mind. It feels very eighty-ish where some parts are just rather corny but nevertheless enjoyable. There a couple of punch lines and in-house jokes that are quite hilarious. I think the alien bits there are probably an allusion to Spielberg's and Lucas' work of sci-fi such as E.T. and Star Wars. Lol, they could have put the alien space craft as any sort of creative shape but they had to put one that is cliched - the flying saucer. Again, this is probably to comply with the zeitgeist (spirit of the time). Speaking of Indy meeting his own son, i wonder whether it rings a bell on the audience about Anakin and Luke..haha.
The CGI is well-done and at times, it reminded me of the maze and levels in Tomb Raider..lol. Music wise, it's from Lucas' good pal John Williams who is also the composer for the Star Wars movies. So, the Indy film music is the classical orchestra style, something which is in line with the original series. Anyways, the end is reasonably concluded and I happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching the show :)
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Introducing Mute Math!
I learned of that band name from one of Chad's buddies. So, I went to youtube to check out some of the group's videos and gosh...I'm really mesmerized especially by the "Typical" video. I would classify Mute Math as artistic rock. Their Transformers theme is so Picasso! And the drumming is wicked :)
The music video of "Typical" is truly a work of aesthetic genius. I never get tired watching it and after 10 times over, I still get amused by it. This sort of reverse narrative had been experimented by other bands before, notably Coldplay in their song "The Scientist". But, what was unique about Mute Math's video is that it's not only the singer that is doing it, the entire band is playing the song backwards for the video! Speaking of drumming backwards, playing the guitar chords backwards and singing backwards plus coordinating all of them together...that is really crazy.Great effort by the group in creating such a creative masterpiece and it's not easy to go against the common flow of brain thoughts. Lol, rewind the video and ta-dah! Awesome effects with many stuff on the screen defying the law of gravity. What makes it even more interesting is that even in reverse, some of the stuff that is reproduced make sense as they did in the forward time version. To prove that it is not a fluke, Mute Math performed their song backwards in the Jimmy Kimmel show. Of course the audiences were bewildered with what they perceived as totally random acts on stage by the band and the singer uttering foreign language..lol. I watched both the forwarded and rewind version of that live performance and I must say I was very confused at first in determining which was actually the real video.
In any case, I shall be looking forward to their new second album which is scheduled to come out in September this year.
The music video of "Typical" is truly a work of aesthetic genius. I never get tired watching it and after 10 times over, I still get amused by it. This sort of reverse narrative had been experimented by other bands before, notably Coldplay in their song "The Scientist". But, what was unique about Mute Math's video is that it's not only the singer that is doing it, the entire band is playing the song backwards for the video! Speaking of drumming backwards, playing the guitar chords backwards and singing backwards plus coordinating all of them together...that is really crazy.Great effort by the group in creating such a creative masterpiece and it's not easy to go against the common flow of brain thoughts. Lol, rewind the video and ta-dah! Awesome effects with many stuff on the screen defying the law of gravity. What makes it even more interesting is that even in reverse, some of the stuff that is reproduced make sense as they did in the forward time version. To prove that it is not a fluke, Mute Math performed their song backwards in the Jimmy Kimmel show. Of course the audiences were bewildered with what they perceived as totally random acts on stage by the band and the singer uttering foreign language..lol. I watched both the forwarded and rewind version of that live performance and I must say I was very confused at first in determining which was actually the real video.
In any case, I shall be looking forward to their new second album which is scheduled to come out in September this year.
Thursday, 29 May 2008
CF meeting
Woah! It's been quite hectic during these few days with assignments to be completed and club meetings to attend. As usual, there is an overflowing amount of law books to read, digest and understand. I wanna blog but I always ended up having something more crucial to do first..lol. Anyways, yesterday was the Christian Fellowship meeting. There was a clash with the impac gathering night but I chose to go for CF instead..haha. It's kinda cool to know extra people plus make some new friends and yea, the worship team had some nice musical equipment. The drums set is the Pearl traveler set and it seems that they have a place to store it. They have two crashes and the right. In fact, their set is better than impac's one..lol.
Fellowship time was great and today is more of an introductory session. Sermon only starts next week. The CF group is rather diverse..there are Africans, Chinese and Indians and people coming from all parts of Malaysia. The hilarious things is that the leader of the cell group I'm attached to shares the same name with my bro. Friday's the cell group day.
In any case, I'm so not looking forward for the weekend with so many things to settle! But as usual, Stan would put them away until the very last minute....
Fellowship time was great and today is more of an introductory session. Sermon only starts next week. The CF group is rather diverse..there are Africans, Chinese and Indians and people coming from all parts of Malaysia. The hilarious things is that the leader of the cell group I'm attached to shares the same name with my bro. Friday's the cell group day.
In any case, I'm so not looking forward for the weekend with so many things to settle! But as usual, Stan would put them away until the very last minute....
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Chad Blondel and Banting
Eric, my law senior invited us to church today. I was kinda glad that someone invited cos I've been waiting for that for quite a long time already. It's nice to have a van to fetch us there. The van went to Nilai College to pick up a couple of people before heading to Banting, somewhere near Klang. It's quite a distance from Inti, taking bout 40 minutes. Banting is certainly a small town and the church there looks like a family church from the outside. But when I walked inside, it was woah! Totally different from the outside as it's equipped with modern facilities and there are lots of youth that are basically urban lads. On second thought, that's because they are all from either Inti or Nilai UC..lol! Yea, quite a number from the Inti Christian Fellowship are also there. It seems that the more English oriented ones would go to Banting while the Chinese speaking one would go to another one.
Anyways, the church had a band visiting from Australia today, Chad Blondel. Very awesome stuff from there, especially the electric guitarist! Chad the lead singer had a great voice, the drummer is very solid on the drums that didn't contain toms and the bassist was very noticeable with the neat sound of his bass guitar. After the service, I went to purchase album and the whole band was nice to autograph the CD. I also had a couple of photos taken with them :)
Haha..pretty cool lar to have some vibrant Christian youths around Inti. I'm looking forward for the youth meeting on Wednesday!
Anyways, the church had a band visiting from Australia today, Chad Blondel. Very awesome stuff from there, especially the electric guitarist! Chad the lead singer had a great voice, the drummer is very solid on the drums that didn't contain toms and the bassist was very noticeable with the neat sound of his bass guitar. After the service, I went to purchase album and the whole band was nice to autograph the CD. I also had a couple of photos taken with them :)
Haha..pretty cool lar to have some vibrant Christian youths around Inti. I'm looking forward for the youth meeting on Wednesday!
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