Rafa vs Federer; Borg vs McEnroe - IN KUALA LUMPUR!
Jul 22, 2008 News Breaks
Excuse the caps but I am, Oh so excited!
Last year, I managed to catch both games - Clash of the Times featuring Pete Sampras vs Roger Federer; Clash of the Titans featuring Rafael Nadal vs Richard Gasquet.
Apparently this year, the current World #1 and #2 will be back in Malaysia to play each other. And tagging along (well, playing as well) are the legends that is Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe!
I have to, have to, have to get tickets for the games. If anyone knows how, let me know!
I first heard about it when a friend asked so a Google search brought me to this story. But then I did a search on The Star Online and apparently, there was an article in today’s paper which I missed. No details though.
Are you guys as excited?
5pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer, Tennis
Facebook’s new look
Jul 21, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
Busy as hell today but just found out about Facebook’s new look and I’m excited! I love it, I love it, I love it!
I couldn’t find anywhere on the social community site about when the new look is going to be launched, but ReadWriteWeb claims that it will be on Monday evening (which means Tuesday morning-ish in Malaysia).
The website reviews some of the new features, although I found the review by SPF13’s Steve Francia much more interesting.
As for me, I haven’t managed to fiddle around with it much yet (yes, you can already get a feel of it now, just click here) but I like the layout of the new Photo page.
And I love how they use tabs. At the moment, mine shows Wall, Info, Photos and Boxes. But there is the option of adding more tabs, which will basically serve as a shortcut to your favourite features of applications.
There’s been many comments floating around and the biggest complain really is that the new Wall feature is basically a merge of the old Wall and News Feeds. I don’t like it much either but it’s okay I think since the old Wall-To-Wall feature still remains and you can filter to view all Posts, or Posts by You or Other Posts.
I also like that all the editing features are available easily - you don’thave to choose to go to the Photos page, or video page, or posted items page etc to do all that. The buttons are right there in the main page for you to choose from.
And if you were wondering what the Boxes feature is, it’s basically one page for all the applications. Which means you can’t mess up and clog up your pages with applications (yay for anal Virgoes like me!) and since less and less people are using it these days, I don’t even need to go view it. Woo!
Those are some of the things I’ve fiddled with so far but check it out and let me know what you think. I think there are some flaws but in general, it’s a great way to rejuvenate a stagnating trend.
4.07pm Malaysian times (+8 GMT)
Tags: facebook, New Facebook, ReadWriteWeb, SPF 13, Steve Francia
The Bangsar Boy: I am a turnip
Jul 21, 2008 The Bangsar Boy
I usually update my blog on Saturday with a short summary about my topic of the fortnight for in my The Bangsar Boy column in The Star.
As I was in Ipoh for Trailblazer from Friday to Sunday, I didn’t get the chance. So, while you are not able to get a copy of Saturday’s The Star now, you can still read the article online if you’re interested.
This fortnight, I wrote about the fluidity of language in Malaysia. And I don’t care what some people say about Bahasa Rojak, I embrace it.
In fact, I never realised how little I thought about language until recently as I attempt to learn some Mandarin to communicate with my not-so-new friends anymore who I was in Laos with.
In the article, I share a story about how Lucent, my roommate during the trip, speaks to me in Cantonese all the time, but I never realised it until he actually told me. I could have sworn he was speaking English all the time!
Anyway, if you are at all interested, you can check the article out here.
More pictures from Papan and Ipoh, following my previous post, is on the way. Stay tuned.
10.02am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Bahasa Rojak, Language, StarMetro, The Bangsar Boy, The Star
Papan: Home of war hero Sybil Karthigasu
Jul 19, 2008 Trips
Excuse my not blogging yesterday. I am currently in Ipoh for the R.AGE Trailblazer competition due to begin in barely a few hours. Before I head to bed, I just wanted to share some images with you guys.
Today (well, yesterday technically as it is after midnight), I went to visit the small one-road town of Papan in Perak. It is about 25 minutes drive out of Ipoh and is most known as the home of World War II hero Sybil Karthigasu, who together with her husband Dr A.C. Kathigasu are remembered for their daring activities helping anti-Japanese resistance fighters.
I found the town totally quaint - in fact, I was mesmerised. At first glance, it looked like just any other town but so many gems to be discovered.
One that was particularly fascinating was Law Saik Hong’s “museum” in Sybil’s old clinic. Here are some shots from there.
Someone rares fish in the drain, using bricks as a dam.
Tags: Law Saik Hong, Papan, Perak, R.AGE Trailblazer, Sybil Karthigasu, World War II
The Dark Knight: Batman, Joker et al
Jul 17, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
I bow to Christopher Nolan. After all, we knew he could pull it off, if Batman Begins was anything to go by. Add that to his reputation for dark films - think Memento and The Prestige - and with superheroes, Batman is as dark as it gets.
Yes, I loved the movie.
The Dark Knight was everything its hype promised to be - brilliant acting, fantastic script, great action scenes and wonderful cinematography, in the strangest of ways.
I’m not going to talk too much about the movie, lest I give spoilers away. I managed to get passes to watch the preview earlier tonight, and I would recommend anyone who loves a good movie to catch it ASAP.
Everyone has raved about the acting - it was no doubt brilliant. I would die for 0.0001% of Heath Ledger’s acting ability, and Gary Oldman was nothing short of spectacular.
Yes, enter the Joker and the Commissioner.
- Heath Ledger’s Joker will be legendary
Lots have been said about Heath’s performance in the movie, and previews have even generated Oscar buzz. Party poopers have attributed the buzz to his tragic death, but you just have to watch him in action as the Joker to dispel all that. He is the real thing and good god, this Joker is one for the ages.
From that one line: “Why so serious” to his cackling laughter, I had goosebumps every time he appeared on screen. It was from fear. As much as I tried to imagine Heath acting, I just kept seeing the Joker over and over again, as if he was real. I shudder as I write this.
And Gary Oldman was superb - his expressions flawless, and his reaction immaculate.
- Gary Oldman’s acting was top class
Yes, of course Aaron Eckhart, Christian Bale, Michael Cane and Maggie Gyllenhaal did a good job too but The Joker and The Commissioner. Wow.
What I loved very much as well too was how the story was written. It was a brilliant script, but most of all, it reminded the audience what kind of superhero Batman really is. There is no right and wrong, there is no good and evil.
- Batman was as conflicted - and dark - as he was supposed to be.
In the world of Batman, confusion and choas reign’s supreme - whether it is in Gotham City or in Bruce Wayne/Batman’s head. He is the troubled hero, he is the gritty hero, he is … a hero?
If you thought Batman Begins was brilliant, wait till you see what Nolan did with this.
I could go on forever about how good the movie is, but I won’t. I just wish that it had ended half an hour earlier (it was about 2.5 hours long) because then it would have been a perfect movie.
I’m kind of not looking forward to Batman 3 because I really don’t know how you top this one. Iron Man - whatever. Spider-Man? Pfft.
The Dark Knight is a reminder why DC heroes rule supreme.
3.17am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: batman, batman begins, christian bale, dark knight, dc comics, heath ledger, joker, movie, the dark knight, the joker, two-face
