Congrats to Ida and Tania *spoiler ahead*
Nov 20, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
Just a quick shout out to Ida, Tania, Bernie and Henry for doing Malaysia proud.
They might not have won The Amazing Race Asia but I’d say both were serious contenders and if not for some back luck, both teams had one hand on the title.
Still, I think it’s quite an achievement that a Malaysian team has made it to the top three of all three The Amazing Race Asia competitions - woot!
So happy for my friends!
And to sign off, here is a tumpang glamour pic - my most recent with Ida :P I know, I know - action right? Aiyah, I not famous so must tumpang like this lor. Give chance lah!
Congrats to Sam & Vince for a well-deserved win, I thought!
Tags: bernie chan, henry chan, ida nerina, sam, tania khan, the amazing race asia, vince chung, vince matthew chung
Quoting Candace Bushnell
Nov 10, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
Damn, and to think I buy these books for easy reading. Who wants to think when you’re reading a book about New York socialites?
What was I thinking?
But anyhow, I am hooked. Yes, after tormenting myself to the insane realisation that I want to be, and will never - like Toby Young (the author of How To Lose Friends and Alienate People) - be an editor at Vanity Fair, I am now reading his friend (if the name-dropping in How To Lose Friends is anything to go by) Candace Bushnell’s latest book One Fifth Avenue.
My masochist streak is showing.
I haven’t yet finished reading the book (I’ve been busy of late and it’s taking me a while) but I just came by an interesting couple of paragraphs that got me thinking (lesson learnt: never judge a book by it’s cover - this book is not your usual chick lit - Bushnell’s social commentary through fiction is brilliant!).
Philip smiled. Lola seemed incapable of making distinctions between the artist and the hack, the real and the wannabe. In her mind, a blogger was the same as a novelist, a star on a reality show was equal to an actress. It was her generation, he reminded himself. They had grow up in a culture of insistent democracy in which everyone was the same and everyone was a winner.
Food for thought? It surely got me thinking.
9.47pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Candace Bushnell, How To Lose Your Friends And Alienate People, One Fifth Avenue, social commentary, Toby Young
Obama family: Behind the scenes
Nov 9, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
Ever since I jumped for joy celebrating Barack Obama’s win at the US Presidential Elections last week, I meant to jot down my thoughts on here. Work, and other commitments, as always, stood in the way. I also wanted to share some pictures of the Obama campaign’s promo material that my good friend, Kee Thai, so painstakingly stole got.
Today, as I started thinking about what else I wanted to write here, I realised that there is little that hasn’t been said. And besides, Mr. President-elect has already moved on and started working and I thought - it’s it time I moved on too?
Still, I can’t help but want to share this article with you, taken from the CNN 360 blog kinda of summing up what the week’s been like. In a way (different of course, considering I am not American, and neither do I live there), it pretty much speaks my thoughts. The headline, What a long, strange week it’s been, says everything.
This morning I found myself thinking back to the events that transpired on Tuesday, and nostalgically waxing about that historic day three years…wait a second…that was three DAYS ago. Tuesday itself could have been a lifetime. My mind is still stuck in overdrive frantically trying to sort and compute retrograded incoming data like those coin machines in which you can dump a mass amount of change and after a period of clanking a dollar amount mysteriously appears.
Having shared that link, I don’t think I have much left to say. I did want to share some pictures - none belonging to me, mind you - from Barack Obama’s official Flickr page. The pictures were taken by Obama’s official campaign photographer David Katz (including the one right at the top of this blog post). Amazing how relaxed Obama and the family look while waiting for the results to be announced. Confidence?
These are a few of my favourites (more here).
12.25pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Barack Obama, Elections, Joe Biden, photographs, politics, President-elect
Obama vs McCain = Mac vs PC
Oct 25, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
I came across this website the other day called Vote Smarter, and it basically features a series of ads which is kind of a spoof on the popular Mac vs PC ads. Except these ones feature “John McCain” and “Barack Obama” talking on various issues.
Here is one I liked.
There are many more at the website, and I thought that it was timely to share this since the US Presidential Elections is just over a week away.
The ads were created by an independent filmmaker named Lena Khan. Click here to find out more about the people behind the ads.
10.51am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Barack Obama, John McCain, Lena Khan, mac, pc, Vote Smarter 2008
Michael Jackson has the X-Factor
Oct 22, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
I woke up this morning to this tweet from BBC Entertainment. Apparently, the sales to Michael Jackson’s latest album - the compilation album released in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of thriller (and his 50th birthday I suppose) - have jumped back into the Top 10 in the UK charts. It was at #47.
This was because X-Factor - the reality competition - featured all of the competitors singing Michael Jackson songs.
I’m not a huge fan but I do love his music. And it was nice of the HMV spokesperson to say (with regards to the boost of the sales, and his songs being featured on the show):
“It just shows you the enduring appeal of Michael Jackson, reminding you of how brilliant his songs are…”
Then I remember that some time ago, I even blogged on Mr. Jackson. This was at the culmination of his child molestation trial. I always said that I wanted to share my old writings, so these are two of them - here and here.
It’s strange rereading your past works. For one, you sometimes don’t recognise your own style or writing, and secondly, you start questioning your values. And times when you stand by it, like I still do for those two articles, you feel good.
9.08am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: King of Pop, Michael Jackson, X-Factor
