I'm sitting my ass in the Coffee Bean at Raffles Hospital and I'm bored. The sofa should be comfy but it's not. The music kinda sucks. The people here are nothing to look at. Even the people walking by outside today look like they were beaten by an ugly stick, or maybe an ugly stick could have improved their looks.
I've just started a game of online snooker against somebody with a blank record but obviously he/she has played before. And I've obviously lost my touch after resting my snooker cue for a few weeks and switching back to Yahoo Pool.
I'm cursing myself for not bringing this laptop's base, at least then I could have been playing Football Manager 2008 at the same time. Surfing the Internet and playing snooker at the same time just isn't enough for someone with my multi-tasking skills.
My snooker opponent has resigned after I took a 40-point lead with just the last 3 balls remaining. He types something in Polish as he leaves the table, I have no earthly clue what he means. I'd like to think my snooker skills didn't deteriorate too much but I won't kid myself. Maybe this new opponent with a rating of 6788 will show me how it should be done.
5.30pm strikes and it seems my wait is nearly over. Time to end this post.
15 November 2007
26 September 2007
Stupid Chelsea
This is not exactly news anymore but I'm only writing about it now because admittedly I'm a lazy bastard. I should have written about it last week when it happened but the prospect of switching on my mind and aching over the choice of words was enough to convince me that a simple status change on Facebook would be sufficient for the time being.
I'll get right to the point: Chelsea, more precisely Roman Abramovich, are stupid to have sacked or agreed to let Jose Mourinho leave.
It is now well documented that Roman the Russian let himself be manipulated by Chelsea's head scout, some super-agent and that shit-faced unqualified dumbo Avram Grant they have appointed as head coach (they didn't bother to give him the Manager title). Not that Roman the Russian was just a blind puppet of course, he is equally guilty of trying to go beyond just signing the checks and into the Manager's territory. Giving Michael Essien tactical inputs and signing the expensive but ultimately rather useless Shevchenko and Ballack are just a few well-publicised examples.
So while I'm pretty sad that Mourinho has left as he made the Premiership a fair bit more exciting than it was, his leaving makes a whole lot of sense. And reports that he got a payoff of 15-25m make it an even better deal.
Here's hoping that Chelsea have a crap season from now on. Certainly started off well with a 2-0 defeat to ManUtd on Sunday. I'll end with something pretty insightful I read on football365.com:
Grant is the third successive Chelski manager pitted against ManYoo in his first match. The pragmatic 1-0 victory of August 2004, exploiting Roy Keane's vulnerability at centre-half, set the tone for Mourinho's successful but functional reign. Likewise, the chaos of the 3-3 draw at Old Trafford in September 2000 was maintained throughout Claudio Ranieri's tenure.
I'll get right to the point: Chelsea, more precisely Roman Abramovich, are stupid to have sacked or agreed to let Jose Mourinho leave.
It is now well documented that Roman the Russian let himself be manipulated by Chelsea's head scout, some super-agent and that shit-faced unqualified dumbo Avram Grant they have appointed as head coach (they didn't bother to give him the Manager title). Not that Roman the Russian was just a blind puppet of course, he is equally guilty of trying to go beyond just signing the checks and into the Manager's territory. Giving Michael Essien tactical inputs and signing the expensive but ultimately rather useless Shevchenko and Ballack are just a few well-publicised examples.
So while I'm pretty sad that Mourinho has left as he made the Premiership a fair bit more exciting than it was, his leaving makes a whole lot of sense. And reports that he got a payoff of 15-25m make it an even better deal.
Here's hoping that Chelsea have a crap season from now on. Certainly started off well with a 2-0 defeat to ManUtd on Sunday. I'll end with something pretty insightful I read on football365.com:
Grant is the third successive Chelski manager pitted against ManYoo in his first match. The pragmatic 1-0 victory of August 2004, exploiting Roy Keane's vulnerability at centre-half, set the tone for Mourinho's successful but functional reign. Likewise, the chaos of the 3-3 draw at Old Trafford in September 2000 was maintained throughout Claudio Ranieri's tenure.
13 July 2007
Joke Army, Joke Country
Still think that everybody in Singapore is treated the same way?
Well this appalling episode of favouritism towards the PM's son in a case where he clearly pissed on the entire ranking system of the SAF and yet got only a reprimand for his troubles should settle it once and for all. Daddy pulled the strings and got his son an early Christmas present or maybe his birthday was just around the corner.
And it's just very convenient too that he got awarded (we'll say that this was entirely based on merit) the Public Service Commission Overseas Merit Scholarship and will soon jet off to MIT on our tax dollars. This when his daddy is already earning more than $2m a year. I can see how those MIT tuition fees would have dented the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed to.
---------------
Full article from Channelnewsasia.com
The Defence Ministry has formally charged and reprimanded a full-time National Service officer after he contravened orders by broadcasting a letter of complaint to other servicemen.
Second Lieutenant Li Hongyi, who is the second son of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had apparently sent an email to the Defence Minister to lodge a complaint against another serviceman.
2LT Li is believed to have copied the email to other servicemen who are not directly under his command and are not in an official capacity to deal with the matter.
His action has been a subject of several on-line discussions here.
MINDEF says there are proper channels within the SAF to address grievances or concerns.
And in this incident, 2LT Li is said to have written a complaint against one of his superiors whom he alleged had been absent without leave on two occasions.
According to a statement by MINDEF, 2LT Li had also said in his letter that he had reported the matter to the officer's supervisors but disciplinary action had not been carried out.
MINDEF adds that arising from 2LT Li's complaint, an investigation was conducted and appropriate disciplinary action has been meted out to the officers concerned.
The officer who was found to have been absent without leave will be court-martialled.
Two supervising officers have been issued warning letters for poor judgement in administering inappropriate disciplinary action.
MINDEF says to maintain organisational discipline, all SAF servicemen with complaints or grievances should take them up through proper channels for redress.
This is to ensure due process and to protect confidential information.
All complaints which are not anonymous are investigated and dealt with properly.
Well this appalling episode of favouritism towards the PM's son in a case where he clearly pissed on the entire ranking system of the SAF and yet got only a reprimand for his troubles should settle it once and for all. Daddy pulled the strings and got his son an early Christmas present or maybe his birthday was just around the corner.
And it's just very convenient too that he got awarded (we'll say that this was entirely based on merit) the Public Service Commission Overseas Merit Scholarship and will soon jet off to MIT on our tax dollars. This when his daddy is already earning more than $2m a year. I can see how those MIT tuition fees would have dented the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed to.
---------------
Full article from Channelnewsasia.com
The Defence Ministry has formally charged and reprimanded a full-time National Service officer after he contravened orders by broadcasting a letter of complaint to other servicemen.
Second Lieutenant Li Hongyi, who is the second son of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had apparently sent an email to the Defence Minister to lodge a complaint against another serviceman.
2LT Li is believed to have copied the email to other servicemen who are not directly under his command and are not in an official capacity to deal with the matter.
His action has been a subject of several on-line discussions here.
MINDEF says there are proper channels within the SAF to address grievances or concerns.
And in this incident, 2LT Li is said to have written a complaint against one of his superiors whom he alleged had been absent without leave on two occasions.
According to a statement by MINDEF, 2LT Li had also said in his letter that he had reported the matter to the officer's supervisors but disciplinary action had not been carried out.
MINDEF adds that arising from 2LT Li's complaint, an investigation was conducted and appropriate disciplinary action has been meted out to the officers concerned.
The officer who was found to have been absent without leave will be court-martialled.
Two supervising officers have been issued warning letters for poor judgement in administering inappropriate disciplinary action.
MINDEF says to maintain organisational discipline, all SAF servicemen with complaints or grievances should take them up through proper channels for redress.
This is to ensure due process and to protect confidential information.
All complaints which are not anonymous are investigated and dealt with properly.
26 June 2007
RIP Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit is dead. It's one of those things that you read but can't really believe you're reading. But yet, it's true.
For some time now, he's been my favourite wrestler. While he's never been much of a talker, his ring skills have always been the absolute best.
I was considering going to the upcoming ECW/SmackDown show here in Singapore just to be able to see him live but that show has lost its prime attraction now.
RIP Chris Benoit. The world is already a little less bright without you.
For some time now, he's been my favourite wrestler. While he's never been much of a talker, his ring skills have always been the absolute best.
I was considering going to the upcoming ECW/SmackDown show here in Singapore just to be able to see him live but that show has lost its prime attraction now.
RIP Chris Benoit. The world is already a little less bright without you.
16 June 2007
Spurs win
The San Antonio Spurs are the new NBA Champions!! Not exactly new news, it happened Friday morning but I didn't get the chance to post anything on the NBA Playoffs since the end of the second round.
I had wanted the Spurs to win it, so I'm pretty glad. I'm even happier that they swept Cleveland 4-0 to win it. I wasn't too pleased that Cleveland got to the Finals, Detroit messed up pretty bad but it worked out great in the end.
So congrats to Duncan, MVP Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, Horry, Barry, Oberto and the others.
I had wanted the Spurs to win it, so I'm pretty glad. I'm even happier that they swept Cleveland 4-0 to win it. I wasn't too pleased that Cleveland got to the Finals, Detroit messed up pretty bad but it worked out great in the end.
So congrats to Duncan, MVP Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, Horry, Barry, Oberto and the others.
Back in Singapore
Our 1-year adventure in China is now at an end. We left Shanghai and came back to Singapore on Thursday.
I wanted to write some stuff in the last couple of weeks but the Great Firewall chose to block Blogspot during that time. Kinda annoying how they unblock it for a month or two and then block it again, I really wish they'd make their minds up. In any case that's not my problem anymore.
It's 2am right now so I'll save my writing for some more reasonable hour in the next few days.
I wanted to write some stuff in the last couple of weeks but the Great Firewall chose to block Blogspot during that time. Kinda annoying how they unblock it for a month or two and then block it again, I really wish they'd make their minds up. In any case that's not my problem anymore.
It's 2am right now so I'll save my writing for some more reasonable hour in the next few days.
28 May 2007
Suzhou
As we bear down on our last days in Shanghai, we went on a day trip to Suzhou on Saturday and came back tired but a little disappointed. While Suzhou was still mildly interesting, it didn't live up to the hype brought by two obviously too boastful (typical Chinese) phrases commonly associated with it in travel guides.
1. In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzhou and Suzhou.
>> Chiang Mai beats Hangzhou and Suzhou any day of the year.
2. Gardens to the south of Yangtze River are the best in the world, and Suzhou gardens are the best among them.
We first visited the Master Of The Nets Garden. The travel guides repeatedly singled it out as the most beautiful one. But one look at it and I knew we wouldn't be in for a day of beauty. A pic here below showing the pond at the centre of it all at this garden.
We then went for lunch. Much like Suzhou, it was decent but not spectacular. And with our stomachs full, we went to the Lion Grove Garden and got the workout we needed. This garden was our favourite on this trip and much of it has to do with the mazy paths, complete with stairs and bridges, through the limestone rocks. A fun time and well worth the RMB30 entrance fee.
Our last paid stop was at the Tiger Hill with its leaning pagoda. At RMB60 per entry, this was the biggest disappointment. I'm usually a sucker for these types of old pagodas and this one was nice but not worth the hefty entrance fee. After seeing the awe-inspiring Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai for 0 baht, this one left a sour taste in my mouth.
We then stopped at Hanshan Temple but did not find it worth paying another RMB25 to go in. Not helping matters was the fact that we reached there at 16:45 and the sign by the ticket office said it closed at 16:30 even though it was still selling tickets to the hordes of group tourists.
Our last stop in Suzhou was at a nice little shopping street where the women did some shopping while I did some waiting. Only minus point here was the annoying bicycle taxi drivers always pestering us to hitch a ride in their death traps.
These next 2 pics are my favourite among the ones taken in Suzhou. They don't feature the gardens, so that should be enough to tell you loads about how much I rated those.
Cute little puppy under the display cases of a stall peddling touristy stuff at the Master Of The Nets Garden. There were at least 4 puppies under there.
The sunset sky as I was waiting for the women at the shopping street.
1. In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzhou and Suzhou.
>> Chiang Mai beats Hangzhou and Suzhou any day of the year.
2. Gardens to the south of Yangtze River are the best in the world, and Suzhou gardens are the best among them.
We first visited the Master Of The Nets Garden. The travel guides repeatedly singled it out as the most beautiful one. But one look at it and I knew we wouldn't be in for a day of beauty. A pic here below showing the pond at the centre of it all at this garden.
We then went for lunch. Much like Suzhou, it was decent but not spectacular. And with our stomachs full, we went to the Lion Grove Garden and got the workout we needed. This garden was our favourite on this trip and much of it has to do with the mazy paths, complete with stairs and bridges, through the limestone rocks. A fun time and well worth the RMB30 entrance fee.
Our last paid stop was at the Tiger Hill with its leaning pagoda. At RMB60 per entry, this was the biggest disappointment. I'm usually a sucker for these types of old pagodas and this one was nice but not worth the hefty entrance fee. After seeing the awe-inspiring Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai for 0 baht, this one left a sour taste in my mouth.
We then stopped at Hanshan Temple but did not find it worth paying another RMB25 to go in. Not helping matters was the fact that we reached there at 16:45 and the sign by the ticket office said it closed at 16:30 even though it was still selling tickets to the hordes of group tourists.
Our last stop in Suzhou was at a nice little shopping street where the women did some shopping while I did some waiting. Only minus point here was the annoying bicycle taxi drivers always pestering us to hitch a ride in their death traps.
These next 2 pics are my favourite among the ones taken in Suzhou. They don't feature the gardens, so that should be enough to tell you loads about how much I rated those.
Cute little puppy under the display cases of a stall peddling touristy stuff at the Master Of The Nets Garden. There were at least 4 puppies under there.
The sunset sky as I was waiting for the women at the shopping street.
25 May 2007
Green Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square has been covered with grass. This was done as part of a campaign which tries to entice people out of the city centre and into some of the British capital's more rural areas.
Unfortunately, this is being done for just 2 days - from Wednesday night to Friday night. I personally would have liked to have it go on for a couple of weeks or until the end of Summer. But still, it's a neat idea and obviously enough for that campaign to gain some free publicity.
Not too sure where all the pigeons went though.
Unfortunately, this is being done for just 2 days - from Wednesday night to Friday night. I personally would have liked to have it go on for a couple of weeks or until the end of Summer. But still, it's a neat idea and obviously enough for that campaign to gain some free publicity.
Not too sure where all the pigeons went though.
22 May 2007
TV Renewals, Anime and Sports
1. TV Shows - Renewals
Happy to read that CBS decided to renew How I Met Your Mother and Shark. The last few episodes of How I Met Your Mother's Season 2 were excellent and I look forward to seeing this show again in 4 months.
Equally pleased to hear about the cancellation of Veronica Mars by CW - the series had started off with an excellent first season and followed it up with a decent second season but the third season was pretty dreadful. There was (desperate) talk about how the creators were hoping to keep the show alive by fast-forwarding a few years into the future and having Veronica as an FBI agent but I'm glad the network didn't go with it. This time-warp gimmick is already set to happen on One Tree Hill, so it's also good CW isn't turning into the Sci-Fi Channel.
Was pretty sad to hear about the cancellation of The Class by CBS and was then appalled to read that Fox had decided to renew Til Death (essentially just a bad remake of Married With Children). Obviously TV Shows get a greater shot at survival when they're on a smaller and weaker network.
2. Anime
Have watched the first episodes of Darker Than Black, Heroic Age, Kaze No Stigma, Shining Tears X Wind and Sola. None of them was mind-blowing but they all show some promise, so I'm giving them another chance.
Also watched the third episode of Hayate No Gotoku!. The first two episodes were decent enough but this third one was unfunny-silly. Might drop it if this trend continues.
The one gem among the newly released Animes has been Lovely Complex.
3. Sports
- I'm hoping San Antonio will win the NBA Championship. They closed out Phoenix 4-2 in the Western Conference semi-finals last week. Funny to keep reading on the Suns whining about Robert Horry's foul in Game 4. The rule which the Suns broke and got suspended for is a good one, it prevents the sort of ugly mass brawls that plague so many other sports.
- San Antonio is now leading Utah 1-0 and Detroit leads Cleveland 1-0. Sidenote, I can't stand LeBron James and a lot of it has to do with his name, it sucks. Anyway, assuming San Antonio win the West and Detroit win the East, I wonder whether my Spurs will be able to beat Detroit.
- I'm glad Chelsea won the FA Cup on Saturday. Didier Drogba's goal was a pretty good one. Funny to read about Ferguson's claim that his players were too tired.
- Roger Federer overcame his slump of late and beat Rafael Nadal in the final of the Hamburg Masters. I was starting to get worried about how the recent defeats had affected Federer's confidence but seems there was nothing to be worried about. Obviously the clay season is still not the best time of the year for him but this win will do some good.
Happy to read that CBS decided to renew How I Met Your Mother and Shark. The last few episodes of How I Met Your Mother's Season 2 were excellent and I look forward to seeing this show again in 4 months.
Equally pleased to hear about the cancellation of Veronica Mars by CW - the series had started off with an excellent first season and followed it up with a decent second season but the third season was pretty dreadful. There was (desperate) talk about how the creators were hoping to keep the show alive by fast-forwarding a few years into the future and having Veronica as an FBI agent but I'm glad the network didn't go with it. This time-warp gimmick is already set to happen on One Tree Hill, so it's also good CW isn't turning into the Sci-Fi Channel.
Was pretty sad to hear about the cancellation of The Class by CBS and was then appalled to read that Fox had decided to renew Til Death (essentially just a bad remake of Married With Children). Obviously TV Shows get a greater shot at survival when they're on a smaller and weaker network.
2. Anime
Have watched the first episodes of Darker Than Black, Heroic Age, Kaze No Stigma, Shining Tears X Wind and Sola. None of them was mind-blowing but they all show some promise, so I'm giving them another chance.
Also watched the third episode of Hayate No Gotoku!. The first two episodes were decent enough but this third one was unfunny-silly. Might drop it if this trend continues.
The one gem among the newly released Animes has been Lovely Complex.
3. Sports
- I'm hoping San Antonio will win the NBA Championship. They closed out Phoenix 4-2 in the Western Conference semi-finals last week. Funny to keep reading on the Suns whining about Robert Horry's foul in Game 4. The rule which the Suns broke and got suspended for is a good one, it prevents the sort of ugly mass brawls that plague so many other sports.
- San Antonio is now leading Utah 1-0 and Detroit leads Cleveland 1-0. Sidenote, I can't stand LeBron James and a lot of it has to do with his name, it sucks. Anyway, assuming San Antonio win the West and Detroit win the East, I wonder whether my Spurs will be able to beat Detroit.
- I'm glad Chelsea won the FA Cup on Saturday. Didier Drogba's goal was a pretty good one. Funny to read about Ferguson's claim that his players were too tired.
- Roger Federer overcame his slump of late and beat Rafael Nadal in the final of the Hamburg Masters. I was starting to get worried about how the recent defeats had affected Federer's confidence but seems there was nothing to be worried about. Obviously the clay season is still not the best time of the year for him but this win will do some good.
Movies in April
Watched these 2 very entertaining movies during our recent trip back to Singapore. It's worth paying $8 or $9 a ticket for entertaining movies like these ones.
10 April 2007
Ministers and Corruption
So as expected, the Ministers will be getting their pay increase.
What riles me about this whole thing is the corruption argument. Apparently if the Ministers did not get the aforementioned pay increase, they might succumb to the temptations of corruption.
But yet their pay before this increase was not exactly peanuts ... according to today's paper, it was $1.2m for the entry-level Ministers. So $1.2m is a salary where they'd be tempted to look for a little money on the side but $1.6m is not?
And the corruption argument leaves me wondering:
1. Does this mean that the Ministers are of such low integrity that they'd rather fill their pockets with under-the-table $$ than do their jobs?
2. Since the PM's pay is now S$3.1m and Bush earns US$400k, does this mean that Bush is 5 times more likely to fall prey to corruption?
3. What of the average worker? We'll take someone who earns $40k a year (and many earn less than $40k). Does this mean he or she is 77.5 times more likely to take some side money?
Some more food for thought.
From today's paper, apparently Workers' Party MP Low Thia Khiang yesterday said that Finland, Denmark and Switzerland ranked higher than Singapore in certain studies on clean government and the standard of living, yet their leaders earned much less than those here.
What riles me about this whole thing is the corruption argument. Apparently if the Ministers did not get the aforementioned pay increase, they might succumb to the temptations of corruption.
But yet their pay before this increase was not exactly peanuts ... according to today's paper, it was $1.2m for the entry-level Ministers. So $1.2m is a salary where they'd be tempted to look for a little money on the side but $1.6m is not?
And the corruption argument leaves me wondering:
1. Does this mean that the Ministers are of such low integrity that they'd rather fill their pockets with under-the-table $$ than do their jobs?
2. Since the PM's pay is now S$3.1m and Bush earns US$400k, does this mean that Bush is 5 times more likely to fall prey to corruption?
3. What of the average worker? We'll take someone who earns $40k a year (and many earn less than $40k). Does this mean he or she is 77.5 times more likely to take some side money?
Some more food for thought.
From today's paper, apparently Workers' Party MP Low Thia Khiang yesterday said that Finland, Denmark and Switzerland ranked higher than Singapore in certain studies on clean government and the standard of living, yet their leaders earned much less than those here.
MM Lee then replied: 'Their governments never produced the kind of transformation that we have. To make the transformation from what we were in 1959 or 1965, to what we are requires an extraordinary government with extraordinary government officers to support it.'
My answer is: but the people of Finland, Denmark and Switzerland did not have to sacrifice freedom of the press and freedom of speech. And the people of Finland, Denmark and Switzerland are consistently ranked higher than the people of Singapore in studies of happiness levels.
28 March 2007
PES6 Goals
Saw this on a Forum and had to share it.
Amazing goals from my favourite footie game Pro Evolution Soccer.
Amazing goals from my favourite footie game Pro Evolution Soccer.
02 March 2007
Joost&trade Beta
After a couple of months of waiting for my turn, I'm now officially a Joost™ Beta Tester.
For those who don't know, Joost is a venture by the makers of Skype that's a new way of watching TV on the Internet. Apparently this thing will have different channels and everything, so obviously I'm pretty excited about it.
Here's a little banner to show off my new-found status.
I will post more once I've had the chance to play around with it.
For those who don't know, Joost is a venture by the makers of Skype that's a new way of watching TV on the Internet. Apparently this thing will have different channels and everything, so obviously I'm pretty excited about it.
Here's a little banner to show off my new-found status.
I will post more once I've had the chance to play around with it.
26 February 2007
Oscars 2007
Well the Oscars have been handed out. As usual, the results are mixed feelings all over, not to mention it's always unsettling that rather obscure movies end up being nominated to contend for the statues.
Nominees for Best Picture were:
The Departed - $131.5m
The Queen - $51.3m
Little Miss Sunshine - $59.7m
Babel - $33.2m
Letters From Iwo Jima - $11.8m
Next to the titles are their Cumulative Gross as of last weekend. Only The Departed crossed the $100m mark. The other movies have the nominations to thank for a fair part of their box office total but yet didn't make that much money.
I'm fairly happy The Departed won the Oscar for Best Picture as it's most likely to be the only one out of the 5 nominees that I'll bother to watch.
By the time 2006's Oscar ceremony came along, I had watched only Crash and it's still the only one of the 5 nominees that I have watched. Fairly safe to say that I won't be watching the rest.
About the other Oscars handed out:
- I'm glad The Departed won an Oscar for Best Director for Martin Scorsese. It was about time.
- In the Best Actress category, I had hoped Meryl Streep would win the Oscar for her icy queen role in The Devil Wears Prada. But instead it went to Helen Mirren for The Queen, once again a movie with rather limited appeal.
- Not entirely displeased to see Forest Whitaker take the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Last King Of Scotland. I don't like Leo DiCaprio much, he still looks too much like a small boy to be taken seriously. And I didn't like Will Smith taking on that boring role in The Pursuit Of Happyness and meddling to put his own son in the movie.
- I'm happy that Pan's Labyrinth won a few Oscars but it's a travesty that it didn't win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. At one point, Pan's Labyrinth was a reasonably serious contender to be nominated for Best Picture!! But it was shut out of that category and now it's lost the Best Foreign Language Film award to some half-assed movie from Germany.
- Throughout the Award season, I have been mystified as to how people rate Dreamgirls and its cast so highly. While Eddie Murphy didn't end up with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (I wonder whether his Norbit roles cost him), I'm mad to see that Jennifer Hudson won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The woman is a singer struggling to make a name for herself and was asked to play a singer struggling to make a name for herself. Not exactly the hardest role, was it? They could have put any young black singer in the role and she'd have done as good a job of it. Hopefully she'll catch the curse of the Oscars and end up being forgotten.
- I'm not happy to see how movies that are essentially musicals are increasingly a feature at the Oscars. I think Moulin Rouge startedthis all. Then there was Ray. Last year, we got served Walk The Line and the Best Actress award went undeservedly to Reese Witherspoon. And this year, the hype was all about Dreamgirls. I don't like the genre and certainly wouldn't mind seeing less of these movies being made.
Nominees for Best Picture were:
The Departed - $131.5m
The Queen - $51.3m
Little Miss Sunshine - $59.7m
Babel - $33.2m
Letters From Iwo Jima - $11.8m
Next to the titles are their Cumulative Gross as of last weekend. Only The Departed crossed the $100m mark. The other movies have the nominations to thank for a fair part of their box office total but yet didn't make that much money.
I'm fairly happy The Departed won the Oscar for Best Picture as it's most likely to be the only one out of the 5 nominees that I'll bother to watch.
By the time 2006's Oscar ceremony came along, I had watched only Crash and it's still the only one of the 5 nominees that I have watched. Fairly safe to say that I won't be watching the rest.
About the other Oscars handed out:
- I'm glad The Departed won an Oscar for Best Director for Martin Scorsese. It was about time.
- In the Best Actress category, I had hoped Meryl Streep would win the Oscar for her icy queen role in The Devil Wears Prada. But instead it went to Helen Mirren for The Queen, once again a movie with rather limited appeal.
- Not entirely displeased to see Forest Whitaker take the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Last King Of Scotland. I don't like Leo DiCaprio much, he still looks too much like a small boy to be taken seriously. And I didn't like Will Smith taking on that boring role in The Pursuit Of Happyness and meddling to put his own son in the movie.
- I'm happy that Pan's Labyrinth won a few Oscars but it's a travesty that it didn't win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. At one point, Pan's Labyrinth was a reasonably serious contender to be nominated for Best Picture!! But it was shut out of that category and now it's lost the Best Foreign Language Film award to some half-assed movie from Germany.
- Throughout the Award season, I have been mystified as to how people rate Dreamgirls and its cast so highly. While Eddie Murphy didn't end up with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (I wonder whether his Norbit roles cost him), I'm mad to see that Jennifer Hudson won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The woman is a singer struggling to make a name for herself and was asked to play a singer struggling to make a name for herself. Not exactly the hardest role, was it? They could have put any young black singer in the role and she'd have done as good a job of it. Hopefully she'll catch the curse of the Oscars and end up being forgotten.
- I'm not happy to see how movies that are essentially musicals are increasingly a feature at the Oscars. I think Moulin Rouge startedthis all. Then there was Ray. Last year, we got served Walk The Line and the Best Actress award went undeservedly to Reese Witherspoon. And this year, the hype was all about Dreamgirls. I don't like the genre and certainly wouldn't mind seeing less of these movies being made.
19 February 2007
Britney Spears madness
Will Britney Spears become the next Anna Nicole Smith? On her current streak, you sure wouldn't bet against it. Looking back at her past romances with Justin Timberlake and Kevin Federline, it's easy to believe she's not right in the head. But since officially booting out Federline, she's been going all out to push it over that beyond-a-doubt line.
The partying with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan and the passing out in public - supposedly from fatigue but then again, heavy boozing tends to bring on fatigue in a major way - have all been documented.
But this story about her checking into a rehab centre only to check out the very next day and then taking Lex Luthor's hairdo on us has left even her biggest fans pretty puzzled.
Meant to post all this last week when the bald story first broke but I went back to Singapore over Chinese New Year and spent all my time watching Smallville's Season 3 and 24's Season 4.
Anyway since then, she has checked into rehab again. And I guess her publicists are pulling in favours from all over the press because I saw at least 2 articles saying how checking back into rehab is turning the wind in Britney's favour. Just how does someone get the wind turned in her favour a few days after shaving her head and essentially putting herself back in a mental institution for the rich? Celebrities eh?
15 February 2007
Beyonce on Cover of 2007 SI Swimsuit
OK here's some quirky news.
No, I'm not talking about Beyonce making the cover of the 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit although that is in itself pretty farfetched. I guess they wanted to appeal to the black demographic.
The first quirky bit is that, well, apparently Beyonce's dad, who's also her manager, refused to watch her pose in bikinis. I'd thought he should be used to it by now. Why would he refuse to see her in this bikini when she's in the same state of undress (and sometimes worse) for her promo pics or at her appearances? Or does this mean he never attends her music video recordings or other photo shoots?
The second strange bit is that in the same article, Beyonce claims that she is "a really shy person". Sure she is. She's shy in the same way George Bush is clever.
14 February 2007
Netflix Canada
Was doing some research on this because my brother-in-law is moving to Montreal in a month. Basically, Canada doesn't have Netflix but has a few websites providing very similar services.
Most offer 2-week trials, which are a great way of evaluating their service.
The biggest one seems to be zip.ca. They have 6 membership plans catering to all types of movie watchers. Monthly fees range from $10.95 for the 1 DVD Plan to $49.95 for the 8 DVD Plan. And they have this rather neat feature called ZipRefill that can help people increase the number of rentals they receive each month.
A few others are:
1. Canflix.com
They offer movies in DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray format, and even games for XBox, XBox360, PS2, PS3, GameCube and Wii.
Monthly fees are $21.95 for 3 discs out, $24.95 for 4 discs out, $29.95 for 5 discs out and $36.95 for 6 discs out. For the couch potatoes, they also have an 8-disc plan at $49.95 and a 10-disc plan at $54.95.
2. DVDHype.com.
Monthly fee of $25. Customers get 3, 4 or 5 DVDs out depending on their location.
3. DVDFlix.ca.
Fees start from $19.99 a month for 3 DVDs out and go up to $29.99 for 5 DVDs out and $39.99 for 7 DVDs out.
4. DVD-Rental.ca
Fees range from $22.99 a month for 3 DVDs out to $34.96 for 6 DVDs out. Interestingly, they also offer packages for DVD Movies or PS2/XBox Games at $19.99 for 2 Movies/Games out and $24.99 for 3 Movies/Games out.
5. Starflix.com
For the occasional movie watcher, they offer monthly packages of $9.99 for 1 DVD out but limited to a total of 2 DVDs per month and $14.95 for 2 DVDs out, limited to a total of 4 DVDs a month. Other packages are $24.95 for 3 DVDs out, $28.95 for 4 DVDs out and $34.96 for 5 DVDs out.
6. DVDsToYourDoor.com.
Fees start from $14.99 a month.
Update: Site seems to be dead.
Gives the message: No web site is configured at this address.
Most offer 2-week trials, which are a great way of evaluating their service.
The biggest one seems to be zip.ca. They have 6 membership plans catering to all types of movie watchers. Monthly fees range from $10.95 for the 1 DVD Plan to $49.95 for the 8 DVD Plan. And they have this rather neat feature called ZipRefill that can help people increase the number of rentals they receive each month.
A few others are:
1. Canflix.com
They offer movies in DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray format, and even games for XBox, XBox360, PS2, PS3, GameCube and Wii.
Monthly fees are $21.95 for 3 discs out, $24.95 for 4 discs out, $29.95 for 5 discs out and $36.95 for 6 discs out. For the couch potatoes, they also have an 8-disc plan at $49.95 and a 10-disc plan at $54.95.
2. DVDHype.com.
Monthly fee of $25. Customers get 3, 4 or 5 DVDs out depending on their location.
3. DVDFlix.ca.
Fees start from $19.99 a month for 3 DVDs out and go up to $29.99 for 5 DVDs out and $39.99 for 7 DVDs out.
4. DVD-Rental.ca
Fees range from $22.99 a month for 3 DVDs out to $34.96 for 6 DVDs out. Interestingly, they also offer packages for DVD Movies or PS2/XBox Games at $19.99 for 2 Movies/Games out and $24.99 for 3 Movies/Games out.
5. Starflix.com
For the occasional movie watcher, they offer monthly packages of $9.99 for 1 DVD out but limited to a total of 2 DVDs per month and $14.95 for 2 DVDs out, limited to a total of 4 DVDs a month. Other packages are $24.95 for 3 DVDs out, $28.95 for 4 DVDs out and $34.96 for 5 DVDs out.
6. DVDsToYourDoor.com.
Fees start from $14.99 a month.
Update: Site seems to be dead.
Gives the message: No web site is configured at this address.
Bullet Train to KL
Nice little article from TODAYonline.com below about a proposed bullet train between Singapore and KL.
I wonder whether the liberalisation of air links between Singapore and Malaysia will hurt this project. The planes will probably start flying to KL by the end of this year while this bullet train will take a few years to materialise.
But I'm hoping the bullet train still comes through. I much prefer simple fares with no added taxes for security, airport handling and everything else they can come up with. And this will be more convenient than the planes because the passengers will get dropped much closer to the City Centre. KLIA rocks but it's still about an hour away from the action.
--------------
The people behind the operating systems of the North-East and Circle MRT lines want to be the driving force behind the proposed bullet train rail linking Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Philippe Mellier, president of Alstom Transport, said yesterday his company was "very interested" in developing the bullet train, which would cut normal rail travel time from the current seven hours or so to just 90 minutes. He pointed to Alstom's experience in the Asia Pacific region — which includes building Korea's KTX high-speed train connecting Seoul and Pusan — as an advantage for the French company.
"We are by far the biggest manufacturer of high-speed trains in the world," Mr Mellier said.
"We know the region, we know the requirements and we have experience in exporting our technology far from home."
Alstom Transport occupies the No 2 market position in urban rail transport and has an annual turnover of €5.1 billion ($10.2 billion). A consortium led by Malaysian company YTL Corp is the only party that has presented a proposal for a bullet train service between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Preliminary studies showed the US$2.3-billion ($3.5-billion) project is feasible but the Malaysian government has not made any decision. Last month, Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim indicated he was open to the proposal if it benefits both countries.
Mr Mellier, who was here for a Metro workshop, said conditions are "ideal" for the construction of a high-speed rail system between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Millions of people live in and could commute between the two cities, he said, envisioning a train that would travel at about 350kmh — giving air travel a run for its money.
Asked about Singapore's public transport, Mr Mellier suggested building a tram system around Orchard Road and the Central Business District. Though it would involve a bigger start-up investment, he said, a tram system could carry three times the capacity of buses while conserving a quarter of the energy.
I wonder whether the liberalisation of air links between Singapore and Malaysia will hurt this project. The planes will probably start flying to KL by the end of this year while this bullet train will take a few years to materialise.
But I'm hoping the bullet train still comes through. I much prefer simple fares with no added taxes for security, airport handling and everything else they can come up with. And this will be more convenient than the planes because the passengers will get dropped much closer to the City Centre. KLIA rocks but it's still about an hour away from the action.
--------------
The people behind the operating systems of the North-East and Circle MRT lines want to be the driving force behind the proposed bullet train rail linking Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Philippe Mellier, president of Alstom Transport, said yesterday his company was "very interested" in developing the bullet train, which would cut normal rail travel time from the current seven hours or so to just 90 minutes. He pointed to Alstom's experience in the Asia Pacific region — which includes building Korea's KTX high-speed train connecting Seoul and Pusan — as an advantage for the French company.
"We are by far the biggest manufacturer of high-speed trains in the world," Mr Mellier said.
"We know the region, we know the requirements and we have experience in exporting our technology far from home."
Alstom Transport occupies the No 2 market position in urban rail transport and has an annual turnover of €5.1 billion ($10.2 billion). A consortium led by Malaysian company YTL Corp is the only party that has presented a proposal for a bullet train service between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
Preliminary studies showed the US$2.3-billion ($3.5-billion) project is feasible but the Malaysian government has not made any decision. Last month, Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim indicated he was open to the proposal if it benefits both countries.
Mr Mellier, who was here for a Metro workshop, said conditions are "ideal" for the construction of a high-speed rail system between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Millions of people live in and could commute between the two cities, he said, envisioning a train that would travel at about 350kmh — giving air travel a run for its money.
Asked about Singapore's public transport, Mr Mellier suggested building a tram system around Orchard Road and the Central Business District. Though it would involve a bigger start-up investment, he said, a tram system could carry three times the capacity of buses while conserving a quarter of the energy.
Liberalisation of Air Links with Malaysia
Interesting article from channelnewsasia.com below.
I'm still not too hot about budget airlines. It annoys me that I can almost never get the super discounted fares whenever I do a search. And even when I do get something reasonably close to the lowest of the low, the various added taxes usually end up dwarfing the fares and the whole thing doesn't look like such a good deal after all.
That said, when the budget airlines start flying to the promised destinations in Malaysia, I'll be there again clicking on their websites. My baby car will still be driving me to KL but maybe the budget airlines can bring me to Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. Now if only the hotels offered cheaper rates too ...
----------------
Budget carriers based in Singapore are eagerly awaiting the liberalisation of air links with Malaysia now that the two countries have agreed, in principle, to open up the current aviation agreement.
Though details of the proposed liberalisation have yet to be announced, budget carriers are already eyeing certain destinations in Malaysia.
Budget carriers, like Tiger Airways and Jetstar, see the opening up of the aviation playing field as a positive step in the right direction.
Flying from Singapore into Malaysian cities would mean a huge boost not just in tourism, but also in business links.
Chong Phit Lian, CEO, Jetstar Asia Airways, said: "Once it's opened up, it'll open a lot more visitation, that's for sure. What you used to think twice to do, you'll do it faster and you'll probably invite more relatives and friends to visit you in Singapore. There'll be a great surge in interest for family, friends and for short holidays. If you do a rough estimate based on capacity, it will probably be two or three times more."
Under a 34-year-old agreement, national carriers from both sides have monopolised the Singapore-KL route, with more than 200 flights a week.
And with budget carriers entering the scene, it will create a very competitive environment in terms of ticket prices.
Besides Peninsular Malaysia, destinations further north and into East Malaysia could become more attractive to travellers.
"If it opens up and we're given a chance to choose, we definitely would like to go to KL, Ipoh, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and beyond, typically. We're also working out with Malaysian travel agencies to understand their needs and if there's a demand. If we can serve the market, we'll definitely consider those routes," said Ms Chong.
Tony Davis, CEO, Tiger Airways, said: "Ultimately, the consumers will decide how big the market becomes. There's a big increase in passenger services when we enter the market. We expect that to happen in Malaysia. The market is important to us. It's close to Singapore and it suits our model of high frequency services. With a budget terminal here, we can offer low fares. There'll be a lot of demand."
No matter where the destinations are going to be, two things are certain – budget carriers said it would be cheaper to fly to Malaysia from Singapore and there would be more options for travellers.
I'm still not too hot about budget airlines. It annoys me that I can almost never get the super discounted fares whenever I do a search. And even when I do get something reasonably close to the lowest of the low, the various added taxes usually end up dwarfing the fares and the whole thing doesn't look like such a good deal after all.
That said, when the budget airlines start flying to the promised destinations in Malaysia, I'll be there again clicking on their websites. My baby car will still be driving me to KL but maybe the budget airlines can bring me to Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. Now if only the hotels offered cheaper rates too ...
----------------
Budget carriers based in Singapore are eagerly awaiting the liberalisation of air links with Malaysia now that the two countries have agreed, in principle, to open up the current aviation agreement.
Though details of the proposed liberalisation have yet to be announced, budget carriers are already eyeing certain destinations in Malaysia.
Budget carriers, like Tiger Airways and Jetstar, see the opening up of the aviation playing field as a positive step in the right direction.
Flying from Singapore into Malaysian cities would mean a huge boost not just in tourism, but also in business links.
Chong Phit Lian, CEO, Jetstar Asia Airways, said: "Once it's opened up, it'll open a lot more visitation, that's for sure. What you used to think twice to do, you'll do it faster and you'll probably invite more relatives and friends to visit you in Singapore. There'll be a great surge in interest for family, friends and for short holidays. If you do a rough estimate based on capacity, it will probably be two or three times more."
Under a 34-year-old agreement, national carriers from both sides have monopolised the Singapore-KL route, with more than 200 flights a week.
And with budget carriers entering the scene, it will create a very competitive environment in terms of ticket prices.
Besides Peninsular Malaysia, destinations further north and into East Malaysia could become more attractive to travellers.
"If it opens up and we're given a chance to choose, we definitely would like to go to KL, Ipoh, Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and beyond, typically. We're also working out with Malaysian travel agencies to understand their needs and if there's a demand. If we can serve the market, we'll definitely consider those routes," said Ms Chong.
Tony Davis, CEO, Tiger Airways, said: "Ultimately, the consumers will decide how big the market becomes. There's a big increase in passenger services when we enter the market. We expect that to happen in Malaysia. The market is important to us. It's close to Singapore and it suits our model of high frequency services. With a budget terminal here, we can offer low fares. There'll be a lot of demand."
No matter where the destinations are going to be, two things are certain – budget carriers said it would be cheaper to fly to Malaysia from Singapore and there would be more options for travellers.
Firewall Down
blogger.com and blogspot.com have been accessible from here in Shanghai for a while now. In the beginning I had thought it was just a temporary hole in the Great Firewall of China but this looks a permanent thing now. Well, as close to permanent as it can get here in China.
With this and the fact that I will most likely be moving back to Singapore in a few months, I will restart posting here, while also posting the same stuff at my blog/forum at cabspace.com.
With this and the fact that I will most likely be moving back to Singapore in a few months, I will restart posting here, while also posting the same stuff at my blog/forum at cabspace.com.
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