Mizore

[Mizore] Pingback: "TODO list"

2007-08-05T09:58:00.001+08:00

New pingback on your post #103 "TODO list"
Website: A Property for 2009 « Mizore (IP: 72.232.151.7 , 7.151.232.72.static.reverse.ltdomains.com)
URL : http://mizore.wordpress.com/2007/08/05/a-property-for-2009/
Excerpt:
[...] [...] TODO list [...] [...]

You can see all pingbacks on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/wishlist-07/#comments

Delete it: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=cdc&c=4600
Spam it: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=cdc&dt=spam&c=4600

[Mizore] Pingback: "Pieces of Lunar New Year"

2007-06-07T19:45:00.000+08:00

New pingback on your post #47 "Pieces of Lunar New Year"
Website: The Beautiful Island « Mizore (IP: 72.232.131.41 , 41.131.232.72.static.reverse.layeredtech.com)
URL : http://mizore.wordpress.com/2007/02/19/the-beautiful-island/
Excerpt:
[...] [...] Yi, (First Day of Lunar New Year, Feb 18) I spent the day at Auntie Low’s place, like I did last year. Eric’s home for the week before leaving on Friday for Frankfurt to collect some materials to [...] [...]

You can see all pingbacks on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/2006/02/04/pieces-of-lunar-new-year/#comments

Delete it: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=cdc&c=3668
Spam it: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=cdc&dt=spam&c=3668

[Mizore] Comment: "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

2007-05-19T21:07:00.001+08:00

New comment on your post #42 "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"
Author : (IP: 81.227.17.240 , h240n2c1o1035.bredband.skanova.com)
E-mail :
URL :
Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=81.227.17.240
Comment:
what's the name of the song that plays when they fighting tottenham!!?

You can see all comments on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/2006/01/15/green-street-hooligans-aka-football-hooligans/#comments

Delete it: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=cdc&c=2580
Spam it: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=cdc&dt=spam&c=2580

[Mizore] Pingback: "Wishlist '07"

2006-12-02T23:50:00.000+08:00

New pingback on your post #103 "Wishlist '07"

Website: Wishlist ‘07 « Mizore (IP: 72.232.131.23 , 23.131.232.72.reverse.layeredtech.com)

URL : http://mizore.wordpress.com/2006/12/02/wishlist-07/

Excerpt:

[...] [...] Wishlist '07 [...] [...]

You can see all pingbacks on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/wishlist-07/#comments

To delete this comment, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=cdc&c=792

To mark this comment as spam, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=cdc&dt=spam&c=792

[Mizore II] Comment: "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

2006-10-07T11:05:00.000+08:00

New comment on your post #42 "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

Author : (IP: 210.49.33.17 , c210-49-33-17.rochd3.qld.optusnet.com.au)

E-mail :

URL :

Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=210.49.33.17

Comment:

JEBALA VAS SRBIJA U PICKU

MATER VAM JEBEM SRBSKU

CRKNITE KRETENI JEBENI, VI I VASA CRVENA ZVEZDA

You can see all comments on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/2006/01/15/green-street-hooligans-aka-football-hooligans/#comments

To delete this comment, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&p=42&comment=456

To mark this comment as spam, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&delete_type=spam&p=42&comment=456

[Mizore II] Comment: "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

2006-09-15T04:55:00.000+08:00

New comment on your post #42 "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

Author : (IP: 195.178.39.106 , 195.178.39.106)

E-mail :

URL :

Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=195.178.39.106

Comment:

Where I can find emission on explorer channel with hooligans pls help me

"WEST HAM TILL I DIE

IM WEST HAM TILL I DIE

I KNOW IM

I SHURE IM

IM WEST HAM TILL I DIE!"

You can see all comments on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/2006/01/15/green-street-hooligans-aka-football-hooligans/#comments

To delete this comment, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&p=42&comment=298

To mark this comment as spam, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&delete_type=spam&p=42&comment=298

[Mizore II] Comment: "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

2006-09-03T06:50:00.000+08:00

New comment on your post #42 "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

Author : (IP: 71.233.225.61 , c-71-233-225-61.hsd1.ma.comcast.net)

E-mail :

URI :

Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=71.233.225.61

Comment:

The Rap song played AT THE END CREDITS is TEST OF MAN by the group 'DASH'.

The Rap song played in the car is Arcarine - Stand your ground.

You can see all comments on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/2006/01/15/green-street-hooligans-aka-football-hooligans/#comments

To delete this comment, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&p=42&comment=242

To mark this comment as spam, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&delete_type=spam&p=42&comment=242

[Mizore II] Comment: "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

2006-08-19T14:11:00.000+08:00

New comment on your post #42 "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

Author : (IP: 70.41.206.29 , 70-41-206-29.cust.wildblue.net)

E-mail :

URI :

Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=70.41.206.29

Comment:

hey whats the rap song

You can see all comments on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/2006/01/15/green-street-hooligans-aka-football-hooligans/#comments

To delete this comment, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&p=42&comment=214

To mark this comment as spam, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&delete_type=spam&p=42&comment=214

[Mizore II] Comment: "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

2006-04-25T23:23:00.000+08:00

New comment on your post #42 "Green Street Hooligans aka Football Hooligans"

Author : (IP: 84.64.210.131 , user-643.wfd79a.dsl.pol.co.uk)

E-mail :

URI :

Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=84.64.210.131

Comment:

the song in manchester is called shame by terrence jay

You can see all comments on this post here:

http://mizore.wordpress.com/2006/01/15/green-street-hooligans-aka-football-hooligans/#comments

To delete this comment, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&p=42&comment=61

To mark this comment as spam, visit: http://mizore.wordpress.com/wp-admin/comment.php?action=confirmdeletecomment&delete_type=spam&p=42&comment=61

Moving to WordPress

2005-10-28T13:10:00.000+08:00

After some deliberation, I've decided to move my blog from Blogger to WordPress.

When I first started out, all that I wanted was simply to start blogging. After 5 months of blogging about anything from my travelling to movie and book reviews, I realised that Blogger lacked a crucial feature - to be able to sort my posts into categories.

To continue on, IMHO it'd be like pilling cabbage on dirty socks - real messy. Of course to be fair, there are hacks available to enable categories in Blogger, like this one by Oldcola. Another one using del.icio.us tags. There's even a hack using Google search.

Pyra, Blogger's parent company was bought by Google in 2002. Knowing there's enough demand for categories, (in fact that's a real understatement) and the fact that Blogger has the force of Google behind its development now, (Refer to Evan William's blog) there's a good chance Blogger might implement this feature soon.

However, I still decided to move the blog to WP. Why?

Some of the reasons are written in the extensive comparison on Blogger.com vs WordPress.com by Jaya Jha.

Australian Blog Awards 2005

2005-10-25T16:07:00.000+08:00

Some of the finest blogs Australia has to offer.

Australian Blog Awards 2005

Check it out!

Pictures of Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands

2005-10-18T14:50:00.000+08:00

KTM to Kuala Lumpur

2005-10-18T11:58:00.000+08:00

8 - 10 October 2005, Kuala Lumpur

Gurpal and I took the train from KTM (Malaysian Railway), Tanjong Pagar Road on a 10 hour ride. Gurpal got us the sleeper (one way, S$38), single beds that we can sleep on for the night journey. We left at 10.15pm and reached KL Sentral at about 8.15am, including delays, which by now is a Malaysian standard. Throughout the whole journey, I found it increasingly difficult to sleep, possibly due to either the rocking bed, the lack of sleeping space, or the glass of teh tarik that I drank while watching ESPN on a flat 42" TV at KTM.

For those wanting to go to KL by rail, I urge you to reconsider the idea, and look towards the coach, for a shorter trip, and a more comfortable ride.

How short is the coach? We left at 6.30pm from KL and reached Singapore at 10.30pm. Less than half the time spent on rail, and for the same price, there's even a movie screening through the TV monitor - The Myth starring Jackie Chan, which was done in typical Malaysian fashion, using pirated VCD, clearly evident by the drop of the video camera in the cinema. The person holding the camera fell asleep?

The public transportation in KL is well-planned with LRTs and Monorails going everywhere from Subang to Petaling Jaya.

Gurpal and I went to Berjaya Times Square to find out what all the hype was about. There's an indoor amusement park in the shopping mall, which is pretty interesting. We played some games in the arcade including Daytona 1 & 2.

Later on we met up with Sim and proceeded to check in at Casa de Bajaj, in Bangsar. I haven't found another place that has a better chapati and paneer than the one made by Sim's mom. It has been a year since Sim's family left Singapore to join him in KL, and it looks like they have fully adjusted and now enjoy the more relaxing pace of life.

I went into KL with expectations -- expectations to see lots of dirt and pollution, coming after my earlier trip to Jakarta. I almost couldn't believe how clean the place is.

'KL is not a dirty place lah', said Sim.

'Well I thought KL is like a cross between Singapore and Jakarta, and I expected to find some dirt at least. Not like this!', said I.

It was great to be able to drive in KL. We went to check out Monash U. in Sunway, where Gurpal intends to study next year, and some areas in Mont Kiara, Damansara Perdana, where SPW is, and nearby, Sim's condo.

The high-end neighbourhoods of Damansara and Mont Kiara is not unlike that of some in Los Angeles -Big and wide shopping malls, convenience stores in petrol stations, drive-in eateries, the highways, the sheer vastness of roads and living spaces, and in a highly globalised world, the ang mohs walking around in their casual wear. Through it all, I was struck by the uncanny resemblance.

Malaysia has a My Second Home programme that acts like a permanent residence visa, renewable every 10 years. The requirements is that one is to have a bank deposit of RM100,000, and as a bonus, the Government gives a 20% rebate on a car purchase. Sim's S40 Volvo which was priced at RM180,000 was bought at RM120,000 using the programme.

KL is not a place to be in employment as it pays in Ringgit, unless one is an expatriate getting salary in foreign currency. However, there are definite pluses in business and investment opportunities. Together with the lower currency exchange rate and lower cost of living, Malaysia is an ideal place to invest money in, and retire comfortably.

I had a chance much later to catch up on old times with Alex, who lives in Cheras and currently works on a construction project in Cameron Highlands. He took us on a tour of a strawberry farm and the nearby area. Living in a tropical city like Singapore has made me appreciate the cool weather and fresh air of the mountains. In Indonesia, a trip to the mountainous areas Koliba and Puncak has become an almost weekly affair for alot of families, including my own, as a means to get together and escape the hot and humid weather in the capital city.

Jeffrey and Sakthong are doing well in their respective careers, said Alex. Jeff has been promoted to Managing Director in his Graphic Design firm in Jakarta. Sakthong started his own chemical engineering company in Bangkok. Jiaqiang just registered his marriage with Lijuan at ROM last Thursday, 13 Oct. Thong Yong is having his wedding banquet this coming Saturday, 22 Oct.

Looking back, each has come a long way since leaving secondary school. The road ahead is certain to have in store more changes to come. When it comes though, it comes pretty fast.

TV Serial Reviews: Legend of the Condor Heroes & World's Best

2005-10-06T17:44:00.000+08:00

She Diao Ying Xiong Ji/Legend of the Condor Heroes starring Li Ya Peng and Zhou Xun.

My first foray into China produced serials left me pleasantly delighted. This Jing Yong masterpiece has been remade countless of times by TVB over the years. In my opinion, in terms of pace, authenticity, acting, special effects and scenery, this particular production is outstanding. The attention to detail is clearly evident. For instance, Manchurians were cast for their roles as Genghis Khan's warriors so as to show authentic Manchurian accent. Filming location includes Mongolia. The opening soundtrack is awesome and suits the theme. The closing soundtrack is excellent too. This simply is the best version ever made. And I have watched alot of versions. I hear rumours that the same China team is working to produce the sequel, Shen Diao Xia Lu/Return of the Condor Heroes.

Tian Xia Di Yi/World's Best starring Roger Kwok, Wallace Luo and Michelle Ye and Li Ya Peng.

A predictable storyline, pace is a bit draggy but great special effects and costumes. An all-star cast. Cameo appearance by Dicky Cheung. A good China production overall.

These are two serials that I've watched. If you have watched any of them, please feel free to comment.

Next review: Greed Mask.

The Family Dogs

2005-10-06T16:41:00.000+08:00

Our family home in Jakarta is home to 8 dogs, across 3 generations. Each has its own quirky personality. Here's a showcase of some of them doing their routine daily things.

What are you looking at me for? *Bambi raising a dog eyebrow*

Bambi enjoying an afternoon nap.

Up and ready for playtime.

A 3rd generation family pup being held by my 5 year old cousin.

Indonesia & DVDs

2005-10-06T15:43:00.000+08:00

In the information age, sometimes one of the cheapest leisure activities is watching films at home. Especially with rising cinema ticket prices in Singapore, and the Internet, which brings the latest movies to your homes, courtesy of pirates and made possible by faster broadband speeds and cheaper access. A faster and more convenient way comes from pirated DVDs.

Indonesia is home to probably the world's cheapest source of pirated DVDs (movies, tv series, music vids) and mandarin serials (VCDs and DVDs). Even cheaper than mainland China. For the average Singaporean, here's some price comparison:-

Malaysian-printed DVDs
RM 8 or S$3.60/pc. (if I remember correctly. From Penang, which is even cheaper than KL. With some bargaining, price can drop to RM 6)

Indonesian-printed DVDs
Rp 3500 or S$0.60/pc.

For mandarin serials, I used to purchase them from Poh Kim for about S$1.50 - S$2/disc. In Jakarta, it retails for Rp 1750 or S$0.30/pc.

They are all available from Harko Glodok, beside Pancoran. There are over 50 wholesalers and retailers situated there. As early as 8.30am in the morning, they will already be open for business. Staff busily unpacking 100 discs rims of the latest movies DVDs, putting them into plastic sheets and efficiently slotting paper covers. Many more rims are on the way from print, freshly copied from the master copy. If you should purchase a defect copy, feel free to return the disc to the retailer and they will be happy to replace it for you.

Later in the day, touts will be marketing pornography more aggresively, quickly putting purchases into black plastic bags for customers to avoid being spotted by undercover police who are patrolling the area in groups. As many as 6 groups are spread out over the area to nab those suspected of buying for the purpose of selling them as the area is home to a host of wholesalers. Why don't they nab those selling directly? The answer is because they have paid their dues. Literally.

Fans of mandarin serials of Hong Kong (TVB), China, Korea or Japanese production, Indonesian-printed VCDs offer a real treat - Bahasa Indonesia subtitles. For those who do not understand mandarin but understand Malay, this is a boost. Despite many newer releases being done on DVDs, making possible even cheaper purchases, better quality and more variety of subtitles, much more titles have been released on VCDs.

The area closes for business at 5.30pm.

The Jakarta Insider

2005-09-12T13:44:00.000+08:00

Do you know that the Dalai Lama eats meat? Another darker fact: Thailand's military moonlights as mercenaries for hire? Not I. That was, before I read The Asian Insider by Michael Backman. This book examines the relationships between asians and culture, shaping today's businesses and politics. Simply an excellent read.

I'm leaving for Jakarta in three days. I met up with Aunt Helen last week, and she told me about a rumour going on about how there might be another protest demonstration coming up. Public demonstrations in Indonesia is not new, especially in Jakarta these past few years. Rumour has it that this time it could reach the scale of the May 1996 riots. This is because the country is raising oil prices after October, this comes after years of oil subsidies to keep oil prices low for the majority of the population. This has been the practice in developing countries.

The country's reserves (deficits) have been dropping in recent times not only because Indonesia is a net importer of oil, and buys them in US dollars, the fall of the Rupiah against the greenback, but ongoing corruption also had a part to play. Rumour has it that the Vice President "Jalla and Gang" had been busy stuffing his pockets full with foreign aid money ever since he came into office. Recently the national oil company Pertamina was under state investigation for corruption and money laundering. That's Indonesia.

I look forward to meeting a few people. I haven't met some of these guys in years! And there's nothing like authentic Indonesian food, right Nona? ;) Haha! An Indo-Chinese, currently studying in Geelong, Australia.

Converted Sing Dollars into Rupiah. Set, brother. It felt weird having the money changer lady in Pearl Centre saying 'One Million...". I had over a million Rupiah in my wallet. Lol.

Oh crap! I have to go for driving lessons. Each time I write a blog entry I always target 15 mins but usually went overtime. This time it stretched over by 30 mins. Today's was a makeup session. It was supposed to be on last Friday. It totally slipped my mind.

Ciao.

Currently Reading:-

The Best Two Years

2005-08-25T18:28:00.000+08:00

I watched The Best Two Years yesterday. There are some funny scenes that made me laugh. Overall it is a pretty good film. What is the film about? Watch it and find out :)

They showed Girl With a Pearl Earring on Arts Central on TV two days ago. It is a pretty nice film. However I enjoyed SJ's performance more in Lost in Translation though.

Yesterday was my birthday, and Denis, Debbie, Alice and I went out for a game of pool. We were trashed thoroughly by Alice. We wanted to go Devil's Bar after the game but it was kinda late (1am) and that post-game prata kosong with bawang, and hot milo had me. I was real tired and called off our clubbing plans. I wonder if it was the prata or the Choya Umeshu I drank (and offered Denis) during our pool game that slowly did me in. But it sure did the trick and I fell fast asleep once I touched down on my bed that night. Nothing beats a good night's sleep.

Yesterday I also received some well wishes from Jakarta. Thanks, you guys.

I have to run. Meeting the family for dinner at Sizzler's at Suntec. Oh and just in case you didn't know (like I a few mins ago), Sizzler's at Wisma Atrium has closed. They opened a new branch at Toa Payoh.

Currently Reading:-

In Sept - Jakarta

2005-08-17T18:26:00.000+08:00

Could be spending up to two weeks in Jakarta next month, leaving on 15th Sept to attend my grandmother's birthday on the 16th and a relative's wedding on the 18th.

People to visit:- (besides members of my family)
1. Stacey
2. Jeffrey
3. Felix & Fiona
4. Ronny (Tristan)
5. Findru

I happily look forward to purchasing TVB dramas at bargain Rupiah prices!

My home has become a fast-expanding repository of books and VCD/DVDs. Friends who came to visit often remarked that I could open a library and charge rentals for them. In land scarce Singapore, using self-storage facilities is becoming more popular as a means for people to rent storage space. One company providing them is http://www.storhub.com.sg/.

A simpler and cheaper solution is to put up my older books and VCDs/DVDs for sale on Ebay.

Well I hope to find some time to catalog them. Just doing this could take days.

Thursday tomorrow could also be my first driving lesson with private instructor Peter, recommended by Smith. (The one I took years ago in Jakarta doesn't really count) Have to watch out for him driving in his red Mitsubishi Lancer at Yio Chu Kang tomorrow morning. Fun :)

Friday is Office Shifting Day from Tanjong Pagar to Paya Lebar. Have to clear out my office stuff tomorrow.

Happy 25th birthday to Zhichao! (15th Aug 1980)

Currently Reading:-

Dick Morris//Power Plays: Win or Lose -- How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game (30%)

Cynthia Crossen//The Rich and How They Got That Way: How the Wealthiest People of All Time - from Genghis Khan to Bill Gates - Made Their Fortunes (completed)

Peter Searle//The Riddle of Malaysian Capitalism: Rent-Seekers or Real Capitalists? (50%)

Lessons from Pool

2005-08-11T15:12:00.000+08:00

Shooting pool has become one of my favourite pastimes. Although the game requires much skill and precision, it is still very much a mental sport.

My favourite hangout is Pool Junction, a swanky pool parlour designed by players, built for players, and managed by players. If it isn't your turn to play, there are loads of things you could do to occupy your time - from watching live ESPN football games or MTV, to reading magazines on the plush sofas or playing cards which you could borrow from the counter staff, listening to lounge music playing, or order a plate of chicken sandwich (one of the best I've tasted so far) from the mini bar.

Besides the great atmosphere, the secret of to its long daily reservations list is in its meticulous preparation and careful maintenance. After each play session, the pool balls are put into a machine that polishes them automatically, the cue sticks and tables are wiped carefully with a polishing cloth, so you get shiny pool balls, and cue sticks and inviting pool tables waiting for you once your turn came.

So it is hardly a surprise that this place is easily the most popular joint in town amongst serious pool enthusiasts. When Denis and I arrived at the place on 8th August slightly after 10pm, we still are on Waiting List #4. This despite our best efforts to reserve a table two hours earlier.

We entertained ourselves watching Manchester United play Norwich City on ESPN. Eventually United won 2-0 and shortly after we were to collect our pool balls and cue sticks to start playing.

I watched two good games today. The first one was during our wait, and second one was during our game. The former sees a man in his 40s playing a game against a younger man, who couldn't have been more than in his early 20s. The latter sees a young woman play a male, both in their early 20s.

The game of pool is a liberal host. It does not put physically stronger men at an advantage, nor does it discriminate against women.

In terms of skill level, both men, young and old are clearly equals. The difference therein lies in their personal qualities. Watching both men, I was struck by how patient the old man was. When the younger man was playing his turn, sinking ball after ball into table pockets, he looked serene, like the Buddha, who knows his turn will come. When it came to his turn to play, he took his time and hit his shots. Eventually he won. The next game he played against another young man, about the same age as his previous opposing player. He won that one too. One thing he had that the young men lacked was patience. Patience is a wonderful quality that could make or break a set plan.

The young woman displayed such fine form (her playing form! ;)) that she won almost all her games, all against men. Superior form develops after much practice. Simple traits like a willingness to work hard, and having confidence in herself brought her success.

One of the reasons I enjoyed playing pool so much is that each session I play, I learnt to be much better mentally. It develops focus. (honestly if you could sink balls accurately shot after shot in an environment where there is loud lounge music, ESPN, and lots of nice looking women being all over the place, that's focus!) In order to win, you need good positioning. (you have to have your cue ball positioned most advantageously after each shot you take to create a flow, so you have to formulate a series of steps in your mind before you even aim, sort of how a chess player makes his moves) Lastly it develops winning mentality. Sometimes when I play, I might be able to sink balls in a row and then leave the 8 ball out by a margin of 3-5 balls. Then I'd grow soft and miss my next few shots (at hitting the last ball) and let my friend catch up and win. Increasingly I found that when I wanted to win a set, I could. And I enjoyed winning.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Singapore!

Currently Reading:-

Dick Morris//Power Plays: Win or Lose -- How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game

Cynthia Crossen//The Rich and How They Got That Way: How the Wealthiest People of All Time - from Genghis Khan to Bill Gates - Made Their Fortunes

Peter Searle//The Riddle of Malaysian Capitalism: Rent-Seekers or Real Capitalists?

Scarlett Magic

2005-07-29T16:14:00.000+08:00

Recently I watched The Island, the Michael Bay movie starring Scarlett Johannson. And yes, as you might have guessed, I'm a big Johannson fan. This actress is extremely pleasing to watch, not just 'cos she's beautiful, but because she has an innate ability to come across as being natural on camera. On screen, whatever character she plays, she comes across as a real person. Compared to most actors who seem distant most times, so you hardly feel a connection to them. Anyway the she didn't really do much in this movie, except to run alot.

To see Johannson really flex her acting muscles, you'd have to watch Lost in Translation. I love that movie. One of my all time favourites. She also acted in A Love Song for Bobby Long. Another well-made Johannson movie. To find out more about these two movies, click on the pictures below.

And at the TS Video sale that's on this week, I couldn't resist buying TVB's At The Threshold of An Era I & II, starring Gallen Lo. The story so far on disc 1 started out at a nice pace. Not too slow. Good start!

Signing off to watch more episodes!

Jump into Singapore

2005-07-28T09:29:00.000+08:00

A really short post:

I'm thinking of signing up for this!

Only concern is my schedule. Hmm.

Fireworks Festival 2005

2005-07-26T15:06:00.000+08:00

> Firework Display
>
> ---------------------------
>
> There will be a 2nd Singapore Fireworks Festival that will be held at
> Marina East. Schedules are as follows:
>
> Date : Saturday, 6th August 2005
> Time : 7:45PM
> Venue : Marina Bay
> Theme : Portuguese-Themed
>
> Date : Monday, 8th August 2005
> Time : 11:59PM (Countdown to National Day)
> Venue : Marina Bay
> Theme : Singapore-Themed
> Add : There will be a music performance by SCO
>
> Date : Sunday, 14th August 2005
> Time : 8:30PM
> Venue : Marina Bay
> Theme : French-Themed

Time to party! Woohoo! =)

Shots from California

2005-07-22T14:22:00.000+08:00

I took some shots during my stay in California from 5th July to 18th July. Here are some of them:

Entrance to La Jolla.

Guests sign in.

Guests at the reception.

The wedding grounds.

View from La Jolla Hilton.

A seagull.

That's me wearing a suit on the beach.

Driving in San Diego.

Universal Studios.

A truck caught in a fire scene in Universal Studios.

Universal Studios at night.

Hungry thrill-seekers at Six Flags.

Deja Vu!

Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles.

A news van in downtown L.A.

Don't mess with this mom!

Sunset in California.

Nevada Desert.

More Nevada.

Cruising down the state of Nevada.

Caesars Palace.

Inside a Caesars Palace Casino.

The Orleans.

The city of Las Vegas from Circus Circus.

Passing by The Bellagio.

My uncle's driveway in San Gabriel.

San Gabriel.

More San Gabriel.

Seaworld.

The typhoon Haitang that allowed us to stay a night in Taipei.

Sin City

2005-07-22T10:39:00.000+08:00

Las Vegas, 11th July to 12th July.

As we cruised down on the freeway towards LV, the scenery changed from downtown L.A's tall skyscrapers to mountains and mountains of red clay, rocks, and cactus. It was a refreshing change for one so used to living in a modern jungle made up of huge pieces of vertical slabs of concrete we call buildings. The sheer vast space where nothing separated people from the earth horizon to the sky and where one could actually watch in wonder as the night falls disrobing the stars and crescent moon in shades of blue to golden brown and dark black. A quiet sense of peace and isolation surrounds one almost instantly.

We made a stopover at the town of Barstow for toilet breaks and to rest our drivers. The scenery was an appreciated treat from all of nature's goodness. In MacDonald's we met an eccentric American artist who didn't have a clue where Indonesia and Singapore was. This was despite the fact that his wife is Thai. (Just in case you don't know where Thailand is, it is located north to Malaysia. And Singapore is at the foot of Malaysia.) Well, he still draws a pretty good caricature. And I smiled with gladness to be able to be in a retreat, a place where nobody knows who you are, and nobody cares what you do.

And our troops moved on. After driving for 4 hours from L.A, we were met with a warm reception by the state of Nevada with the sight of a few casino hotels forming lines on both sides of the main road. Casino entertainment, David Copperfield magic shows, Celine Dion, Cirque du Soleil performances and adult shows greeted us from the billboards. The city doesn't pull any punches. Only first class acts here, naturally since they draw in the biggest tourism dollars.

The city of Las Vegas in the daytime (the day is long in California, till about 8.30 pm evening when darkness sets in) is really hot. It is hotter than L.A in the summer and colder in the winter. It's only 107 degree Farenheits, someone made a wisecrack to me. Only 107?! It was 90 back in L.A. And the 17 degree Farenheit difference felt way hotter to me then. Well, the next day, it went up to 115.

At night, the city really comes alive like a beast awakened from a deep slumber. We chose to stay at Circus Circus partly because it has family entertainment like rides, carnival games, and other stuff the kids, my little cousins can enjoy. And mostly because it is located right on the Strip, the main stretch of road where most of the major casino hotels are situated. While the kids are set loose to shoot at the carnival games, and claim their stuffed toy prizes, I went out for a walk on the Strip.

These casino hotels are huge by normal standards. A regular five star hotel is usually one huge building with lots of facilities like swimming pools etc. A Las Vegas hotel is usually made up of two, or three, or four buildings (like Caesars Palace). Each hotel is built like an entire city. They never want you to get out. Within the hotels, there are amusement parks, game carnivals, theatres, cinemas, bowling alleys (there's a 80 lane one in The Orleans), shopping malls (A huge one, The Forum Shops in Caesars Palace), restaurants and cafes in addition to the main draw - the casinos.

As I strolled down The Strip from Circus Circus towards The Bellagio (about The Bellagio, it is the yardstick used to measure luxury in Las Vegas. This impressive hotel is also captured on film in the popular 2001 Korean drama The Hotelier, starring Bae Yong Jun) There are free live shows outside some of the hotels like The Mirage's Volcano and Treasure Island's Sirens. There are huge crowds forming outside Treasure Island. So I continued walking. Among the shows I've watched so far, my favourite is the fountains at The Bellagio :)

Aside from the casinos, I can see why the city is also known as Sin City. Back in L.A, you'd have these newspaper pickup tin boxes on the streets, where you can pick up a discount coupon booklet, or classifieds for free, or a newspaper for fifty cents. In L.V, you have the same newspaper pickup tin boxes, except they store adult personals. Adult business is huge business in Vegas. Vice businesses are huge and thriving. The stocks of a collection of companies engaging in vice (like tobacco and gambling) has been bought by specialized mutual funds investing in these newly popularised business sectors. They are currently doing predicably well too.

At about 2am I went to a casino near Circus Circus to grab a hot dog for 99c, and a Heineken for 99c. Cheaper than a bottle of mineral water. The thing is, in the US, although the cost of things are relatively higher due to the dollar, however if you know where to look for bargains, you can get by comfortably. Asians mostly have this sixth sense for value. There are factory outlets that have clearance sales that'd sell a book originally selling at US$17.49, at US$4.99. Once I went a book closeout in L.A and bought 8 books at prices below half of what they'd cost in Singapore. And the same goes for clothes and food items. In fact I know of an enterprising friend of my 6th uncle that exports electronic items to Indonesia. These items are brand new and they are free. Thanks to coupons. Except for the cost of shipping, everything else is pure profit.

Gambling is everywhere in Vegas. From the moment one touched down at the city airport, one'd see slot machines right at the airport. And when you needed to pump gas at the gas station, there were jackpot machines in the convenience store at the gas station.

Away from bright lights and music of The Strip where it forms the main driver of the Las Vegas economy, back in downtown LV, things are thankfully normal. There are skyscrapers and roads. People bustling to ride the monorail get to their offices. At daytime in downtown, The Strip's presence is hardly felt, almost as if it is located on the opposite corner of the planet. After work, people drove back to their houses in the outskirts of downtown and live their lives in their residential communities.

Just another day in Las Vegas.

City of Angels

2005-07-22T09:37:00.000+08:00

Los Angeles, 8th July to 10th July.

Million Dollar Baby. Racing Stripes. A Love Song for Bobby Long, starring the talented Scarlett Johansson. These are some of the full featured films that kept me company on a 15 hour flight from Singapore-to-Taipei-to-Los Angeles. Taipei will always have a place in my heart :) On my transit flight to Taiwan, I had the pleasure of getting to know the person seated to my right. A fellow Indonesian-Chinese who is also a Taiwan citizen, by means of birth. She's staying in Taiwan with an elder brother, who has migrated to Taiwan earlier. The rest of her family will move there over the next 2 years after her younger brothers complete their studies.

This is surprising since Indonesian-Chinese traditionally aren't very fluent with Mandarin. Luckily however, Taiwanese speak 'Tai Wan Hua', their own local dialect, which is also known as Hokkien. Although my ancestors are Hokkien, unfortunately I can't speak a word of it, nor understand it. This leads me to conclude that Indonesian-Chinese, and in general asians from all corners of the globe are willing to move out of their comfort zone to secure a better life for themselves and their families. Survivors. Which is how they got to where they were in the first place.

The second person I had the pleasure of getting to know also happens to have sat on my right too. This time, on the flight to L.A. Michelle was on her way home after a six month Taiwan teaching stint. Read her blog for a taste of Taiwan. I admire her courage. A caucasian American from Dallas, Texas with the guts to live in a foreign country without being able to speak the language of choice for that country. Mandarin, Taiwan. It takes a chance meeting like this to realise what a truly connected and global world we all live in.

There were long queues at the check-in US customs, which were bent at corners to accomodate everyone, resembling a few pythons venturing into an opening. They've certainly become more vigilant since 911. Everyone that enters the US had his fingerprint and his retina scanned. I found Latin Americans generally tend to be more easy-going and relaxed, while Asians more serious and strict, seeing how much faster my Latino Customs officer cleared me, in comparison with the Asian officer at the adjacent counter. 2 hours from the moment we stepped out of our plane, we stepped out into the city.

Los Angeles, like Taipei, has a nice dry humidity. No one perspires easily. Although it's summertime with temperature reaching 90 degrees Farenheit, the wind is cold. And that makes for all the difference - summertime or not. When the cool wind blows at you, the feeling 'fantastic' simply understates.

We drove through Downtown L.A, where they had communities of Latin Americans, Koreans, Japanese stores, and of course, Chinatown, before reaching my uncle's place in outskirt San Gabriel. After we had our luggage unloaded, we went to the nearby malls Macy's, Nordstrom and Sear's. The one thing I've noticed is the vastness of space around. For example, in Singapore, our toilet is just like a HDB flat, lots of cells and each cell is right beside each other. The L.A toilet is actually just one unisex restroom, unlike the toilet-complex of cubicles that makes up the Singapore toilet. The L.A equivalent encompasses of one sitting toilet bowl; two urinals, the higher one for the adult and the lower one for the child; and two wash basins - all in the same room. It takes up roughly the same floor space as its Singapore cousin. Now that is certainly personal space and privacy. Since then, I've seen more multi-cubicle restrooms, however this example still serves as a piece of the overall picture.

It is in one of the malls that I realized that my mobile phone date and time had been fully adjusted to the L.A time and date, which is about 15 hours behind Singapore time. GSM auto-roaming easily took care of that. Amazing what technology can do.

That night my cousin Mike and I had a very interesting conversation on heritage. How would you describe yourself? An Indonesian-Chinese who lives in the US or an American-Chinese who has Indonesian heritage? He considers himself an American-Chinese now who just has Indonesian-Chinese lineage. The bold decision by his father, my uncle to stay in the US after his Masters programme has changed his whole family lineage. His future children and grandchildren will be American-Chinese. That's how it all started. My maternal grandfather came to Jakarta, Indonesia from Fujian, China. With his bare hands, he carved out a living, and a successful one. Most of his life was spent in Indonesia, so he became Indonesian Chinese. Eventually, he met a fellow Indonesian Chinese girl in Jakarta and started a family. His children and grandchildren are Indonesian Chinese effectively with most unable to speak a decent mandarin and Hokkien, the local province dialect in Fujian. From the moment he decided to stay in Jakarta, the future and history, culture and identity of his and his decendants had been re-written.

So the evolution continues for an offshoot branch of the main Indonesian-Chinese tree, the evolution to American Chinese. The American way of life, the way they form thoughts and speak, and to the way they dish out wisecracks to make an interesting point, and how they made themselves at ease, to the way they basically embrace life in general. Another offshoot branch of the tree has evolved into Singaporean-Chinese, which is my own nucleus family. My second brother is very much the Singaporean, while retaining little of his Indonesian ways. The spread of Singaporean culture in my third brother isn't so fast. The circle of friends he keeps are mostly Indonesian-Chinese, so he still lives and breathes The Jakarta Way. The sister has been in L.A for the past one year now, and she prefers to be in L.A than in Singapore, where she stayed for a few years before the move. My 6th aunt mentioned a particular catchphrase when we picked her up from the airport a few days later. She lived in L.A for 6 years before being called back to Jakarta reluctantly to take over her own family business: once you've lived in L.A, Always L.A.

So we drove down to San Diego where the wedding was held. Managed to find the Hilton at La Jolla without much trouble. A really nice hotel. Awesome beach. And cousin Maya married Bobby, an American-Chinese whose parents originated from Shanghai. They had started a new chapter in their lives. One thing is for sure - since they were brought up with Asian values, and culture, this ensures that although they operate in an American manner, they are also Asian, thanks to the strong set of core values that drives them. This is one of those things that lets you witness how the influence of family keeps a person's feet firmly grounded.

You only live once. The things you do today will shape your future and leave your mark on the pages of history. So live fully, and don't leave behind any regrets later.

World's Most Expensive Cities

2005-06-30T23:54:00.000+08:00

Have you ever wondered how Singapore would score on the list?

Read this:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/21/pf/costliest_cities/index.htm

The surprising thing is Jakarta (#71) is actually more expensive to live in than Washington (#78), Boston (#79), Toronto (#82) and Brisbane (#84)!

Some food for thought.

Sydney vs Melbourne

2005-06-29T16:41:00.000+08:00

Interesting drive we had last night. Leon's going to Melbourne on 27th July. Speaking of Melbourne, Vivian has been in Sydney for the last 2 years and she prefers Sydney to Melbourne - this is a fellow Indonesian who has quickly adapted to life in Oz ;) Henny also prefers Melbourne. Emily -> Melbourne. Matt -> Melbourne. I've a distant relative that stays in Sydney. Had a chat with some Australians on EFNet earlier this afternoon and learnt that this is quite the sensitive topic. Folks from these two cities feel strongly for their city, with a few exceptions. Aahh Aussie pride ;)

I shall have to make a trip there one fine day to see for myself. Probably beginning of next year. Ho ho ho! Another excuse for a holiday.

Finished registering my private limited company today. Took less than 2 hours including waiting time. All neatly done online. The wonder of technology! Emily gave me a checklist of items for my PR application today. This is very handy.

Yes, and today is yet another productive day. I deserve to get rewarded.

With this:

This Canon Powershot A510 is currently on sale from a usual of $449 to $399! Seems like a good deal to me. And there's still time. It's a choice between the A510 and the Olympus C170 which is at $299 (till 30 June, tomorrow!).

The C170:

Sigh. Decisions. Oh decisions..

Back from Exhibition

2005-06-28T18:11:00.000+08:00

Just got back from an exhibition and brought back lots of contacts and business ideas. Some are pretty useful. You see, I was asked to help setup a new business here in Singapore, and after days of thinking about it and after checking out the local competition, I came to the conclusion that it is indeed do-able. Let's see how it goes :)

Today is also the day that I met The Australian PR Lady, which came highly recommended from Sim. I came back with a good impression of her. Should sign the agreement tomorrow to get my application on the June batch. Processing takes between 9-12 months, which would give me enough time to settle all my local affairs before I go.

Well the next few days should be busy days for me, since ideally I'd want to finish up all my PR paperwork before I board the plane for L.A next tuesday.

Dinnertime!

To California!

2005-06-27T18:30:00.000+08:00

I'll be going off to California this time for two weeks of fun. I'll be reaching Los Angeles on the 5th (Singapore time, and USA time 4th of July, yep, that's right..expect to see some fireworks ;P). My little cousin's getting married. This after the recent marriage of my boss, just a couple of weeks ago. Nowadays it is getting common to hear of someone getting married. Makes me feel old sometimes.

Anyways I'm looking forward to visiting my little sister in LA. Universal Studios and Disneyland, here I come! I'm also looking forward to visit my dad in San Francisco. It's been a while since I last met him.

A friend asked me to get her a bikini from Victoria's Secret. On that request, we'll see how it goes ;)

Still on the marriage issue, alot of young people nowadays are either getting married or having kids way too early. Especially noticeable are the folks in their 20s. Personally I think that if they've found their soulmate, then congratulations to them and I wish them all the best. However too many people got together, committed too soon without getting to know each another well, and without much preparation. Then later the problems start. Well there's nothing much to add on this issue. Personally I'm still enjoying the freedom of non-committal bachelorhood ;)

So remember folks, 5th to 18th July 2005 - I'm outta here!

About this Blog

2005-06-25T15:53:00.000+08:00

This blog is not a daily journal, but it contains a few snippets of events in my life. It is not an online magazine that host a collection of articles and news, although it has some current affairs information which could be of interest to readers. It is not a political commentary, although it could be possible that sometimes political issues could be pop up in a Mizore article.

This blog is simply a collection of thoughts, musings and events that I, the author put up for me to read. I write simply as a means to organise my thoughts and to trace my growth as a person over time. I write whenever I have the time and whenever I get inspired to write.

Mizore means falling raindrops that has become ice. The smooth sleet found on rooftops and on the ground in wintertime. It too has evolved from water vapour to rain drops to snow and ice.

All comments and feedback are welcome.