keeping treasured memories private

Wow, it's been 3 years since my last post. Not that I will be blogging actively from now on. Nope. In the past 3 years, I learnt to treasure my privacy a great deal more. My thoughts & the things going on in my life shall be kept offline. Other than these, I don't think I have topics/materials sufficiently interesting for others to follow. So, let's see when I will post something again...

Melaka

I have been very fortunate to be able to visit one of the cultural heritage in historical city Malacca. Back in 2009 Chinese New Year, me and 3 other friends (Jacqueline, Joan and Martin) went down to Malacca to visit Jacq's best friend, Jas. Martin is a Malaccan boy but the rest of us can't possibly bunk into his parents' house near Gajah Berang. No fret cuz Jas' family stays in a house in the middle of Malacca with lots of rooms. Sap sap sui for her family to accommodate us. As sign of gratitude and in the spirit of CNY, we brought mandarin oranges & Ipoh biscuits for Jas' family. During one of the days, Jas brought us to tour her ancestral house (rumah ah bu). The ancestral house is just located next to and is accessible from their current residence via a connecting passage.

Standing on an interior balcony

The interior was very old school Chinese mansion. There were quite a few levels up. Of course we went all the way up to the top balcony. We could see almost the whole Malacca city from there. Tourists on the streets were looking at us in the balcony, wondering how on earth we got there. Hey, it's our friend's ancestral house lah...

 



The ground floor had an arched opening where the evening sun was shining in. It was sooo suitable to take photos of our silhouttes.

Best friends forever!

Martin and Joan

Martin, me, Jacq and Joan

 And then Jas showed us the front of the rumah ah bu. Being in the mansion is an unforgettably great experience.

In the front compound of the Chee Mansion

Jas told us then that the mansion would undergo restoration works in the interior. Recently while visiting Jacq and me, she mentioned that the works have been completed. Jacq has gotten Jas' permission to use the ancestral house for pre-wedding photoshoot. I can't wait...

Top 30 Most Significant Indie Films

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Amadeus, Gandhi, Fargo and The Hurt Locker were among the movies in the list of 30 Most Significant Independent Films.
They were the boxbusters in the past three decades, chosen by the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA).

"From Oscar winners to controversial and visionary game-changers, independent films have shaped and defined the film industry and popular culture over the last 30 years," said IFTA Chairman Lloyd Kaufman.
The non-profit trade organisation released the list to mark its 30th anniversary. The list was made by its 27-member Board of Directors. The chosen films are independently financed releases that were produced worldwide.

The IFTA board selected 10 films from each of the past three decades, considering a variety of factors, including features that introduced new cinematic styles; garnered awards; achieved critical acclaim; impact on notable producers, directors or actors; or had other standout qualities.

The IFTA and American Cinematheque will begin a screening series featuring the honorees. The series will begin Sept. 29 with a screening of My Left Foot, followed by a discussion with director Jim Sheridan. The acclaimed 1989 Irish film won two Oscars for Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Supporting Actress (Brenda Fricker).

According to the group, the most significant films by decade are:

1980s: Amadeus, Blue Velvet, Dances With Wolves, Das Boot, Gandhi, My Left Foot, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Platoon, Sex, Lies and Videotape, The Terminator;

1990s: Braveheart, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Fargo, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Life Is Beautiful, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, The Silence of the Lambs, The Usual Suspects, Where the Day Takes You;

2000s: Brokeback Mountain, Cras, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Juno, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Million Dollar Baby, Monster, The Pianist and Slumdog Millionaire.

Honorable mentions were given to: The Killing Fields, The Last Emperor, The Toxic Avenger, Basic Instinct, Good Will Hunting, Trainspotting, Bowling for Columbine, Memento and Twilight.

Source: Xinhua news agency

Back For Good

Wow it's been almost a year and a half since my last post. It was in the middle of the Perak froggie fiasco when somehow I stopped having the inspiration to write. This blog was effectively being put into a time capsule, waiting to be re-opened in the future. The said future is now. Haha

So many things had transpired during these 18 months. To recall everything would take too long. Perhaps I'll insert some recollections into future posts whenever possible. Some of the highlights were Pangkor trip, Bangkok trip, the dissolution of Six Sigma team, purchase of my first property (yay!), my best mate's visit to Malaysia, Redang trip and most recently...me quitting Prudential!!!Never say never, because Take That is reuniting as we speak, haha. Quoting the last line of their famous song:

"I guess now it's time, but you came back for good....."

Enemies of the state

Holy moly!!! The political storm in my home state, Perak has been the talk of town over the past 2 weeks. It all began with the defection of the Bota assemblyman from BN to PR (which now looking back in hindsight, could be a decoy planted by BN). BN responded by alleging that 2 assemblypersons would defect from PR to BN (now revealed to be the Behrang & Changkat Jering reps earlier tainted with corruption allegations by BN).

Next, Tajol Rosli no longer is the Perak Umno chief. Guess who assumed the post? Our PM-in-waiting... (definitely not PM-elect, mind you!)

Then a PR guy came out with a statutory declaration stating that after the last general elections, he was brought before the DPM and offered huge sums to defect to BN. A former deputy minister responded in defence of the DPM by saying there was no money involved. Then the state assembly speaker received undated letters signed by the two, purporting that they wished to get out of their political party. The Election Commission looked at the letters and announced that there's no need for a by-election. Soon, the Bota rep decided to go back BN again.

However, the REAL bomb......was the betrayal of the Jelapang assemblywoman! The female rep went MIA and made futile efforts to refute her eventual exit from DAP.

Right now PR are level with BN with 28 seats each, but BN claimed to have the support of the 4 so-called "independent" flers. In other words, PR no longer commands the majority and it's up to Sultan Azlan Shah to consent the dissolvement of the state assembly or let BN assume office.

As expected, His Majesty didn't want to trigger any snap elections but he advised the chief minister of the PR government, Nizar, to step down together with his cabinet. Nizar is standing firm not to resign. Now the government offices are surrounded by the Federal Reserve Unit.

DRAMATIC, man!!!!

Najib is smiling triumphantly. He's truly in good spirits.

The Bota rep is clearly feeling uncomfortable and out of place.

The Changkat Jering & Behrang reps were genuinely happy too. Are their pockets bulkier now? Who knows...

Lastly, another gloomy person. GUILTY is written all over her face.

"Ampun Dato' Seri...beribu-ribu ampun"

Hail Malaysia's new "royalty"!!! His father took over the country's helm from Tunku Abdul Rahman, thereby eliminating the last remnants of political power amongst the Malay royalty.

Smile

(from an old Maybank advert, I think)

A smile is quite a funny thing
It lightens up your face
And when it's gone you'll never find
Its secret hiding place
Far more wonderful it is
To see what smile can do
You smile at me
I smile at you
And so one smile makes two

Smile
Smile
It isn't hard to do
Smile for a while
And let one smile catch two...

Smile
Smile
The magic shining through
Smile from your heart
And the world smiles with you...

Bahasa version:

Senyum Seindah Suria,
Yang membawa cahya,
Senyumlah dari hati,
Duniamu berseri,

Senyum umpama impian,
Dalam kehidupan,
Kau tersenyum ku tersenyum
Kemesraan menguntum...

Senyum..kepada semua,
Senyumanmu amatlah berharga
Senyum..umpama titian
Dengan senyuman terjalinlah ikatan...

Blowjob & bungee-jumping

Wow it's been 2 months ++ since my last post. To Jerine & Michael, thanx for appreciating my parody of Malaysian leaders using the "Why did the chicken cross the road?" joke. I've got another one...but it's dirty, haha. Here it goes...

Q: What is the similarity between getting blowjob from a granny and bungee-jumping?
A: It feels great in both cases...but for goodness' sake, NEVER EVER look down!