Thursday, August 7, 2008

Today in History: Hiroshima Atomic Bombing

Today marks the 63rd anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, which was also the mark of the ending of WW2. As a results hundreds of thousands of people have died and suffered from the radiation of the bomb.

For some it was the right thing to do ... to be more accurate, it was the right thing to do at that moment in time ... However, war is never right... Killing is never right... but I do understand that it may be the right thing to do at that moment in time. Things or decisions would have been different now.

For some, it was not the right thing to do. It was too cruel. There has to be another way to end the war.

But who are we to judge. We were not in their shoes at that time. I wasn't even born yet. I guess we shouldn't get too uptight over the past but to learn from it. That's why we learn history. That's why we have these type of memorial dates. To remind us not to repeat the same mistake.

In any war, its always cruel. Perhaps we can never understand what our grandparents went through at that time but we can perhaps understand why the feel that way about the war. At time moment, was are being fought in other places like the middle east. Though it doesn't affect us directly but we can see the effects of it from a different point of view. Its just not right. However, the magnitude may not be as much as those who are affected directly. But then again, its not an excuse to forget.

After so many years, I guess the world is beginning to forget the importance of peace. The world is beginning to less appreciate peace. But I do hope we do not need another Hiroshima to remind us of peace.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

雨 です か

今日やっと雨が降った。最近いつも暑いでしょう。たぶん今夏かもしれないし。でもマレーシアいつも夏じゃないか。

僕雨が好きです。天気が涼しいしときどき風があるし。いい感じでしょう。

でもだいたい人は雨が好きじゃない。たぶん嫌いかもしれない。

Haze-o-meter

Recently, there was a fuss about the return of the annual HAZE in KL and some parts of peninsula Malaysia. This time of the year, everyone is expecting it as its the yearly practice of the traditional farmers in Indonesia to burn up barren lands for farming purposes. Its actually a good way to cultivate the land as the burnt up ashes and all will act as fertilizers for the plants but of course the bad thing is the fire and smoke ... lots of smoke. As a result ... HAZE ...

anywaz... the haze issue has become such a norm recently that we have come to be prepared for it. Recently the DOE have been monitoring the air quality and also the so called "hot spots" in the country as well as Indonesia. Well, thats the scientific part of the measurement.

For ordinary people like us... we have the haze-o-meter. Actually its our nose, and maybe for some people, it would be their eyes. Usually as the air quality depreciates as the result of haze, some people will start to get nose irritation, sneezing and the accumulation of extra BOOGEY (stuffs in your nose)... haha...
Visibility will drop, and some may even have watery eyes as the result of the irritation.

In more serious cases like mine, you will have something called cynusitis (dunno how u spell it) ... its a more severe nose irritation.. well not actually the nose but its related i guess ... you see ... your nose is actually connected to a chamber above your eyebrow... the function i dunno .. just that its there and its connected ... people have cynus problems is because of the fluid from your nose moving to the chamber or something like that ... causing discomfort and all

During the haze .. air quality is bad, so the problem arises when there is an infection in the chamber because the dirt and floating around in the air. Thus causing the a really shitty headache .. specifically above the eyebrow ... and its really a shitty pain ... the pain can so bad that i had to take pain killers ... haha...

anywaz ... thats my version the the haze-o-meter ... as compared to the DOE's high tech gadgets ... haha

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Japanese Flim Festival - Movie : Fourteen

This is a typical stunt that you should not pull if you cannot take the consequences.... haha...

Recently GSC had the Japanese Film Festival thing where they have a few seleceted japanese movies showing. Of course, since its a sponsored event, the tickets are cheap.. only RM5 as compared to your usual RM10...

anywaz ... as i was saying .. its a stunt as in i have no idea what the movie is about and its just a random selection... the movie was FOURTEEN ...

as the name and picture suggest.. its about the life and 14 year old students ... so i told myself ... should be an ok movie i guess ... worst case is that i probably just see lots of 14 years old girls in sailor uniform ... which is not bad actually ... hahaha ... and boy was i in for a surprise ...

the movie is basically about the problems faced by japanese 14 year olds .. in school and family ... at that age .. peer pressure ... education ... puberty .. everything bundled up ...

there is actually 2 parts in the story line ... one is the things affecting the current 14 year old students and the other is adults who are affected by the things that had happened when they were 14 ...

i agree that the idea of the story is good ... it does make you think of the importance of noticing these issues ... for those who have children reaching such an age ..

BUT ... the way the director put it ... seems more like a japanese horror movie ... a very ssssllllooooowwwww ... japanese horror movie ... seriously .. the movie is really draggy and at times... dunno whats the point of having certain scenes ... and it was not surprising that some of the audiences left half way through the show ...

i dun think words can actually decribe the movie ... well.. at least with my limited vocabulary ... but its just one of those movies that can be really difficult to digest ...

therefore ... be prepared if you want to watch this movie ... if u are brave enough ... if not i would recommend Ultraman Mebius and Ultraman Brothers ... its light and easy ... i think ...

Friday, July 18, 2008

the recent Bon Odori

OK... seems like its been a very very time since i've written something... really need to put more effort in it .. haha...

anywaz ... today its about the recent Bon Odori festival .. BO for short... ermm,... i think i'll stick with Bon Odori ... haha...

well... it was actually my first time going to the festival ... for those who do not have any idea what Bon Odori is... its actually a japanese festival and i think it has something like a ghost festival ... but anyway ... the one we have over here in Malaysia is of a much smaller scale and its not so much about the ghost festival but as a medium to understand more about the japanese culture....

basically there's lots of stalls selling japanese food and drinks .. and some u can't normally find around town ... although the price may be a little on the high side ... alcohol is cheaper though... haha... helped myself to a couple of japanese sake too... =)

of course the highlight of the event was the cultural dances ... some done by the japanese students over here or by the members of various japanese cultural clubs in the country... also there are sessions whereby visitor participation is welcomed ...

another highlight would be the people participating in the festival ... mostly are by standers like myself... haha... but some really put alot of effort in it ... i mean... they really dress up to the occasion .. in traditional japanese dresses... i know that these traditional dresses don't come cheap ... and of course japanese who are residing here would come in their traditional wear as well...

its good to see people willing to accept and understand other nations or races culture ... through understanding then u can really learn to respect the differences .. this is something the world is really lacking right now ... lots of dispute due to lack of understanding and all ... kinda sad when u think about it though ...

well... anywaz ... it was good fun ... an eye opener ... given that is was my first time going to such a festival ... perhaps next year i will be more prepared and can really enjoy the festival even more...

Monday, April 7, 2008

400,000 graduates choose to be unemployed

I just heard the news on radio that a total of 400,000 graduates choose to be unemployed. Meaning they do not want to get a job ... WOW! .. that's a lot of people ... then i realized no wonder i couldn't hire people these days .. because they do not want to work ... DUH!



well... they were discussions on the radio on why is this tragic thing happening... what has happened to the younger generations and all ... and personally i think its tragic ... and of course everyone is to take responsibility on this ... I dont feel that its 100% their fault that they have this mentality ... I think they should have the brains to think outside the box and realize that reality is the most cruel thing you can ever imagine ...

lets look at the factors

Amongst the reason discussed was that they are spoilt by the parents... to a certain extent this is very true ... these days the children tend to be more pampered and thus allowing them to do things that were seemed unimaginable many years back i.e. being a bump at home ... haha ... well... if you look at the ratio of children these days and also the quality of life ... you'll notice that most families these days are relative small in size ... with 2 to 3 kids. And parents these days can afford to "keep" one or two unemployed kids at home ... they do not need their children to bring money home.

Then there is education factor. Having a graduate degree these days is no more a big deal. Jobs that can bo done by someone with high school education, now require a graudate degree. In this sense, perhaps there is a certain degree of pride involve. Like I said... reality may not be as great as everyone has hoped it would be.

To make it worst, there is the exposure to loads of information provided by the internet ... you see cases where graduates earning millions through it or home based businesses.. Bill Gates didnt even graudate and yet he's one of the riches man in the world, creaters of Yahoo!, Google and Facebook are all billionaires in their 20s. I mean they are idols in this information age. Thus everyone wants to be like them... and like all cases they fail to see the millions of people who had failed miserably walking the same type of route ... Having ambition is a good thing ... I'm an ambitious person myself but ambition and ignorance are difficult to differentiate ... everyone wants to get rich fast... everyone wants to retire young... but bare in mind that there is only 1 Bill Gates ... what will happen to the remaining 399,999? and he is still working eventhough he doesn't need to ...

Of course this is not a Malaysian problem, other countries also have this issue. Countries like Japan, Korea and Hong Kong have been having these issues for many years. Younger generations prefer a more laid back lifestyle as compared to the working hectic life we are having now. However, they smart enough to realize that work is important. They may fancy the laidback life but also they work part time or free lance jobs for extra income. In terms of being ambitious they may not be all that great but at least they are contributing to the economy.

The solution? Well, there is no fool proof solution I guess. Its not that the country cannot provide jobs but its the workforce that are refusing to take up the job. It would take extreme factors like parents kicking out their children.. haha... not many things will make them change their mentality and contribute to the work force.

So don't start complaining when you see the numbers of foreign workers increasing cause somebody has to do the job. Somebody has to contribute to the economy and move the chain of workforces, that in return provide jobs for their parents who then provide food on their table. Something which they may think falls from the sky

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

the SHUTTER

wel... i went and watched the movie "the shutter" yesterday ... and it was not bad actually ... if you have watched the original thai version .. this english version is quite entertaining in its own way ...

As compared to the recent Asian horror movies cross over ... this is really good actually ... the recent "the grudge", "the ring", "the eye" and "one missed call" .. are really quite disappointing .. the asian to hollywood transition was not good at all ... to some extent its was just like the english version from the orginal script ... thus in some ways ... the horror parts and the flow of the movie doesn't really click ... well... not all are unsuccessful ... if you can remember.. a few years back there was a hollywood version of "dark water" .. i think that was quite good ... honestly .. you really need to watch both versions to be able to compare them ideally ...

well.. back to "the shutter" ... the director used a different approach ... the intial concept remained the same i.e able to take pictures of spirits through cameras, the main plot was also the same but the approach and unveiling of the story was totally different from the original asian, or rather thai version. So it was really something different eventhough i have watched and loved the original version. If you have watched the original version, you may find some similarities in the in this one .. mostly the horror scenes .. so dun expect to get frightened out of your pants in this one .. other than that ... its ok .. so i do recommend this movie to anyone who is interested ...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

new sets of glasses

yesterday little purchase was out of the blue ... actually it was my friends who were getting new prescription glasses .. i just happen to show up ...

anywaz .. i also wanted to get my eyes checked cause recently my left eye is not functioning that well

my case is of of the rare cases i presume ... instead of your normal short sighted and long sighted ... i have both ... one on each eye .. there is actually a jargon to describe it.. but heck i forgot what its called ...

basically is that my right eye is short sighted and my left eye is long sighted ... yeah .. i had the 2 in 1 package ... haha

well anyway my power increased on both sides a little ... got a new set of glasses

its funny that prescription glasses are suppose to better our vision but most of us have our power increase year on year ... im not saying that glasses are evil or something ... over the years it has helped improve the lifes of millions of people ... i just find it ironic that it turned out this way. Even the latest technology of vision correction suffers the same fate ... As you may already know.. there is a permanent way to improve your vision and removing the need for precription glasses .. that is through laser eye correction ... basically is that they use laser to burn and remove the damaged cells on your retina and thus allowing the new cells to emerge and function .. like i said its not completely fool proof ... what i heard was that if the process was not done correctly ... you may end up on the other side of the table ...

lets say if you have short sighted and went for a laser correction ... there is a possibility that after the process.. you may end up being long sighted ...

well... everything has its risk i guess

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

wake up and smell the rain

this morning when i woke up... it was raining ... really sets up the mood for the day ... i.e lazy and everything is slow motion ... its funny how the weather affects you whether you like it or not

well.. personally i kinda like the rain .. or rather the smell of rain.. if you'd noticed, the rain has a certain distinct smell.. before and after it rains ... basically its just the reaction of the rain affecting its surroundings .. if its on the field, u will notice a certain greeny earthy smell and if its by the road or something .. its like heated tar or hot pan

dunno whether if u've noticed.. whenever you are in a shopping mall or something .. and out of a sudden you see alot of people coming into the mall .. there is a 99% probability that its raining outside ... haha

anywaz ... i guess the weather affects people differently ... honestly i like the rainy weather very much .. more than hot sunny days ... of course some people don't ..

its ironic when people like us who live in hot countries where the weather is hot and humid all year round are always hoping for 4 season weathers with snow and all.. and on the other end people who live in cold countries just love the warm weather here ...

as for me .. i think it would be more interesting if we had 4 seasons ... you get to see the changes in the environment and the things around it ... it should be very refreshing each time ... also u can plan for diffrent activities for each season .. going to the beach on summer... hiking and ll during spring ... skiing during winter ...furthermore .. you can have different sets of clothing for each season ...

well... given that we do not have these over here ... all there is is to appreciate the rain and the sun

Monday, March 17, 2008

5 minutes snooze

like most of us ... i have to wake up in the morning to work .. everyone does .. either for work or school ...

and like most of us .. its very difficult to wake up in the mornings .. especially if u slept really late the previous night ... thus it takes alot of effort to wake up in the morning ... for work or school

then someone had to invent the snooze button in alarm clocks ... i can understand the function of snoozing cause it really the best thing u can ever imagine in the mornings... having an extra 5 minutes to snooze is like heavens gift ... BUT 5 minutes is never enough ... then you snooze again for another 5 minutes ... and that is also not enough .. in fact they should have a snooze for half an hour ... that would be great .. but of course you would be really late too ... haha

anywaz .. i was having the same dilemma ... this morning i woke up earlier than usual cause i wanted to go for a jog before going to work .. and of course the wonderful snooze button was the highlight this morning ... used it couple of times myself

then i was wondering ... is the snooze button good or bad ... when u set an alarm in the first place ... means that u want to wake up at that time .. perhaps some people will have the habit of setting the time earlier to add in some extra snooze time .. but in general .. when u set the time at 6am means you want to wake up at 6am plus minus ... if you do not have the snooze option, you will have to wake up whether you like it or not ...

however, with the snooze button, you know that the alarm will ring again in the next 5 minutes and therefore, you will want stay in bed.. even for the mere 5 minutes which is rather insignificant ... and 5 minutes becomes 10 and then 15 and then.. you are LATE ... too bad

perhaps some have benefited from the snooze button with the extra 5 minutes of nap time but im sure there are those who have fallen victim to the SNOOZE button

anywaz.. good luck waking up the next morning ...

a new start

this is actually my first time putting up a blog. Well i've been blogging at other sites but this is my first very own blog site, so to speak. anywaz i thought that it might be good to have a brief introduction.

first perhaps a short introduction about myself. I guess u can say that im a normal person.. haha... im fun and adventureous and not afraid to try new and exciting stuffs ... be it skydiving, putting weird stuffs into my mouth or driving 200km for a cup of coffee ... of course, there is a fine line between adventureous and absolute insanity.

Speaking of coffee... im extremely fond of coffee ... its probably the best drink ever created, second to alcohol ... haha... yes i enjoy drinking too ...

i like japanese culture and stuffs .. and is a fan of japanese animation. Like all anime fans ... currently i'm into BLEACH and NARUTO .. as well as a couple of others.. which are too many to name... =)

in terms of music... i prefer pop rock or just rock ... they are cool ... but kinda into the asian side .. like japanese and chinese .. well.. thats another story to tell ...

anywaz... i guess this a brief enough introduction and hopefully ... i'll post more later on