!!!Watch this space!!!
(Aindhy's commitment to re-vitalising the blog... Ramazaan's not going to help... but I will prevail... hopefully....)

!!!This space for rent!!!

(since Aindhy seems to have given up blogging)

In the words of Sting...

yea... I'm always stealing...

'Everybody's got to leave the darkness sometime'

Happy days... OH happy, happy days :) ...

Oh and Pete (thanks for the boost by the way)... it's just one of those things... Just ask Timber Rabbit!

Can we be telepathic in our need to be miserable?


Are we? I realise I’ve been in a bit of a rut the past few days… life’s been sort of in limbo… funny… emails blogs and blog comments tell me that a lot of you are too… it’s hard… you guys deserve to be happy… or at least happier… What would happen if we all decided to be happy at the same moment? Like our frustrations... would it carry?

I know it’s not that simple… to dig ourselves out... and most times you don’t even want to try… I can take a bit of depression… that’s when I’m most creative… I think… but… can’t stay in the darkness all the time… can’t take it… especially when I know that I won't be able to reach out to you with something positive... maybe I’ll leave… maybe I should be listening to U2 (at least they’re more upbeat…) instead of The Police… or watching Ivan Reitman movies instead of David Lynch…

Maybe tomorrow…

If nothing else, I've been blessed with GREAT friends...

For this I am thankful!

Hey wait... someone's coming over too!!!!

My buddy, Aindhy, is now in the midst of setting me up with a good diving package during my impending trip to the Maldives...but Aindhy isn't really the issue for this posting...sorry buddy!!

So happened couple of nites ago, I was on MSN Messenger chatting to an old friend of mine... this demure indian-muslim girl named Razia...kinda exotic sounding too... *griiinnnn* (she's actually pretty) (and she'd probably kill me if she saw this posting) ...and guess what of all things... she's also going to dive in the Maldives...certification dives, of course, not like an advance participant like me... he he... *don't mean to boast, but a fact is a fact*... She's gonna put up at Giravaru Island Resort... about 15 minutes by boat from Male...

As a matter of fact, I had in previous years taunt Miss Razia to take her first breath beneath the waves... glad though that she's finally taking that plunge and gladder still that coincidentally, we could be meeting up in a month's time about 2000 miles away from home, doing the same thing...

So Aindhy, it would be great if you could arrange dive tours from 30th August to the 1st of September for me (just a couple of days will do)....BUT I have to check with Razia's itinerary to see if there's a slot in which we could dive together....will let you know soon buddy....I would be in your eternal debt and I will supply you with as much Fisherman's Friend as you like... *grin*

Damers

(Design - or lack there of - by Adam Cooper...
Do you guys need a caption for this picture?!?! Really?!?!)

Mr. Kean (can't believe I said that with a straight face... although it takes a lot of my concentration to type) was my boss in unicef for just two months... too short a time mate!

He's gone to Winchester (UK... like you didn't guess - a name like Winchester... gotta be the UK) and hopes to come back a... Master of Media and Theatre was it?

We (at unicef) miss your keen sense of humour... ok maybe more Kean than keen... (Kean = out there as apposed to keen = Sharp.. heheheh!)... we miss the singing-out-loud in the office, we miss the WHO (who?) joke, we miss the 'Hello Motto' and 'Bip bip bip beep beep bi bi bip!' ringtones... AND we missed ya at the ...RETREAT!

Good luck with the horrid weather and the fish and chips!!!!

Said a sheet of snow-white paper...

Said a sheet of snow-white paper, "Pure was I created, and pure will I remain forever.
I would rather be burnt and turn to white ashes than suffer darkness to touch me or the unclean to come near me."
The ink-bottle heard what the paper was saying, and it laughed in its dark heart; but it never dared to approach her.
And the multicoloured pencils heard her also, and they too never came near her.
And the snow-white sheet of paper did remain pure and chaste for ever, pure and chaste -- and empty.

That's Khalil Gibran speaking... I've been playing it 'safe' MOST of my life... it's second nature to most of us after a while... I read (as in reed) between Gibran's lines with my prejudices and MY perspectives...

It's weird when other people give words to those inklings in your head... and they've done it even before you existed...

It's frustrating when you realise they've done it better than you could have possibly imagined...

The new Spiderman poster...

(posted at Superhero Hype!)

(click 'NEWS' for... news... on spiderman 3)

There's even talk of... wait for it... Mysterio.... oooooooh! Yea I know... sometimes I don't do sarcasm well...

Oh yea... there's a teaser trailer for 3 at Comingsoon.net! I must say it didn't impress me that much... to be fair, neither did the 1st teaser for Spiderman (the 1st movie) - which I did like... errr that is to say... I did not like the teaser BUT I did like the movie!

And it ended...

on a sore note for Zizou... on a high note for Italy... on a good note for Germany... and a low note for Portugal!

And that's that! No football talk... errr serious football talk... on this blog for another four years!

Will they come in 3rd?

Cos if they do... they'll have to beat the host country in the process... no mean feat and almost as good as winning the World Cup...


LOVED the Portugal vs. France*** match... towards the end you got the feeling that the French outclassed the Portuguese... Their experience... not to mention the exquisite form of Zizou... showing through!!! No matter which team you are... whether you are a team genetically engineered to beat superhumans.. you respect the talent that is Zinadine Zidane (although admittedly Henry won the penalty)... Brazil found this out the hard way... their arragonce was their main downfall though... can't exactly give Zidane all the credit.

***Note: Some of you (and by that I guess I only mean Pete) may have noticed that I've been away for a bit... been a tad busy attending 2 workshops and getting food poisoning... not exactly in that order.

There's a little black spot on the sun today...

One of my favourite songs... King of Pain by the Police... In terms of lyrics... this is Sting at his best (arguably for some... most definitely for me) ... sometimes the irony makes me laugh... sometimes the darkness of this song... it draws me in... sometimes you can't escape the darkness...

King of Pain (lyrics by Sting)

There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top
There's a flag-pole rag and the wind won't stop

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top
There's a flag-pole rag and the wind won't stop

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

There's a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall
There's a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall
There's a blue whale beached by a springtide's ebb
There's a butterfly trapped in a spider's web

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain

There's a king on a throne with his eyes torn out
There's a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt
There's a rich man sleeping on a golden bed
There's a skeleton choking on a crust of bread

King of pain

There's a red fox torn by a huntsman's pack
There's a black-winged gull with a broken back
There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday

I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the queen of pain

King of pain
I'll always be king of pain...

Not to worry... I'll move on... sometime... soon...

Most BORING match in Germany 2006...

AND THE AWARD GOES TO... (without fanare) Switzerland vs. The Ukraine.

Boring... it was like watching, non stop, the second hand on a clock move.. for about 130minutes... give or take eternity - we could not, however, look away - yea... we're sorta weak willed that way!

and Predictable... right down to Shevchenko missing the first penalty kick... (no I am NOT making this up... just as Michael)

(Joalifathi Woald Cup Analyst - Ahmed Michael)

Well... it could have been worse... or could it?

On a (more?) personal note... FIFA, what're ya gonna do with Figo? Is he in? Is he out... are you gonna make him (and Portugal) pay a rediculous amount of money? What's gonna happen to him? What, WHAT, WHAT?!?!?

Disclaimer: The above statement is not meant to discredit FIFA or any of it's decisions... FIFA RULEZ... err as far as football is concerned atleast... I'm just curious as to what's to become of Portugal... and you all know I'm not a patient man... so FIFA: OUT WITH IT PEOPLE!!!

and by the way... while we're on the subject... for those of you who don't know yet:

Check out the 'Fan of the match' award on the FIFA World Cup website... yea I meant FAN not MAN - nice idea FIFA...

(One of many to win the FIFA Fan of the Match - Daina Zagata)

verrrrry nice idea!

Portugal WIN!!!!


Going up against England in the quater finals... Key players on suspension... the drama continues... I LOVE this... err... the drama... not the key players on suspension - which just plain sucks!!! ok ok... hehe there were times during the Portugal vs. Netherland that I was as nervous as BOTH the coaches.... COMBINED!

hmmm... lucky England! BUT it's against England vs. Portugal - I'm hoping for Protugal to outclass England :D

mmm... but with Figo (maybe... probably... highly likely) gone... and with what happened to Chritiano Ronaldo... and Deco... MAAAaaan! Still...

OK ok... gotta go sleep... gotta get to work this morning... yes work!

YEA! Portugal WIN!!!! Gonna be watching them play England... probably... or who am I kidding... WILL BE on pins and needles!

AAAaaaarrrrggGH!

I HATE lending books and DVDs – the ones you cherish Always seem never to return! :(

Green Lantern: Rebirth (Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Ethan Van Sciver)
Borrowed, overdue and much cherished! Hal Jordan's back... He's BACK I tell you and the story is moving and exciting and may be lost to me FOREVER! I exaggerate AND...

I’d swear – but my parents raised a more cautious fool… I meant polite...

BUT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

STILL PISSED!

Yay! Japan scores against Brazil...

Crap! Brazil are gonna win it... AGAIN! OK... I do realise I was hoping against hope... but seriously FIFA should just NOT hold the World Cup and give them the trophy...

'OK Aindhy... get a grip... Portugal still have a chance... so does Spain... but the way the Brazilians played last night... ALL HOPE IS LOST!!!' ... Hehehehe... well not really... but they did do a good job didn't they... some really good goals... even the Japanese goa had class...

On a more surprising note... the Socceroos (err... the Australians) make it to the round of 16... And NO I wasn't hallucinating! Great job... played their guts out and won!

Bring on the round of 16!.. err after tonight's 'fixtures'.

The new Superman Returns Poster...

is visually (verrrry) stunning...


and there's also a new trailer! MAN! If wishes had wings or flight as it were...

One minor concern... YES I'm nitpicking... there's one bit when Superman's flying near the plane where he looks like a doll... but in all fairness... when you're matched up against a plane... still... sigh!... like I said... I wish...

The results for the Text message instant poll:
Blu Ray vs. HD DVD is...

Afrah: Blu Ray
Shuna: Blu Ray (reconsidered from original choice of HD DVD)
Pete: HD DVD
Ben: Brazil (so sorry Ben... this means u contribute nothing!)
Aiman: Blu Ray
Aindhy: Blu Ray

80% for Blu Ray - 20% for HD DVD and nothing but a 'Portugal are gonna kick arse' to Ben

There you go - the Blu Rays have it!

OK - my two cents on why Blu Ray has to win.

Simply put - this format war is not just about video (as was the war between VHS and Betamax)... it's also about Data Capacity... and Blu Ray's got more. Which also mean EXTRA stuff on the video releases... like Special Effects features etc... you know how I LOVE the extras (when they mean something).

In brief - I hope that when the dust settles it's Blu Ray that's left standing!

Wierdest thing happened last night...

I'd done a bit of shoping... nothing too fancy... just aftershave and shave foam. As I proceeded towards the payment counter I realise that I didn't have enough cash on me. No biggie right? Cos I did have my shiny new BML Visa Debit card - turns out they can't accept my card because their machine only accepts BML Cash Cards only.

Now I'm stuck... and my hopes of a painless shave - SHATTERED (heheh... ok not quite). So I begin counting the notes in my wallet and find I am just three Rufiya short!

So I've got to duck out of the shop and get to an ATM right?

Wrong - a guy behind me gladly covers the three bucks. And you could have knocked me over with a feather. Hardly happens these days. I was really shell shocked - I didn't even get his name BUT I did remember to thank him.

So dude, again - Thanks a billion!

I sure hope Brazil makes it to the Germany 2006 Final (He was wearing a Brazil shirt)... Had this happened before the finals began, I would wish that they win it - but unfortunately I've already printed out my 'Portugal - 2006 winners, all the other teams SUCK!' T-shirts ;)

Thanks!

Superman Returns - 27th June 2006


The poster kicks arse but have you seen the trailers and the spots?!?!
I have. MAN do I wish I lived in a country with a decent cinema - the price one pays for living in paradise


'Life's good and full of mixed blessing' - ;) Cheers.

p.s. I've been neglecting this - thus the two posts

Shout out for a good book.

Some of you guys have probably read my short scripts Life and After life (Ben - I've got a concept for Before life so the trilogy is complete, atleast in my head!). Those I wrote when in Limkokwing. I've no illusions BUT this give you guys a clue as to my tastes...

The short story collection Children playing before a statue of Hercules (edited and introduced by David Sedaris) has got PLENTY of that kinda flavour - The girl with the blackened eye (Joyce Carol Oates) and Bullet to the brain (Tobias Wolfe) stand out.

I must admit I did skip a couple of the stories - when they slowed down a bit BUT it was only just the two.

For those who enjoy a decent (these are more than decent) stories like me - this is a definite keeper.

NO. I'm not lending my copy!

And as promised... MORE pictures from the Malaysia trip!
Powered by Afrah (THANKS MAN!)

Guess who's taller than Basil... ok... not me....
Me behind Basil and Elaine

OY! Who took this picture ah?!?! ELAINE!!!!
As you can tell... Azeem and me.

The usual suspects...
Azeem, me, Cliff and Ben.

oh yea... i had fun, FUN, FUN!

When Elaine says 'high 5'...
Ben, Elaine, me.

errr... this pic wasn't staged at all... heh heh heh....
Cliff and Mickey.

Siti... the Malaysian production scene will never be the same again! hehehe... and yet closest to 'the Dream'. Most of us seem to have been diverted somewhat... cept maybe Darren (SHIT we should have tried to get together in rememberance of 'Pumba'... who will surely be missed... err wait... grazed atleast! :D

Oy! I got more you know!!!!

Ok ok... maybe the best way to start off is with pictures... them being worth a tousand words and all. I took a trip down (up?) to Malaysia recently... inbetween Wataniya and taking up my new position at unicef (I started on May 14). I met up with some old friends (sorry Belinda... Darren) and made some new ones (hello Azeem, Mickey, Corrine and Premela AKA Flexi-gurl)... some pics i still haven't downloaded onto my PC cos i'm just too darn lazy (sorry Ben, Clifford, Afrah)... BUT I vow to do that today... updates to follow shortly...

Pete being artsy with his shots of me - Pete, it wasn't fun you 'stalking' me with a camera in Times Square... but the pics are worth it!

Solah in Gomback - YEP his view from the balcony is great!

KL traffic - 'blur sotong'

Borders bookshop - KL Times Square... suffice it to say my baggage WOULD have been over the limit IF weighed (for those of you with a smirk when i referenced weight - har har har... FUNNY!)

Making new friends - (left to right) Corrine, Pete and me

Updates soon...

It's been WAY too long that I've been putting off doing this... thinking that I was too busy... while in actual fact I've been too drained to make an effort... that's changing today (I hope)... hehehe... hmmm... errr... ok... writer's block... NOT FUN!