:Music of the moment
Britney Spears - Everytime
Blink182 - I Miss You
Hoobastank - The Reason
Janet Jackson - All Night / Don't Stop
Seal - Love's Divine
Usher - Burn
You should look beyond and forget about Janet's "boob job" at the super bowl and enjoy her new single as one of the most pleasant surprises of the season. It's a nice song to dance to and cheer you up. I listen to it while I get dressed to get me in the chirpy mood before I go out. And it's so un-Janet to be so mixed up and dance influenced. But I expect it to churn lots of remixes and be a club hit. Its could possibly be the handbag music of the moment.
Seal's Love Divine makes me repeat the song over and over again. It's a great song. It's almost Lighthouse Family-ish, smooth, easy listen yet so easy to love. Lay in bed, close your eyes, listen to Love's Divine and you will feel a little piece of time drift with you as the song reminiscent of life. Recommended for boys and girls, children of all ages.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
To each his own 
To Each His Own
,I cannot change the way I am
,I never really try
,God made me different and unique
.I never ask him why
,If I appear peculiar
,There's nothing I can do
,You must accept me as I am
.As I've accepted you
,God made a casting of each life
,Then threw the old away
,Each child is different from the rest
.Unlike as night from day
,So often we will criticize
,The things that others do
,But, do you know, they do not think
.The same as me and you
,So God in all his wisdom
,who knows us all by name
,He didn't want us to be bored
.That's why we're not the same
)Thanks to www.mamarocks.com(
Monday, June 28, 2004
Sony Ericsson S700 previewed
Sony Ericsson S700 previewed
I've found a few interesting mobile phones to look forward to in the past couple of weeks. Looks like we're geared to an exciting second half of 2004 with many exciting mobile phones coming our way. Nokia itself is feeling the heat from their rivals, although in terms of global market share, they are comfortably gripping twice the share of their closest rival, Motorola. No need to even mention Samsung, Sony Ericsson or LG, they are far behind. But if current trend and general consumer reaction is anything to go by, the order is ready to be shaken in the next 5 years. Nokia is releasing 35 new models this year alone and that number is already down from the initial official Nokia's announcement of 40 new models for 2004. They had to react to a lagging product portfolio that is neither attractive nor exciting. More flip phones from Nokia coming in the next quarter. One with a swivelling screen on a flip phone, called 6260. For more info, click here
The Nokia 7610 is a cool looking phone and I have been eyeing it for a while but requiring a reduced size SD card is not on top of Make-Kenny-Happy list, plus the features aren't exactly eye boggling for that price (around RM2299 at this time). But at least it looks good, which is more than what I could say about most of Nokias latest generation of mobile phones
But not HALF as good as the coming Sony Ericsson S700. Click here for more photos and information. Be sure to click on the image gallery to see more of the phone. It looks very much like a super stylish and spanking sexy Sony digital camera from the back. It's got a large 2.3 inch screen that could even possibly put shy guys in the gym to shame. Not to mention chronic penis-envy syndrome sufferers who make try and make it up by buying large and fat Nokia mobiles
It comes with a Memory Stick Duo slot for expansion up to ONE GIGABYTE but either you have a grossly fat... wallet or your profession involves robbing banks and you happen to be Robin in da' Hood to be able to afford one of these 1GB Memory Stick Duos that could easily cost thousands of ringgit. But It's got 40 meg built-in so don't fear, just yet. But if its going to be priced within RM2000 or below, this phone will be a sure hit and I'm going to want one. Plus, it will be another blow to Nokia's already poor hold of the mid range/price segment.
How about considering a cheaper version of the S700? The K700? It will be available soon in Malaysia for estimated price of about RM1600-1800. It has 32MB memory... non-expandable. It has a 0.3mp camera which is good enough for me actually. I have a sample of a 1 mega pixel picture developed on photo paper from a picture taken on a Nokia 7610 but it's nothing spectacular or something I really want to do on a phone. So count me out for now on the mega pixel camera chase.
That hi-res one megapixel picture taken at a Starlight Cinema event took up about 450kb of memory. Plus, the clarity isn't there. But of course, it a vast improvement and this started me thinking. What would I be using these pictures for? A good example would be a fotoblog but then what else? Am i going to develop these pictures at the shop? I don't think so. Will I show it to my friends, yea sure, but how many photos can you show your friends in a month? Won't they get tired of you and your stupid camera phone?
Fixed focus lens that is meant for taking pictures from here to infinity will not get you any clarity even if you have 5 mega pixel on the camera phone. It will never be sharp. Unless of course you choose to reduce the size or use the size advantage for zoom effects. So why waste space when you consider that what you'll ever do with the pictures you take from the phone are just for a little laugh and keeping images for memory sake
Find the right balance between your need and want is the correct formula to buying the right camera phone. You need to take pictures for fun? Then I would recommend a 0.3 mega pixel camera phone which is just nice because it won't hog up the memory and their cost is just about right. I am using an equivalent camera on my Zire71.
You can argue that technology never stands still but hey, to each his own. I don't really see a point in acquiring a mediocre feature I don't need at a price not many people want to pay.
If you want higher mega pixel, the memory has to increase to accommodate the gargantuan file sizes, then a price premium will be placed on having on the feature. Thus, the price increases. Do you need this? Ask yourself. Does it justify the price for your usage? Don't base purchase on specs on paper but need and want divided with price. If you're into the WOW factor and need to be the first to everything, then go ahead. Just remember that being the first doesn't always mean the best
So what are you waiting for? Buy a Sony Ericsson K700 NOW! Now! Now
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Congratulations to Fantasia... I was watching my own recording of the American Idol finals... Fantasia really blew Diana away with her stunning talents. But don't you think these contestants are over-doing it a little? Screaming and dramatising every single end note to sound like Mariah Carey on 8-octave orgasm
However, Simon was right to say, that Diana is a little too young to be singing all these mature songs. After all she's only 16. Yes, by competition requirements, she has to choose the right songs to flaunt her talent but its meaningless because when she sings about MAKING LOVE and HEARTACHE, there's little feel or honesty in those words. Look at Christine Aguilera. She had to kick start her career by sing Genie In A Bottle, for crying out loud.
Come on, Diana's probably had like what? One? Two boyfriends cum serious relationships? None? I recently came across a friend of a friend, who listens to Diana non-stop in the office and he's driving the whole office crazy. Well, it drives me crazy that there's a looneybin out there so obsessed with the totally pompuous, singing-competition-material music that is not even a winner at the Idols!
But anyways, Diana did great with what she had. She is still a child inside despite what, or how little she wears. Did you see her in the finals? Behind the stage and answering questions, she's still "quite" an empty vessel... Blonde, always smiling, always saying "i m just here to have fun!". Look forward to hearing Fantasia on the radio though. Should be interesting. Will she be as animated as Simon said she is on the third season of American Idol? We'll soon find out
Monday, June 21, 2004
Sunday, June 20, 2004
XTRAMSN: Sport: Rugby: News: Current Tournament News: Shaw Free, Grewcock Banned
XTRAMSN: Sport: Rugby: News: Current Tournament News: Shaw Free, Grewcock Banned
I was watching a little rugby last night on StarSports channel. Surprised? Well, yea, rugby was on after Formula 1 qualifying so I decided I was in the sporty mood and watched on
Some interesting facts. England and New Zealand All Blacks have met 26 times before 19th June 2004, the game at Eden Park. England winning 6 times against the fearsome All Blacks. England lost 19 times and drew once. It clearly showed in the game i saw on the telly yesterday night... England was desperate
On the 11th minute, I saw something in sports i don't really like. England's lock Simon Shaw (no. 4) kneed NZ's Keith Robinson who was vulnerably on the floor. Before that Simon's mate, Danny Drewock gave the guy a few stomps of the spiked boots. Can you believe this? This is clearly not a gentleman's game.
I think the players are knowledgable enough to know what's illegal and ethical in sports. The rugby world calls the English, the rugby world champions! Bah. I think the world calls the sport a little overdose of testosterone and to the rest of those who can't appreciate violence in sports, nothing more than a more real-life version of a 30-men WWF wrestling match
It's equivalent of a few-hour long reality tv of violence in the name of sports. If you had seen the footage of the stomping of the boot, the punches, the knees and the elbows flying around in the match, you also would have concluded that the English were a little desperate to get by
Thats not even the funniest part... the funniest thing is the English coach stood by his player and said his player was sent off unfairly. He said he didn't see anyting wrong with Simon's actions. Bull shit. His partner in crime, Danny Grewock, who stomped his boots on the player was banned for one match. I mean, the coach, Sir Clive Woodward must have overlooked the fact that Simon is lucky to get away with a warning while the other got banned for one match. He obviously didnt see the severity of extreme violence in sports and unfair play. He didn't see kicking a vulnerable player who wasn't going anywhere on the floor, a particularly unsporting behavior. He didn't see the fact that his players were sponsored with Nike boots for running and kicking balls not fellow opponents. Or wait, maybe he's the evangelist of unfair play
I know rugby is a violent and testing sport but do you have to promote more violence, sir? sheesh, you mean he was appointed?... a guy like that. lol, thats a joke
Read more about it here
Friday, June 18, 2004
Malaysian Idol pic#2: This is my friend Azhar, who patiently stood with me in the queue for 4 hours although he wasnt in the audition. He was there to keep me company and I really appreciate his presence there. So I am putting this picture up in recognition of his support and patience. A pal indeed. To Azhar Sukerni... thanks for everything, Kenny T
Thursday, June 17, 2004
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WORST MUSIC
!OUCH! my ears!Something NASTY is in the air
You know those tunes that make you switch radio stations as soon as you recognize the tune? Well, lately I have been noting a few of those nasty tunes that annoy me endlessly. I used to pass them off as part and parcel of life. You know? Yin and Yang...there are good things in life and they come with the bad as well. Much like a Value Meal at KFC, you never eat those wedges but they give it to you in the name of value? Oh well, at least there's the Pepsi and the mashed potatoes
You can't expect the radio to play all the music you like on the air 24/7/365, right? So you just have to take it as part of life. But there are very bad noise that the radio stations keep repeating that I am starting to think that the whole music industry is out to get me for some album review I did or something! Is this KARMA? Damn it
And I think if you have been listening to the radio or been in tune with music, you probably would have heard them before
The first Fuck!-Its-Irritating song is Kanye West's Through The Wire. There can be little pity for a man who made such an irritiating high-pitch whining background noise that goes THROUGH THE FIRE... THROUGH THE FIRE... I said pity because Kanye West was involved in and survived a major car accident in October of 2002. Driving back to his hotel late one night after a Los Angeles recording session, the acclaimed producer/burgeoning rapper was involved in a devastating, near fatal car accident in which he sustained injuries that left his jaw fractured in three places. But some angels were watching over him and he survived to make another single
Please note: The backgound goes "THROUGH THE FIRE" because while the name of the song is Through the WIRE, the annoying background whine/noise is an edited and worked sample of Chaka Khan's classic-Through the Fire
I am thinking "God, please shoot me" , if not just shoot the bastard who sampled Chaka Khan and made such a disaster out of a melody. It pierces your ear and the song isn't very nice except for the repetitive whine. Some say it's a great song but isn't this classical conditioning? Can't people differentiate? You can take a sample of out a nice song done by someone else, work it into a song of your own and call it a Billboard hit. Simply due to the fact that once you repeat a tune as many times as that in a 3 minute duration, your head will hum to the tune. Its simple Pavlovian theory. To learn more about classical conditioning click here.
This is a shame for someone who has worked to produce some brilliant tracks such as JAY-Z - 'Izzo'... '03 Bonnie & Clyde' and etc
The second song would be THE JETS - Are You Gonna be My Girl. This proud product of Australia is annoying as a rash in your butt crack. To prove that it really isn't that great a song, the single was released in August 2003. Yes, you read right, that is last year. The single did not quite go anywhere except Australia, i guess. Re-released in May 2004 due to its popularity in Australia, the land down under and the exact position where the song should have stayed in any music chart, the single is making some small waves across the globe
Typical to any Australian bars, they are so rock n roll heavy. The song garnered a lot of attention because it was used in a Vodafone advertisement. Please note my Pavlovian theory above as to why disgusting songs like these get on much undeserved airwaves space and our time
This song is taken from their debut album and the JET consists of a quartet from Melbourne, Australia and produced by Dave Sardy, whose worked on Red Hot Chili Peppers & Marilyn Manson. Perhaps thats why this album is so polished and borrowed so heavily from other music from the 70s. You'd swear that these damn Aussie blokes could make the cut for a sequel for "Almost Famous" To see a picture of the guys click here
A case of serious stolen genes from Oasis, That 70's Show, some of Pink Floyd and the spunk of an almost famous-(pun intended) 70s rock band who got into the music a little too late and and had to wait for 30 years to make their music sound fresh again
If you haven't heard the song, hear it from this link. Click here
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Beauty
?Skin care for men
I don't consider myself to have very good skin. But some people do ask me how I keep my skin clear and "fair". Well, its not much of a secret really
Think within
Firstly, I think good skin should not all be about whats above the dermis. No make up in the world can help you if you have got potholes the size of the crater on moon. The moon may have gotten a little worse after some bloke named Armstrong stepped on its (sur)face but then again, it looks ugly because it can't shine from within
I take vitamin C and E religiously even whenever i travel. It's useful antioxidants for smokers like me. I heard every stick of cigarette you smoke oxidices about 40-50 mg of vitamin C. That's definitely not a good thing if you a heavy smoker
Vitamin C helps repair tissues and of course will help you get clearer skin. It is also the important ingredient in collagen formation. Taking vitamin C has been said to improve body's ability to heal wounds. Also, try not to drink so much tea during the day. Its not just about the dehydration from coffee but drinking a lot of tea doesnt quite help either. Because tea contains tenin that lowers your body's ability to absorb vitamin C. This is something i read off an article in the newspaper
Drink lots of water and get enough sleep. The latter is a problem for a night owl like me but i do try to sleep early sometimes but oh, the busy social life just begs for the day to stretch that much longer
I recently got to know that if your skin is dehydrated, you will get dehydration lines which are fine lines that appear especially around the eye area if you look closely. It looks like baby wrinkles but if u hydrate properly, they should become less visibe
Products i recommend
Clinique Moisture Surge Extra
Biotherm AQUASOURCE
Both works on almost the same basic principle and it is simply a must have. Trust me
Friday, June 11, 2004
THE BRAIN is wider than the sky
For, put them side by side
The one the other will include
With ease, and you beside
The brain is deeper than the sea
For, hold them, blue to blue
The one the other will absorb
As sponges, buckets do
The brain is just the weight of God
For, lift them, pound for pound
And they will differ, if they do
As syllable from sound
Emily Dickinson-
Women are really from Venus
Women are REALLY from Venus
I recently received a mobile phone for review. In case, you haven't read, I am a freelance writer. I enjoy writing and I will continue to do so for as long as I am still enjoying it
Back to the phone, its actually a phone targeted towards women. It has a lot of show but not a lot of go. Typical of a product targeted towards female market. The phone had no connectivity via IR or bluetooth. It came with a gazillion ring tones and some nasty wallpapers. This has worked well with women so far judging from the response of women and their Samsung mobile phones. Why should it change now? I guess thats what the maker was thinking
Women really are from Venus. I don't quite understand them. Just recently, a friend of mine sought advice for a friend who is in the market for a digital camera. So i recommended a few good and well-priced digital cameras from Canon, (surprisingly) Sony and Nikon. Well, my friend then went on the tell me that she is more concerned about the colour of the camera. I said well the models i recommened takes pictures in brilliant contrast and good balance. But he corrected his statement by saying "oh, she is looking for a red digital camera". A nice red digital camera that isn't too expensive beyond her budget, one that isn't a bad shooter and small. And most importantly it has to be red
I never had such a request before and nor have i paid so much attention to the colours of the digital cameras I have written about or I have seen. I said I will ring back and thought about it for a moment. It was a deep realization that women are indeed very different creatures. I soon recommended a Minolta Dimage digital camera that comes in small red casing and a Panasonic D-Snap that is very slim. The Sony Cybershot P8 or P10 had a red casing as well. I can't keep up with Sony products. They keep updating models.
So the point being, she bought the 2 mega pixel camera that comes in red at quite a dear price. While a man would have bought a slightly "UGLIER"
digital camera that is at least 3.2 mega pixel at that price. Not to mention better picture quality too. When cameras are built small, they tend to have minute lenses and these lenses often don't project enough light into the CCD to produce good indoor/low lighting shots
The next time you are getting a present for a girlfriend or wife, make sure you know whats her favourite colour and her preferences. Its always good to start your shopping list with products with colour options
BUT i must stress, there are some ladies out there who are not like that. SOME. I must say this before I get death threats and hate mails from women who disagree with me
Ok, I wasn't completely finished with the stories about Starlight Cinema. U see, I went to watch the movie together with an old friend from college, Joanna, and her two friends
One of them, Gabriela, has a filmstar sister! Zuleikha Robinson is her name and in case you are wondering who she is... she appeared in Hidalgo alongside Viggo Mortensen as Jazira. It's one of the many movies she appeared in over the years and she was in an episode of X-Files. We really do meet interesting people at the movies! he he
HearMeBitch!
Kenny's top 5 movies of all time
Fifth Element
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Matrix -the original
Lots of James Bond - especially Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan ones
You've Got Mail
Clash of the Titans
I haven't been to the movies in a long while. I think the last movie I watched in a cinema is Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Me and Joanna at Starlight Cinema. Kill Bill Vol 2 was pretty alright, although it can get a little wordy in the middle and towards the end. But entertaining Quentin Tarantino stuff as usual. The Starlight Cinema field had more mosquitoes than i expected. Hmph. But GREAT fun....
Labels: date, joanna lo, outdoor, starlight cinema
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Friday, June 04, 2004
7610
NOKIA 7610
Going for the launch of Nokia 7610 tonight. Its the press launch of the new mobile phone in Kuala Lumpur. What the hell am i going to wear? Hmph
Some key features of this beautiful phone
One megapixel camera for quality printing
Up to 10 minutes video recording
Movie Director application for fun video editing
8 MB internal dynamic memory with 64 MB Reduced Size MultiMediaCard (MMC)
Mobile Internet browsing
One of the fwe Nokia phones that would actually get me nodding but a bit pricey with a estimated price of RM2200+. Eeekkk
I actually played around with it last night at the Nokia Starlight Cinema event. And it actually feels like a 6600 upgraded and repackaged. The screen has a rather blu-ish tint in the whites and the contrast is not eye-boggling but it's rather ok
I had a picture taken on the Nokia 7610 and printed on normal photo paper. It didnt surpass my expectations. It has a fixed focus lens so it will always be slightly blurry at the edges and not sharp nor contrasting. Don't be fooled by the pixel counts because thats not the only indication for a good camera
rave
Sorry Sony
Well, after raving about Sony and its products. I should probably tell you I have never owned a Sony Clie. And this could be a reason for their downfall
They failed to get the homerun. They failed to deliver a target specific product nor listened to the consumers. Try reading posts on palminfocenter for the past two years to see how people craved for a PDA with a slim form factor and not a swivel screen, a 320x480 screen with virtual graffiti, a camera, bluetooth and wi-fi. They got it pretty damn near perfect with the Sony Clie TH55 but its already too little, too late
That plus the fact that Clies were overpriced sort of killed it for me. I never owned one but have tried them and drooled on them so much I could water a plant for a week
Its sad to see them go and hopefully when they say SUSPENDED means they will really rework their product mix and strategy and come back stronger. I look forward to see Sony Clies or whatever it is called then, on the shelves again
Afterall, they are still being sold in Japan and will continue to be claims Sony. So all is not lost
PalmInfocenter.com: Sony to Suspend Clie Handheld Line
PalmInfocenter.com: Sony to Suspend Clie Handheld Line
Big ADIEU to SONY CLIE
The news of Sony suspending it's PDA business segment came as a complete shock to me. I thought from previous sliding PDA overall shipment volumes that it would be a tough market for the Palm and PocketPC makers and expected maybe a bit of a belt tightening with less new product introductions but more quality products that is target specific
But of course, i was wrong. PalmSource is suffering a terrible blow because one of their biggest allies, SONY, is shrinking it's PDA business down to Japan only
After a slow start almost four years ago, Sony rose to become the second-largest seller of Palm OS-based devices and the third-leading seller of devices overall. This means third-best selling brand compared to all the Dells Axims, HP Ipaqs, PalmOne and their own devices and Toshiba PDAs. The company did so through a furious pace of product revisions, often introducing new products twice as often as rivals, and by being first with features like MP3 music playback and built-in digital cameras
So anyone who discards them as has-beens definitely don't know what they are talking about. Here I salute one of the biggest influencer and innovator of the PDA industry. They showed us Mp3 playing PDAs before we could say KAZAA
They gave us cameras that go by megapixels on these small wonders and the world followed. They had virtual graffiti on and the world drooled. The form factor of the NX series spawned rip-offs in every possible product that could need a swivelling screen. Check out Samsung handphones for reference
They gave PDA users the landscape format. This is the very testament of their ideology of change. How you can the same thing differently and for the better. To lead and not to follow. Just like Apple, THINK DIFFERENT
The world need more of Sony's qualities when it was at its peak. What we don't need is more PocketPCs. What original innovation have they ever come out with?
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Check out what's said about PocketPC's here
The head of PalmSource, the software arm of Palm has called handhelds using Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system devices dreary
Microsoft has an "overly constrained reference model", said David Nagel, CEO of PalmSource
"I think that the Pocket PC market is pretty dreary in the sense that there's often not much innovation. They (Microsoft) require the hardware manufacturers to build exactly the same kind of device except maybe for the skin," he told CNETAsia
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We will undoubtedly miss Sony's very high-profile product portfolio and their ability to think outside the box and take charge
Oh, I've just remembered one innovation led by HP (but was never followed by anyone), it's the HP Ipaq H5450 with its biometric fingerprint scanner. I mean let's face it, it gets a B+ for effort and trying to be cool but who actually stores highly-confidential information in a PDA, for crying out loud? If it's so secretive to deem a spy-style fingerprint scanner, it's probably best left locked in a safe or a computer with super 128-bit encryption and more firewalls than a royal arson. No? hmph, or how about storing it on a Sony Memory Vault thumbdrive with Password Protection and carrying it to/from office? Hehe, Sony again
Thursday, June 03, 2004
Mosque
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Welcome to Starlight Cinema
Welcome to Starlight Cinema
The Asia's largest outdoor cinema festival is here! Where we can watch a movie under the stars (or rain, depeding on the sky) and on a picnic cloth
Forget the guys with stinking body odour and noisy girls who giggle throughout the show (probably not because of the thrilling car chase but because her boyfriend is thrilling her in places not many people can). Here you have the whole field and you can choose the best and most cosy spot to lay your pad and pick your neighbours
Tonight, I have special invites to watch Kill Bill Vol. 2 Tonight's show is by invitation only so it should be a good crowd. My editor may go too cause I've got invites for four
It will run for a few weeks with different movies every night, including big films like Hellboy, Van Helsing, Shrek 2, Sinbad, Hidalgo, Starsky & Hutch and lots more
Come, come if you're in Kuala Lumpur, you shouldn't miss this
Here are a few MUST-HAVES for this event
Mosquito Repellent - Those damn mossies are everywhere
Snacks - something that isn't very loud when u munch pls
Water - yes, h20
A raincoat -it's called starlight cinema but the stars
never promised to come out every night
A tupperware or sealable plastic bag - for your personal
belongings and mobile phone when things get wet
A nice and thick picnic cloth - no newspapers here please,
also to keep away creepy crawlies
Something cushy - a pillow, a sleeping bag or a nice
blanket is good
A fan - it may get a little warm
A small music player - No cameras or video recording
devices are allowed but a small music device like an iPod with a pair of small speakers, an Mp3 playing Palm PDA or radio is a brilliant idea because you go into the place two hours before screening. Nothing too loud though
Alcohol! - yes, it is allowed but just don't get drunk. You'll be escorted out and banned from the event
You are also encouraged to slap your movie partner if he or she falls asleep and gets SNORING. ssSHHHHHHH
Ultimately, just have lots of fun and be absolutely romantic and thoughtful if you're going with your new date. If you think you might need to bring something to the movies, BRING IT because that one small thing may just make or break your date. Especially at an outdoor cinema like Starlight Cinema
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Maid to abuse - FINAL
Maid to Abuse
The 19-year-old Indonesian's face, back and breasts adorned the front pages. The skin over most of her body was knotted with scars, welts and burns, the alleged product of five months of abuse by her employer.
Nirmala Bonat said her ordeal started when she broke a mug while doing the washing up. Her boss, the 35-year-old wife of a company director, started beating her with clothes hangers and burning her.
"She then threw boiling water on me. One day she got upset while I was ironing. She said the clothes had not been properly ironed and slapped me," Nirmala Bonat said. "She took the iron out of my hand and pressed it against my breasts
Excerpt from a BBC News article on a recent Malaysian headline
I am not the sort to sensationalize sensational news but this one is worth noting. Actually one of the recent conversations I had regarding maids was with a fellow friend in Singapore who claims that the no.1 death cause of Indonesian maids in Singapore is falling to death. You see, in the land of the inadequate... err... land, people dry their clothes on poles sticking out of their balcony. I've seen them and they can be quite scary. From assumingly big households, there can be a 2 days worth of underwear, bras and t shirts hanging on a pole and the maids are expected to erect and retrieve the long poles that seemingly stick out for as far as laws of physics would allow
When these maids handle these poles, sometimes accidents happen and some clothes fall and sometimes it is the maid who falls. Due to the fact that they have to stand on stools to handle the heavy poles, it's not difficult to see why maids fall from apartments and flats
Well in Malaysia, it's different. We don't really have accidents but we have an alarming number of maid abuse cases. The fact that these abuses are human-inflicted makes it very disturbing. Are Malaysians like that? What happened to the friendly and peaceful multi-cultural community we're so proud of? Is it just a facade? Or is it just the oppression by the bourgeois because, a reaction to the suppression of society and life? But some abuse I've seen personally, are inflicted by 'people' of a higher social class. So it can’t be an education or social milieu condition Read here for an article on this
What exactly is it then? I don't know. I guess nobody knows either. But abuse is a relative term. It can be as broad as verbal abuse and some people only consider abuse when the maid bleeds. If she doesn't bleed and can still perform her duties (ie, can still walk, sit and wash my clothes) she's alright
I consider maids as... humans who are working for their employer and not a low life scum that is paid to take your crap, which unfortunately is the case with SOME Malaysian employers
While most maids I've come across are very polite, responsible (after all they are earning the money for their family back home-usually) and dedicated people... I am sure there are some rotten eggs. But we should let one bad egg spoil the dozen. We shouldn't have preformed judgments of Indonesians or Filipinos who come here in the name of servitude In no circumstance should a human being be treated the way she was treated. The employer Mr. Hii Ik Ting (the husband of the alleged abuser) claimed that he lodged a police report stating that Nirmala had stolen some valuables
Yea sure, I am sure the 'valuables' is worth smashing a person's face with a metal mug and breaking her nose, pressing hot iron on somebody's body, scalding her with hot water and causing the loss of one's nipples. The ironic thing is, the accused, Yim Pek Ha, had her counsel lef by Yusuf Khan urge the court to accept a confirmation letter by Gleneagles Medical Centre stating that Yim was currently breastfeeding her youngest child. Bla Bla Bla, bail was denied by Sessions Judge Akhtar Tahir. You're concerned about breastfeeding after what you've done to Nirmala Bonat's nipple? Woman, have you got any conscience? Read here for more on the story
I feel sad for Nirmala. I really do feel for her. She's only 19 years old and I don't think she intended to get onto the front page news in the national papers. I don't she's proud to announce to the world her nipple fell off because of the abuse inflicted on her. Any woman would find it shameful, after all, aren’t they the very species that introduced men to vanity? The species that as far as history goes has been very concerned about the image of beauty? Then you think of what Nirmala has to endure and then the blow hits you like a poor cat knocked by a Proton Juara
I have learned that you shouldnt always trust whatever the newspaper writes. Whether Nirmala is a good or bad maid, we don't know. But who are we to inflict such grievious hurt? Take it to the police and judging that the employer has no official police report, he has no concrete evidence that Nirmala did steal or acted dishonestly in her course of duty. So they decided to torture the words out of her
Shame on the BITCH who made Normala the front page news. Shame on you because for once I am ashamed to use the word bitch because the person I am directing it at deserves a name worse than that
Will we forget this ever happened after a few months? Or at least learn something from it? Read this
mosque
TheSultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah mosque (in Shah Alam, Selangor- about thirty minutes away from Kuala Lumpur) is said to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. Its minarets are the tallest in the world at 142.3 metres. Its graceful blue dome is one of the largest of its kind. Decorative Islamic calligraphy enhances the dome and main prayer-hall, while the overall architecture integrates, ethnic Malay design elements.
Was in the area, so took a few fast shots while driving which resulted in the poor quality.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
HearMeBitch!
NO NO NO NO NOKIA
ChaseShumacher left a note in my guestbook and said that we share a lot of common interests. Thats really good to know
He also made an interesting reference to the comparison between Sony Ericsson and Nokia. With that statement, he really hit it home for me. It's a message I've been trying to get across. But let me get this straight first, I don't hate Nokia, I am just a believer of good accessible and sensible mobile phones
Despite still being the world's favourite mobile phone maker, Nokia is suffering as they struggle to sustain consumer interest and loyalty.
"No. 5 handset maker Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications said Monday (Apr 26th 04) that it grabbed more share of the worldwide market by shipping a record 8.8 million phones during its first quarter.
Sony Ericsson said its recent successes are due to "strong" sales of middle- and upper-tier cell phones--a sector of the market traditionally dominated by the world's No. 1 cell phone maker, Nokia. "
http://news.com.com/Sony+Ericsson+gains+on+Nokia/2100-1037_3-5194739.html?tag=st.rn
Well, among the other mobile phone giants claiming to have chipped slowly at Nokia's market share is Samsung and Motorola. What is Nokia doing wrong? hmph lets see
Slow technology adoption
Nokia definitely was slow in taking on the colour screens. In fact they were so slow, Siemens had a colour screen mobile phone before Nokia. Proudly, Ericsson was the first name in colour screen phones with the t68. Note that I used Ericsson instead of Sony Ericsson because only the t68i had the Sony Ericsson badge on them. And that was the first phone under the SE name
It helps that Ericsson pioneered the Bluetooth technology but it doesn't help Nokia to be so slow in adopting such a technology that was going to be such a hot topic today. Wouldn't this huge mobile phone leader have guessed that such a technology would be mainstream? It was also shocking to see earlier implementations of Bluetooth on Nokia phones made them only compatible with Nokia-made wireless headsets
Selfish technology
The other problem with Nokia is that it is a selfish product. It does not interact well with others. Power users especially hate this and you NEVER want to piss off a power user because they are the opinion leaders of the consumers. Take the supposedly cool 7250 as an example. Did you know you can't take any picture taken from this camera phone with its built in infrared instead resorting to the only means of transfer that is MMS? and you have to pay to get pictures out
The Nokia is also incapable of sending files to my Palm PDA for some reason. I also tried to download songs out of a Nokia 7600 with Bluetooth file browsing feature and the Nokia just cut me off, when with the Sony Ericsson t630 that I have, you could browse me and take any files off me if you like
Busy Design
I must give credit to Nokia for making some of the nicest looking phone during the Nk8810, Nk8850 and Nk8310 era. It was an era when they were untouchable in terms of class, brand perception and overall usage.
However, ever since then, they've gone all weird and very eccentric. Look at the Nokia N-gage which you have to listen sideways, the pencil-box phone that plays music Nk3300 and the 7600 thats looks square in the world of pragmatic design of phones
What were they thinking? One look at the 3650 and you know what I am talking about. Have we lived past the age of ergonomics and form with function that we have to listen to our phones like a looneybin? How is holding an N-Gage like that make my life any better? How do you call that human technology? And why make the gaming device first and the phone second? Because the phone function definitely looks like an afterthought when you hold the N-Gage sideways to talk? Desperate for a new business segment? hmph
I don't mind having a weird phone in my hands if it works better than it looks. I don't mind if the keypad is arrange in a circular fashion if it serves a purpose other than just desperately trying to differentiate myself from others. It's the very desperation of Nokias products to scream LOOK AT ME, I MAY NOT BE USEFUL BUT I AM ATTENTION GRABBING that makes me sick
Don't get me even started on the first fashion flip phone by Nokia, the 7200. Its a tasteless piece of construction with a small screen and lousy looking, VERY USER FRIENDLY interface. The whole thing about flip phones is that u devide the keypad and the screen to two separate elements so that they free up space for both. Not only did Nokia miss both these points, they have thought up of a marketing scheme to call it a Fashion Statement with nice fabric-like covers. Such stupidity of people who buy them
If you really have to own a Nokia, the cheaper 6230 does the job and more with more finesse. The 7200 has a screen thats almost equivalent to its soap-bar brothers and a keypad thats comparable to Anna Nicole Smith. Neither beautiful to look nor is it intelligent. Oh add the fact that they're both completely marketed as fashion "icons" in there
Samsungs have a nice, crisp and big bright screen when they make flip phones. Thats the whole point of flip phones, not fancy covers. They may have worked over the years of 3210 and 6610... but those days are over. GET OVER IT ALREADY.
In the Finnish land of fast drivers and Vodka, the future is as good as FINISHED for Nokia. With the rise of the competitors and the consumers warming up to more design cues from Sony Ericsson & Samsung, there is little left going for Nokia if they continue their ways of individuality. Individuality without a purpose that is
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About Me
- Fashionista. Computer Geek. Movie Critic. Music Lover. World Traveler. Foodie. Tennis Zealot. Mac Evangelist. Goss Junkie. Bitch.
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