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Christmas and Presents

09 Dec 2004 by

Was slightly bemused when I heard a radio ad this morning €something about a woman winning a pre-loaded credit card and gleefully announced that she was going to have an early Christmas! Yeah. Like an early Christmas shopping spree is equivalent to celebrating the real meaning of Christmas?! Sigh. In a way, I cannot really blame the ad because many people associate Christmas with shopping and holidays. What does Christmas actually mean to you?

- Last-minute shopping wars in sale-laden malls?
- Greatly positioned holiday that conveniently drags into the New Year parties?
- Going home for the holidays?
- Enjoying carols at shopping malls?
- Attending church for only the second time in a year?
- Huge sumptuous Christmas dinner?
- Having a booze with friends?
- Enjoying TV specials?
- Writing and reading Christmas cards?
- Decorating Christmas trees?
- Exchanging presents?

What is it about presents around this time of the year that cause people who celebrate Christmas to go crazy shopping and exchanging presents? Do we sometimes try too hard to buy the best presents for our loved ones at Christmas without realizing that the best gift we could ever offer was our love itself? Hmmm. If you are free in the evenings of this coming weekend, do come and find out more about Christmas and presents through an exclusive musical drama, as advertised below:

In conjunction with their 50th Anniversary Celebrations and in thanksgiving to God, the 1st Kuala Lumpur Boys and Girls Brigade Companies are proud to present an original Christmas musical drama, Jamie,The Littlest Present! We hope you and your loved ones will accept our invitation and join us on this journey into the imagination that will introduce us to a few friends living under a Christmas tree. There, we will discover once again that there are many presents we can give, but sometimes, the best present is love.

Jamie, The Littlest Present
Venue: Wesley Methodist Church Kuala Lumpur
Time: 8:00pm
Date: 11th and 12th of December 2004 (Sat and Sun)

Admission is free, bring a friend! See you there!

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Number of the Day:

2 – Chances (shows) only to watch the exclusive musical drama (as above) over this weekend! Don’t miss it!

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

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Italian Job

08 Dec 2004 by

Sometimes, it sucks to finish in second spot. And worse, if the result of finishing second is only a demo to more horrible consequences to come.

Sucks to know that someone else better is on top.
That somehow, something extra wasn’t done.
That ‘enough’ wasn’t sufficient that day.
That the effort given was only sub-par.
That the gloom is only a foretaste of the storm to come..

Manchester United somehow stumbled 0-3 to Fenerbache in this morning’s Champion’s League group match, thus giving away their top spot to Lyon, who mercilessly battered Sparta Prague. Sure, we may already have qualified, but the shocking defeat simply means that our opponents in the last 16 would most likely be against a heavyweight, and the probability of drawing an Italian giant (Inter, AC and Juve) looms large. If we managed to dodge the Italian banana skins, toughies Leverkusen and even Monaco lie in wait.

Moral of the story?

We should try to push for that extra mile even after we have achieved the target. Sir Alex gambled with a young side for the last match and now will have to face some stiff resistance in the next round. Although he also mentioned that it doesn’t matter which position the team finishes in to qualify for the knock-out stages, I’m pretty sure he was only trying to console himself.

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Number of the Day:
4  -  out of 4 English clubs that made it to the last 16 of Champion’s League. Sensational thriller at the Kop when Superman Gerrard smashed in a rocket in the dying minutes to lift Liverpool (3-1) into the knock-out stages. &*^&*&$&! Whatever happened to stout Greek defenses?…sigh.

5 – Goals scored by our Malaysian football team past newbies Timor Leste (where’s dat?!!) in Tiger Cup action last night. Yay! We finally have something to cheer for our football guys in a while! *sarcastic smirk*

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Football  Leave a Comment

Return of the King

08 Dec 2004 by

For the past two years, people around the world have been eagerly waiting for the month of December to come. It was during this month that the next chapter of Lord of the Rings trilogy would be screened in the cinemas and the extended version of the previous chapter would be released on video (DVD & VCD). Finally, the extended version of the final installment of this epic (Return of the King) would be released on 14 Dec 2004. LOTR fans all over who have marked down this date on their calendars would most certainly not be disappointed with the host of extras that have been bundled in the special extended DVD (4 discs!!) of ROTK.

Apart from the additional 50 minutes of unseen scenes from ROTK, the DVD also has the following extras for fans to drool over while waiting for the release date:

- Commentary by The Director and Writers: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens
- Commentary by The Design Team: Grant Major, Ngila Dickson, Richard Taylor, Alan Lee, John Howe, Dan Hennah, Chris Hennah, Tania Rodger
- Commentary by The Production/Post-Production Team: Barrie M. Osborne, Mark Ordesky, Jamie Selkirk, Annie Collins, Rick Porras, Howard Shore, Jim Rygiel, Ethan Van der Ryn, Mike Hopkins, Christian Rivers, Alex Funke, Joe Letteri, Randy Cook, Brian Van’t Hul
- Commentary by The Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, Lawrence Makoare, Smeagol & Gollum
- DISCS 1-2: The Feature: A new version of the third installment includes 50 minutes of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film. (approx. 250 minutes)
- DISCS 3-4: The Appendices:
Disc Three: The Appendices Part Five – “The War of the Ring”
- Peter Jackson Intro
- “J.R.R. Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-earth” documentary
- From Book to Script:
- “From Book to Script €“ Forging the Final Chapter” documentary
- Abandoned Concept: Aragorn Battles Sauron
Designing and Building Middle-earth
- “Designing Middle-earth” documentary
- “Big-atures” documentary
- “Weta Workshop” documentary
- “Costume Design” documentary
Design Galleries – 2, 123 images
- The Peoples of Middle-earth (galleries with docent audio)
- The Realms of Middle-earth (galleries with docent audio)
- Miniatures (galleries with docent audio)
“Home of the Horse Lords” documentary
“Middle-earth Atlas: Tracing the Journeys of the Fellowship” interactive map
“New Zealand as Middle-earth” interactive map with on-location footage
- Disc Four: The Appendices Part Six “The Passing of an Age”
Elijah Wood/Sean Astin/Billy Boyd/Dominic Monaghan intro
Filming The Return of the King
- “Cameras in Middle-earth” documentary
- Production Photos (gallery) 69 images
Visual Effects
- “Weta Digital” documentary
- “The Makil Battle” demonstration/interactive feature
Post Production: Journey’s End
- “Editorial: Completing the Trilogy” documentary
- “Music for Middle-earth” documentary
- “The Soundscapes of Middle-earth” documentary
- “The End of All Things” documentary
“The Passing of an Age” documentary
Cameron Duncan
- “Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for ‘Into the West’” documentary
- “DFK6498″ short film
- “Strike Zone” short film
- All four discs are DVD-ROM enabled, featuring a link to lordoftherings.net and access to exclusive online features

Oh my!..are we all just suckers for extended versions and never-seen-before footages or what?! Alrighty! Who’s up for another LOTR Trilogy Extended Version Marathon (approx. 12 hrs)?!…

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Number of the Day:
7,000 – RM; Bail set that was unable to be raised by a former postman who has pleaded guilty to illegally keeping thousands of letters, including four registered mails, in his house in Jalan Miri, Jinjang. The sentencing has been set for 27 Jan 2005.

Oh my, are our snail mails not even safe anymore?!!!!!……

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Entertainment, From The News  Leave a Comment

Thorn Among Roses…

07 Dec 2004 by

During one of meals I had in my camp in PD over the weekend, it happened that I was the only guy among some of my female Sunday School kids. Naturally the statement ‘thorn among the roses’ came out eventually. So I struck up an interesting conversation with the roses at my table and asked them why is it that men are always known as the thorns and not the roses (or flower)?

If men could be associated with flowers, what flower would it be?

Quirky answers I received from these teenagers:

Raffelsia –  big and smelly!

Dandelions – Ugly and irritating!

Bunga kertas – decor…

Artificial flowers – erm, to state the obvious!

Cactus (it’s not a flower, I argued!) –  pricky!

Sigh. I think I’d prefer to be a thorn then. ;D

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Number of the Day:

15 – Minutes played by New Jersey’s All-Star point guard Jason Kidd in his return to action in the NBA, helping the Nets to win their second straight with a victory over Toronto. Stats: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists. A revival is brewing!

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Football Weekend Roundup:

1 – First major trophy for tiny Perlis when the Northern Lions picked up the Malaysia Cup with a victory over neighbours Kedah.

4 – Goals again pounded in by Chelsea past their opponents when Newcastle became their latest victim at Stamford Bridge. Sigh…somebody’s gotta stop this blue train!

7 – Wins in a row (in all competitions) when Man United easily beat the Saints 3-0 to continue their resurgent climb to the top! Scholes scored again!!

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Football, That's Life!  Leave a Comment

The Servant Leader

03 Dec 2004 by

During the Living Leadership seminar I attended two days ago, Ken Blanchard highlighted something which I felt should be shared with everyone. Whilst his topic was something like “The Secrets of Leadership”, Ken focused on one of the most under-rated traits in all of humanity. Serving. Yup. According to Ken, all great leaders: SERVE.

They all must have a degree of humility to serve others and also think of others first. For example, if something goes well, the servant leader should look out the window and say wow, this was all made possible because of the wonderful people I have outside; and when things go wrong, the servant leader should instead look into a mirror, taking the responsibility. However, in today’s world, we seem to see more driven (or self-serving) leaders who will look at the mirror when things go well and look outside his window and blame others when things go wrong.

An acronym for SERVE are as follows:

S- See the Future
E- Engage and Develop People
R- Reinvent Continuously
V- Value Results and Relationships
E- Embody the Values

He went on give some examples of great servant leaders in our history, including Jesus, whom I personally thought was the best example of a servant leader. Imagine the Son of God laying aside His majesty, Godship, etc. in full humility to come down as a normal man to reach out and serve others and ultimately paid the ransom for all sinful men. Definitely a servant leader to follow and learn, without doubt.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

Ken also reminded all of us at the seminar that we should all have an attitude that says ‘everything is on loan!’ and also gave us a tip to keep our ‘I love yous’ up to date, cos you never know what will happen next. For all who caught the premiere of 4400 would have a better graphical image of this. Remember the scene when the meteor was headed toward Earth and impact time was like less than half an hour? Like in the show, I would expect all phone lines to be busy with sad and final “I Love You” if a similar situation were to occur in reality.

Lastly, he mentioned that there were two kinds of people in the world: the ducks (quack, quack, quack..; translated: whining, sad, frustrated people) and the eagles. Figure this one out for yourself!) Which one are you?

Now, whoever said managerial and leadership training seminars were boring, eh?

Final Quote:

Successful leaders are humble leaders who do not think less of themselves, but who think of themselves less. Self-serving leaders are doomed to fail. Put the team first and live to serve.

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Story of the Day (from Ken Blanchard’s session):

This is a great illustration of the servant leader, team ideal:

At a Special Olympics meet in Seattle, nine kids toed the starting line. The gun went off and they took off. One kid tripped and fell, got up, and tripped again. He was sobbing so loudly that the other eight stopped and went back to help him up. The nine held hands and crossed the finish line together. The crowd gave them a 15-minute standing ovation. Those kids may have been physically disabled, but they were spiritually advanced.

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Christianity, That's Life!  Leave a Comment

Trump Cards

02 Dec 2004 by

Attended an interesting seminar called ‘Living Leadership’ yesterday. Yup, the one which was supposed to have Donald Trump speaking live-in-person. In reality, we were actually only treated a delayed video broadcast of the seminar held about a month ago. Was a little bit disappointed and cheated but the overall content presented was incredible. But then again, what more would you expect from a line-up that includes Peter Drucker, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jim Collins, John C. Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, Russell Simmons, Donald Trump and others.

Mr. Trump actually came out last and proved to be one engaging and hilarious speaker. His words were sharp, quick-witted and subtly insulting sometimes. He even had the cheekiness to promote The Apprentice while he was on stage..ha ha. I thought it would be a great idea to list down some of his fascinating quotes (some funny and some business tips) from Mr. ‘You’re Fired!’ himself today:

- A friend called me up the other day and talked about investing in a dot-com that sells lobsters. Internet lobsters. Where will this end? The next day he sent me a huge package of lobsters on ice. How low can you stoop?

- All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.

- I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.

- Every time you walk down the street people are screaming, ‘You’re fired!’

- I wasn’t satisfied just to earn a good living. I was looking to make a statement.

- Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.

- Sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make.

- What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.

- When I build something for somebody, I always add $50 million or $60 million onto the price. My guys come in, they say it’s going to cost $75 million. I say it’s going to cost $125 million, and I build it for $100 million. Basically, I did a lousy job. But they think I did a great job.

- The first thing the secretary types is the boss.

- Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that’s more productive.

- I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That’s where the fun is.

- Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.

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Numbers of the Day:

20 – Seconds into the match was all it took for David Bellion to score the solitary goal to knock-out Arsenal of the League Cup quarters this morning. Man United will next meet Chelsea in the Semis..

4400 – the highly hyped and much-anticipated mini series will premiere on AXN tonight. If you haven’t herd, it is about the mysterious re-appearance of 4400 men and women who have been missing for years.Not only have they returned, they haven’t aged a day since their disappearance, and each also has acquired some special power…

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Entertainment, Football, Funny Stuff, That's Life!  Leave a Comment

Good Riddance!

30 Nov 2004 by

Being informed that today would be everyone’s friendly neighborhood blogger Pammy’s last day at her current job, here’s my ode to the psychotic girl, wishing her all the best in securing a better job and good riddance to all de bad memories from the old shack.

Here’s the lyrics to Green Day’s ‘Good Riddance’, specially dedicated to Pammy (gotta sing it yourself though…heh):

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why
It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it’s worth it was worth all the while

It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

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Joke of the Day:

Keeping up with the occasion, here are some classic job ads and what they actually mean…

“JOIN OUR FAST-PACED COMPANY”
We have no time to train you; you’ll have to introduce yourself to your co-workers.

“IMMEDIATE OPENING”
The person who used to have this job gave notice a month ago. We’re just now running the ad.

“PENSION/RETIREMENT BENEFITS”
After 3 years, we’ll allow you to fund your own 401(k) and, if you behave we’ll give you a 5 percent matching contribution.

“COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT”
We have a lot of turnover.

“EXCITING AND PROFESSIONAL WORK ENVIRONMENT”
Guys in gray suits will bore you with tales of squash and their weekends on yachts.

“JOIN OUR DYNAMIC TEAM” We all listen to nutty motivational tapes.
“MUST BE DEADLINE ORIENTED” You’ll be six months behind schedule on your first day.

“FLEXIBLE HOURS”
Work 40 hours; get paid for 25.

“DUTIES WILL VARY”
Anyone in the office can boss you around.

“MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR DETAIL”
We have no quality control.

“SEEKING CANDIDATES WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCE”
You’ll need it to replace three people who just left.

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Funny Stuff, Poetry, Songs & Videos  Leave a Comment

Freakish Ads…

29 Nov 2004 by

When I saw some of the trailer spots of the original Star Wars (Ep. IV to VI) and Indiana Jones, which were packaged in their DVDs, it reminded me just how much time has changed. Trailers of old would be plain simple, lack of music, just some movie shots and a voiceover trying its best to convince the audience to go watch! It would be horrifying to see that kind of trailer in our cinemas today! Hee hee..

However, some of the ads seen in the cinemas and TV these days are just plain silly and freakish too, I might add. Here are some of these recent ads that easily come to mind:

1. Nokia (or was it Maxis?) Ad done ala Con Air with a bunch of clowns parachuting down and hopping merrily towards a guy on a field. Damn scary if you ask me! Looks more like a nightmare!…

2. Celcom’s gimme, gimme , gimme ad: although catchy at first, but after a while, it’s just noise pollution!…sigh, whatever happened to merry tunes like, erm..755-25-25..Pizza Hut Special Delivery!

3. TV3′s Apprentice teasers. Yes, although we all appreciate that the series is two days faster on free TV compared to Astro, but the teasers shown on TV3 (and 8TV) somehow are so badly edited that they not only reveal what will happen at the next show but also which team will win, who gets chosen to face Mr. Trump, etc. Spoilers man!

4. Anti-Piracy ads screened in the cinemas. Although it’s good to inform the public to support anti-piracy, I’ve always wondered why they should show it to a cinema audience who obviously by coming to the cinema, hence is already supporting the cause!..

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Numbers of the Day:

2 –  Northern states will duke it out for the Malaysia Cup this Saturday. Perlis and Kedah both scored thrilling semi-final victories to secure their places over the weekend. They will definitely be bringing more traffic jams to KL come Saturday. Thank God I won’t be around. Hee hee.

4.7 – Percent. Japan’s unemployment rate recorded in October 2004. The country’s economic growth has also slowed to a mere 0.3% at the end of 3Q this year. Hmmm, wonder if it will have any effect elsewhere in the world?…

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Entertainment, Football, From The News, That's Life!  Leave a Comment

Putrajaya Lakehouse Club

28 Nov 2004 by
Category: Restaurants
Cuisine: Asian
Location: Precinct 8, Putrajaya

Specialty: Malay-styled cooking
Average Price Range: RM 10 – 15 per person; buffet about RM 30 pax available upon request

Analysis:

This place scores the highest points in terms of ambience and architecture. It is a lakehouse club after all, but the way the entire clubhouse was designed was just marvelous. It was like stepping onto a huge boat, complete with secondary decks (reserved dining restaurant for members), mast like structure where one can climb up to see the beautiful Putrajaya lakeview (not a stunt for the problematic hearted..), basement galley where they store the boats and a rowing gym. Even the railings along the main cafe and restaurant is like what you get on a boat! Looking up the ceiling, you can see that painstaking detail has been included to make it really look like a boat!…

OK ok, shall move away from the physical design and on with the food. Although this place serves the typical malay styled ala carte meals (nasi goreng paprik, kung fu koay teow, etc.), the quality of the food is quite exceptional. A colleague told me that he once tried the buffet buka puasa during the month of Ramadhan and the food (although quite a limited spread) was excellent.

That night, what I tried was their dishes –  buttered prawns (fantastic!), mutton kurma (still dreamin’ of it), mixed vege (not bad), deep-fried chicken with onion rings (quite good actually!), fried beehoon (typical, but quite spicy), steamed fish (smelled and tasted quite fishy..) and dessert (mango pudding and fruits). Overall, the food were really tasty the only thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was the poor service of refilling our drinks. Although they only had like less than 5 tables to serve that night!

Conclusion:
Great place for a nice romantic or family meal on a “boat” and the night could be completed with the optional stroll along the deck like edges of the boat. The lakeside view of Putrajaya is sure to take your breath away too. This place would have gotten my full 5 stars if not for the poor service given. But with great cookin’ and view to boot, the place is truly highly recommended.

Rating: ★★★★☆

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Food, Reviews  Leave a Comment

Harry’s Quips

28 Nov 2004 by

Harry Redknapp, the well-known and enigmatic coach from London, resigned from Portsmouth over the weekend. Not really remembered for the achievements of the clubs he coached on the field, Harry is known by most football fans for his funny football quotes off the pitch. As he wanders off (rumours of Wolves expressing interest in signing him) in search of greener pastures, here’s my salute to Harry with some of his best-ever recorded remarks. All the best Harry!

“Even when they had Moore, Hurst and Peters, West Ham’s average finish was about 17th. It just shows how crap the other 8 of us were”

“Samassi Abou don’t speak the English too good”

“Dani is so good-looking I don’t know whether to play him or f*ck him”

“I sorted out the formation last night lying in bed with the wife. When your husband’s as ugly as me, you’d only want to talk football”

“Where are we in relation to Europe? Not far from Dover”

“Had we had another injury to one of our central defenders, I would have had to put a full-back in there – and neither of them can head the ball!”€

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Numbers of the Day:
4 – Points separating Man United and bitter rivals Arsenal after last weekend’s EPL action. Also the position that Man United have silently crept up to after demolishing WBA 3-0. With Scholes back on form, it will be an interesting month of December..

9 – Straight losses for New Jersey in the NBA after bumping into Portland this morning. Currently the lowest scoring team and the only ‘first’ accolade is in turnovers! Bleak times in the Swamp. Sigh. Can’t wait for Kidd’s knee to be healed.

92 – minutes it took for Mellor to nail a rocket past Lehmann, securing a well-deserved Liverpool 2-1 win over Arsenal last night. Was hoping for a draw, but the win does ensure that Arsenal stays put for another six days..heh.

(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)

Category: Football, Funny Stuff, Other Sports  Leave a Comment
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