Archive | 2010

Random Post #12 – Japanese Food, #emocharlie & Black Pepper Chicken McDeluxe

So what’s been going on with me lately? Nothing much to be honest – not much mood to write anything on my blog. Not sure why, probably too many other things going on and too much on my mind.

House reno is going to be finishing soon (hopefully), endless lists of things to buy, things to arrange, things to get rid of. Time to declutter my life! There’s been a few events lately, but nothing much of note. I’ve been eating a lot, as the reno is almost finishing we’ve been treating ourselves to some slightly nicer food for a change – but still trying to maintain the frugal kopitiam food during the week as it makes economic sense even if we aren’t on a shoestring budget.

My cars starter motor is set to die soon (urgh) and I there’s another issue cropping up which is causing horrible fuel consumption (280km for a full tank!) and the CEL flashing on occasionally. I have a feeling it’s the Oxygen (O2) Sensor or perhaps the AFS (Air-Flow Sensor). Probably change both when I get some budget to do so, it’s not really causing any problems at the moment apart from the epic burning of petrol.

Been having a bit of a Japanese food binge lately as it’s one of our favs, especially the Oysters at Sushi Zanmai which Kim adores. I do like their food – quality is good, service is good, price is reasonable. My only issue with the place is locations, they are all in major shopping malls and the queues at dinner time and especially at weekends are EPIC (at least 30-45 mins to get a seat).

Sushi Zanmai

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Movie Review – Red – Old People Rock!

Red (2010)

Frank, Joe, Marvin, and Victoria used to be the CIA’s top agents — but the secrets they know just made them the Agency’s top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history.

I saw this movie pretty much by chance, but I’m sure glad I did. And well anything with Morgan Freeman in it is going to be good isn’t it? Add on the bonus package of Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren and you’ve got yourself a winner!

The movie is ranking well on IMDB with a solid score of 7.3, having already passed 10,000 reviews I’d say that should be a pretty stable rating. There seems to be quite a glut of action movies this year, and some very good ones too like A-Team and Expendables.

All in all it’s just a fun movie with great actors, it’s not complicated or deep – it doesn’t have any awesome twists or multi-layer storyline.

The cast makes it though, if you could handpick some of the best veteran actors around – you wouldn’t get a much better line-up than this. Bruce Willis is playing his typical action hero role, Morgan Freeman is as always the cool old man, Helen Mirren rocks it out – a departure from her regular ‘serious’ roles and John Malkovich is as always brilliant as a manic nutcase.

Doesn’t get much better than these guys!

John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman & Bruce Willis in Red (2010)

It’s a well paced movie, the dialogue is up-beat and everyone starring in the film REALLY looks like they had fun making it.

Karl Urban played his supporting role well and Mary-Louise Parker played a woman being uprooted from her ever-day life very believably.

All in all it’s well worth a watch and if you haven’t done so yet, I’d suggest catching on the big screen as it’s definitely a movie best enjoyed at the cinema. A true popcorn flick!

I give it a plastic bag wearing 7.5/10.

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Happy 6th Birthday To My Blog!

6 long years ago on October 19th, 2004 I made the first post on this blog – which started the legacy that is still here now.

Yes – 1,209 Posts, 16,723 Comments, 6,081 Tags & 25 Categories later and I’m still here 🙂

Blogging has been an interesting journey and one that is not over yet. It’s had ups and downs and sometimes I’ve felt like packing it in, but most the time I don’t.

It’s interesting to read back through your own blog archives and see some of the experiences you’ve journaled in your own little space on the web.

In the early days my entries were a lot less organised, very chaotic, very personal and probably very much more interesting than they are now. I was traveling a lot for work during that time too which meant I had a lot of random stuff to write about.

I used to do some epic yearly summaries, check them out here:

2004

2005

2006

2008

My first anniversary post was here – Happy Birthday to ShaolinTiger.com

The 2nd here – Happy Anniversary to ShaolinTiger.com!

And well there’s been no more anniversary blog posts since then. I feel like it’s time for an update soon, a fresh theme, some new features..I’ve been running this theme (which is the 3rd iteration) since June 2007 – so it’s getting a bit long in the tooth, back when WordPress was at version 2.2.

You can see some of my most popular posts here (by views and comments) and my full archives here – https://www.shaolintiger.com/archives/

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The Latest Buzz – Apple iPhone 4 – My Review

Some might have seen me as an Apple or iPhone detractor in the past and well perhaps I was especially the 1st gen iPhone – which whilst being a neat media device was a terrible phone and didn’t have 3G at a time when even the most basic phones already had the capability to go beyond EDGE connectivity.

By the time the iPhone 3G came around things were looking better, but there were still very basic functions missing. The appeal of course was the growing Appstore – an app for anything you could dream of, and apps to solve problems you didn’t even know you had – all for only $0.99! Much like shopping at the RM5 shop Daiso – you’ll find things you never even thought could exist.

And well when the iPhone 3GS came out, I started to think it was a reasonably capable phone – but there was still a big issue for me. The camera did indeed take nice pictures (in reasonable light) but there was no flash, and to me a camera-phone with no flash is near useless.

Then finally, along comes the iPhone 4…WITH FLASH! I’m not going to list out the specs here or a bunch of product pictures as you can find those anywhere online. Nor will I share an ‘unboxing’ video or a bunch of pictures of what is inside the box. This is more about my experience with the phone, and what it has been like using it every day for the past few weeks or so since I got it at the Maxis iPhone 4 launch.

iPhone 4 - Malaysia

The one thing that worried me immediately when I got the phone was the fact it was glass…glass edge to edge – both front and back. Having experienced dropping my phone before I thought it wise to immediately buy a rubber case and a screen protector for both the front and back, which you can see in the picture above. Although the front screen is tough and scratch resistant gorilla glass, the back is not so it’d be wise to protect it.

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The Social Network – Movie Premiere In Malaysia – Ticket Giveaway!

The Social Network - Movie

On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history.

Want to watch it 10 days before it hits the big screen? I have 20 tickets to give away – follow me on Twitter for details @ShaolinTiger

Date: 22nd Nov 2010(Mon)
Time: 9pm
Venue: GSC Mid Valley
Ticket collection: 8pm till 9pm

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Polis “Intimidation” And Corruption in Malaysia

The big buzz today is the follow video which currently has over 45,000 views and 1700+ comments:

I think calling it intimidation is a bit dramatic, honestly my level of Bahasa Melayu is not that high so I don’t understand everything that’s being said but I understand the gist of the conversation and generally what is going on.

From my personal experience I find most polis to be fine enough, they are reasonable chaps if you are polite and respectful. That’s all they want at the end of the day, if you are arrogant and sarcastic they aren’t going to react well and they are going to make your life difficult.

Of course there’s still the issue of corruption and some officers are still fishing for kopi duit, but from what I’ve seen it seems to be less than before. For me personally, I’ll never pay a bribe – it’s just wrong. People complain about corruption on one hand but on the other hand they have no problems giving a cop RM50 to escape a legitimate summons.

If I did something wrong I have no issue with accepting the summons and paying for it, after all I’m at fault here and the road & traffic regulations are in place to keep everyone safe and keep the traffic flowing smoothly.

And well if you maintain that stance I can honestly say 8/10 times you’ll get away without a saman and without paying a bribe, because if they are fishing for money (illegal road-block, stopped you when you didnt really do anything wrong etc.) they can’t give you a saman and if you refuse to bribe them there is actually nothing they can do.

Some may say I get away because I’m a foreigner and they don’t feel secure bullying me or it’s too much hassle to write me up. Honestly I don’t know, but from what I’ve seen with others that do the same thing it usually works.

The most important thing is to be polite, ask them what the problem is – listen to their explanation, smile and apologise and ask them nicely to please issue you a saman it’s not a problem.

Anyway that’s my 2 cents, what is your tactic/strategy? And do share your thoughts on the above video.

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Movie Review – Get Him To The Greek – Amusing

Get Him To The Greek (2010)

Aaron Green gets things done. The ambitious 24-year-old has been given a career-making assignment. His mission: Fly to London and escort a rock god to L.A.’s world famous Greek Theatre for the first-stop on a huge comeback tour. His record mogul boss, Sergio Roma, gives him one warning: “The artist is the worst person on Earth. Turn your back on him at your own peril.”

I actually tweeted almost 4 months ago that I wanted to watch this film – before it was even released! Mostly I think because Russel Brand is in it and he is generally hilarious, the trailer looked good and the poster intrigued me.

It’s actually doing pretty well on IMDB with a solid 6.8/10 – which is quite rare for this kind of movie. But then again it is an Apatow film, and they are generally well done and well received (Pineapple Express and Superbad were genius).

The film itself is actually somewhat of a spin-off from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which in itself was a great movie and of course featured the genius character Aldous Snow played by Russel Brand. Jonah Hill was also in the movie, in a different role.

One of the things that interested me most about this film is that it’s a great vehicle to merge the UK and US comedy styles and I have to say – they did a great job. Both Jonah Hill and Russel Brand were fantastic in their parts and the chemistry between them was truly hilarious.

Russel Brand & Jonah Hill in Get Him to the Greek

Another surprise for me was Sean Combs AKA Puff Daddy AKA P Diddy AKA whatever-the-fuck-else-he-likes-to-call-himself. He was actually glorious as Sergio and pulled off the part really well. The whole Vegas section of the movie was epic, somewhat reminiscent of The Hangover.

When the world slips you a Jeffery, stroke the furry wall.

Sean 'P Diddy' Combs in Get Him to the Greek

All in all it’s a very entertaining movie and the soundtrack is fantastic, they wrote a bunch of songs under Infant Sorrow performed by Russel Brand himself which are hilarious. There are ups and down and lots of laughs, the pacing is good and the side-characters like the father of Aldous are a funny bunch.

Good movie to watch if you don’t feel like anything to heavy and want to watch a bunch of idiots doing crazy stuff.

If you haven’t watched this movie yet I suggest you do if you are a fan of any of the above (Apatow movies, Russel Brand or Jonah Hill).

I give it a YOU GOT THE CLAP 7.5/10.

We got the itch
You got the scratch
Burns burns burns like the head of a match
You took the front
We took the back
Oh yeah

Infant Sorrow – The Clap lyrics

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Random Post #11 – Ikea Hotdogs, Wong Ah Wah – Jalan Alor, Renovation & More

So what have I been up to lately? Normal la! Work work work, eat eat eat..and the house of course. Had some interesting revelations lately and have been reading ravenously again. I thought reading on a phone would suck, but iBooks on the iPhone 4 is actually nice and not tiring to the eyes as the brightness of the screen is adjusted automatically using a light sensor – so if you’re in a dark place the screen gets really dim. Rather pleasant!

Thought for the day – surround yourself with positives, if there’s something negative in your life simply cut it out. Life is so much better that way 🙂

One positive recently was finally getting to try the famous Ikea hotdog and yes it is good and yes it only costs RM2! Plus the curry puffs are fantastic. What a way to have dinner, 1 hotdogs, 2 curry puffs and an RM1 can of Mountain Dew from the vending machine near the lifts – total cost for dinner RM5!

Ikea Hotdog

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Top 3 Chicks You’d Love to *Ahem*

Saw this post from Audrey today – 3 chances which got me thinking about my own top 3 chicks who I’d like a free pass to have at it.

It’s a common thing I think in relationships to discuss some stars which you get a free pass for, as the chance of it happening is zero anyway it’s just something fun to talk about. If you ask most people they already have a list stored in their heads.

Now for me I have a bit of a problem with this, I’m not a particular fan of the new generation of stars….so my choices a bit on the old-skool tip.

#1 – Monica Belluci (Malena time) – the sexist woman in the world EVAR with no contest.

Monica Belluci

To me there’s no one that can compete with her, not even close.

Monica Belluci

#2 – Tyra Banks (Around 1997) – when she did the Sports Illustrated cover.

Tyra Banks

Man she’s like a perfect chocolate barbie doll, superb!

#3 – Rebecca Romijn (Mystique in X-men) – wow she surely made an impression just wearing body paint 🙂

Rebecca Romijn

Yum!

Anyway that’s my thoughts, honorable mentions would go to:

There’s a nice of female flesh for a rainy Monday to bring balance back to the Universe!
Do share yours in the comment section below, I wanted to balance it up a bit with the guys opinions cos Audrey’s is all full of girls and nonsense like Zac Efron *stabs own eyes*

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3D Movies – The Current Trend – Overrated, Overdone and Overpriced

Having just watched another 3D movie on Monday I have to say it’ll probably be my last. I’m starting to find this trend of tacking ‘3D’ onto the end of a mediocre movie to sell more tickets…rather annoying.

At least they have the option for 2D and 3D, if I have the choice I’ll watch the movie in 2D or watch it at home later when it becomes available – like the latest Resident Evil movie which I watched in 2D. I remember there was a brief phase for 3D movies back in the 90’s I went to see Nightmare on Elm Street 6 (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare) in 3D. The 3D effects back then of course weren’t that advanced and quite basic, they mostly just used the gimmicky stuff flying out of the screen and didn’t really add much depth to the movie.

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare

But it was fun in those days with the flimsy paper 3D glasses, it was a gimmick then and it’s a gimmick now and honestly I hope it’s just a passing fad and it dies off again because too many shite films are getting attention just because they have a 3D version.

The tickets are more expensive, I’m sure the movie production is more expensive, the cinema setup is more expensive, the new generation of fancy 3D glasses are more expensive.

And the latest fad, woowoo, 3D televisions so you can have the 3D experience at home in your living room…not sure why you’d want to. The only reason I think it might be cool is because Playstation 3 is going to support 3D games – that might be neat. But I’m pretty sure however neat it is, it’ll also be extremely headache inducing.

3D Television

I can honestly say I did enjoy Avatar 3D and it didn’t give me a headache, but was a little uncomfortable and I’m pretty sure it would have been equally as good in 2D. I just wanted to see it in 3D as that was the movie that relaunched this whole 3D fad.

I hope it doesn’t last too long and the studios can focus on making GREAT original films (which there has been a distinct lack of this year). Let’s have less game/book/comic book spin-offs and get some real screenplays written.

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