Goodbye Soon Min

It was over four years ago when he first left us as a collegue at good ol' Cinema Online and am glad that we still kept in touch over the years.

Last Saturday, it was abandon ship and he's now immigrated to Australia. Sigh.

Here are some pics I managed to dig out of the memory banks. OK.. ALOT of pics.

The CINEMA ONLINE Years

Why do I have to be Vince Vaughn?

--
The AFTER CO Period

Geri's Bday @Alexis, 2005

DESTINATION: LANG TENGAH

Even the sunblock couldn't save himSkinny dipping....NOT!THIS IS LANG TENGAHHHHHH!~

With teamwork you can move mountains
Practising for the Beijing gamesTHE NOKIA N95 WIRELESS ADVENTURE

AND OTHERS...

Good luck and Godspeed old friend.

Art Attack!

Movie log: High School Musical 3 - Senior Year

High School Musical 3 - Senior Year (2008) - 2.75 stars

Would have worked better in it's TV format. The introduction of new characters makes me think that there's much more to come.








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High School Musical - 3.5 stars











High School Musical 2 - 2.5 stars

Movie log: Bangkok Dangerous

Bangkok Dangerous (2008) - 2.5 stars

If this was made 20 years ago, Steven Seagal would be the main actor. Feels way to Asian to be a Hollywood movie though.

Movie log: National Lampoon's Barely Legal

National Lampoon's Barely Legal (2003) - 3 stars

Released 5 years ago, I don't know how this dated movie got past my radar. Recommended to fans of the 'American Pie' genre. :)

An Uneventful Sunday

After a busy Saturday with Tan Sri's Raya open house, Adelyn's wedding dinner, and meeting some new friends, Sunday was an absolute crapfest. Went to the crap hour for church (11.15am), lunch at Jaya One, came back home, watched some Smallville & Knight Rider and took an overstretched nap and woke up at dinner time. Haih..there goes my Sunday.

Here are some pics of Saturdays events.

Former colleagues to current ones~

Movie log: Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan (1998) - 3.75 stars

The bonding of the main characters might have needed more time to gel so that makes me want to check out the 'Band Of Brothers' mini-series. Excellent effects, sound, and DOP though.

Photos: Rooftop steamboat @ Geri's

The rooftop

2 varieties of soup veggies and meat :)

Two interesting discoveries using a 1 second shutter speed

Movie log: Disaster Movie

Disaster Movie (2008) - 2 stars

The series never seems to improve. Best bit = Alvin & the Chipmunks parody.

Movie log: Teeth / An Inconvenient Truth

Teeth (2007) - 1 star

...









An Inconvenient Truth (2006) - 3 stars

Lacks the Michael Moore punch but delivers the message well. Didn't like the biography bits of Al Gore though.

The Good Ol' Days

Movie log: Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! (2008) - 4 stars

An excellent escape from reality in this feel good musical. Now I hope and pray for "Backstreet Boys The Movie" in 20 years. :)

Weight log - 26 Sep 2008

8 weeks ago - 79kg / 174.2lbs

5 1/2 weeks ago - 77kg / 169.75lbs

10 days ago - 75.25kg / 165.9lbs

Last night - 73.8kg / 162.7lbs

8)

Movie log (Direct-to-DVD): Stargate The Ark Of Truth, Stargate Continuum, & Starship Troopers 3: Marauder

Stargate: The Ark Of Truth - 3 stars

A fitting end to SG1's 2 season story arc









Stargate: Continuum - 3.75 stars

Time travel stories always make good sci-fi. Should have had more Richard Dean Anderson though









Starship Troopers 3: Marauder - 2 stars

A 'true-er' sequel to the original that keeps the comedy bits in. Never really liked the first one, so this one is just passable

KFC Original Recipe Fillet Burger

Yet another KFC rant.

RM5.50 for this 'original recipe fillet burger that's the size of the palm of my hand?! Ri-fracking-diculous!

Go to the link below for the previous rant in January
http://brianjchong.blogspot.com/2008/01/kfc.html

Pending Weekend Costs

Police summon - RM300
Replacement tire - RM250?
Rear wiper - RM20
New tub of Whey Protein - RM220

Constipated look on my face - ALOTOFMONEYFROMMYPOCKET

Training Log (Aug-Sep recap)

Early Aug 2008 - Daily Whey Protein supplementation w controlled diet and new 35 mins cardio plan & light weight/more reps 5-6 days a week training regime

Aug 16 2008 - 77kg, 170lbs

Aug 18 2008 - (Creatine loading begins)

Aug 24 2008 - Men's Health/Shape magazine 5KM Marathon

Aug 30 2008 - 77kg, 170lbs (Creatine has added muscle weight via water retention, fat mass loss is visible)

Sept 15 2008 - 75.25kg, 166lbs

Oct 1 2008 Target - 74kg, 163lbs (1.25kg deficit - 15 days remain)

Movie log: 21

21 (2008) - 3 stars

Simply above average weekend entertainment

Movie log: Babylon A.D

Babylon A.D (2008) - 1.5 stars

Besides not getting the story, this sci-fi RPG-like plot is boring. The props and sets are very good though.

Movie log: Never Back Down

Never Back Down (2008) - 2.5 stars

A modern teenage "Kickboxer" for the new millenium. Predictable and a little too long for its own good. The main 'bad guy' looks too damn skinny though.

The skinny-ass antagonist

Roots (A Revelation of OMG porportions)

After doing some research on my grandmother(Mom's side)'s Portuguese language, it is interesting to note the following about the Portuguese dialect (Kristang) that is spoken by Malaysians with 'Portuguese' roots.

--
"A small number of Eurasians, of mixed Portuguese and Malay descent, speak a Portuguese-based creole, called Papiá Kristang.

The Kristang language originated after the conquest of Malacca (Malaysia) in 1511 by the Portuguese. The community of speakers descends mainly from marriages between Portuguese settlers and local Malay women, as well as a certain number of migrants from Goa, themselves of mixed Indian and Portuguese ancestry.

Even after Portugal lost Malacca and almost all contact in 1641, the Kristang community largely preserved its language. The language is not taught at school, although there are still some Church services in Portuguese."

Source: Wikipedia
--

Now, the question is... "Does that make me partially Malay... or Indian as well??"

Oh what evils the internet holds.

Further reading: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/13/asia/letter.php

Movie log: I Am Legend

I Am Legend (2007) - 3.75 stars

Interesting and frightening tale about human survival. They should have made the 'darkseekers' out of human actors though.


Note: Dog lovers be warned

Bry & MS's Day Out In Korea

Our Korean adventure started when we entered a convenience store which was pretty crowded with the congregation of a nearby church. Everyone in the shop (around 20) were speaking in a language that was foreign to me. Korean. Ahh.. The pronunciations, the words... remeniscent from the days where I watched Korean soaps. Here's what we found while browsing for some groceries...

Korean energy drinks

Korean cereals

Daniel Henney endorsed coffee

Mini mart sales!

Taking a walk down the street we found some interesting shop signs that meant jack to us.

ngeh?

ngeh?

Ahh.. Samsung Mall

It was lunch time and we were recommended this restaurant called Nak Won where we got to sit on the floor while eating our Korean meal.

Assorted kimchi

My 'spicy beef something something'. Yum. That greyish black vege is called 'Kosari', a mountain vegetable!

MS enjoying her complimentary 'unknown' dessert. It tastes like sweet barley though.

Ahh what a Sunday it was. Nice weather, smooth traffic... all in all a relaxing Sunday in KoreaTown.

For more information, head on to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koreatown

Movie log: The Scorpion King 2: Rise Of A Warrior

The Scorpion King 2: Rise Of A Warrior (2008) - 2.5 stars

Adding another chapter to "The Mummy" franchise, this prequel to "The Scorpion King" is a rather awkward addition. However, despite it's crumminess, awesomely bad casting (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's Mathayus played by not-so-buff ex Power Ranger Michael Copon?!) and pathetic acting from almost everybody in it's cast (especially UFC Heavyweight Champ Randy Couture), the movie does it's job by entertaining it's audiences. Recommended to fans of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess" fans. I actually think this would make a pretty cool TV series. :)

Note: Directed by "Highlander"'s Russell Mulcahy!

The World Needs Captain Planet

31 August 2008 - The North Pole has become an island for the first time in human history.

Startling satellite pictures taken three days ago show that melting ice has opened up the fabled North-West and North-East Passages - making it possible to sail around the Arctic ice cap.

The opening of the passages has been eagerly awaited by shipping companies which hope they will be able to cut thousands of miles off their routes.

They had the power to educate the younger generation almost two decades ago. They may have only delayed the inevitable.