Stupid Dell, Stupid Nvidia

Heys I have some stupidly bad news.

Got back from Scotland on the 20th of December. The next day, as I was playing Sid Meier's Pirates! my GPU overheated and died...Now my pc is stuck with no graphics what-so-ever... Turns out this is a design flaw with the GeForceM 8400GS, and the inspiron 1420 (my model) has the tendancy to burn out the gpu-> meaning i need to change my mobo.

This is possibly the worst time for this to happen...Christmas just round the corner, my stupid bussniess nonsense report, BBC and U-21 applications due in january, my EXAMS!! no i dont really study on the comp but still...

Anyway, Dell support is USELESS. After hours on the phone, they finaly agree to send someone over with a new mobo the next day. I was like finaly thank god... BUT a few hours later they call me up and tell me tht becuz its a Asia-Pacific model which they dunt sell in the UK they cant fix my pc...WTF!!

Im thinking of DHLing my lappie home for a "measely" 75 quid and having my dad get dell in malaysia to fix it. Yes my warranty is still valid because i thought it would be a good idea to get 3 years extended warranty. All in all it would probably take 3 to 4 weeks before i get my compy back if i do that.

The other option is to just buy a used mobo of the 1420 from ebay (about 150 quid) and do it my self, voiding the warranty, but at least i will get my comp back up in maybe 5 days (except that im going to london on the 30th and wont be back till the 4th so what happens if i dunt get my mobo before the 30th?) But also id have to spend more time on my pc at a time when i need to be revising for my exams.

The final but completely out of the question option is to wait for 3-4 weeks while Dell transfers my details from malaysia to UK since i bought the pc in msia and did not transfer it before this problem happened). THEN they will take my notebook and send it for repair (US or asia i presume since this is not a UK model)..all in all thats what 5,6,7 weeks?

Im seriously thinking of just getting a new notebook (still from dell since i can customise it the most). I figured out a way to back up all my data (quite literally in the dark) but it will involve a little trial n error. hopefully i have enuf space on my external HDD

sigh...n i was hoping to reinstall vista and maybe install dual boot with OSX this xmas break.....

Irrelavant Friends

I wonder just how many people realise that they are quite irrelavant. Not just to the world, or country because you just a nobody - like another ant going about its businiess in this big wide busy buzzing world. Thats fine because hey, as long as you truly matter to your friends and family and co-workers...who cares right? Not everyone can or aspires to big things or to be a somebody.

But being an irrelavant friend??! What on earth is that supposed to be? Heck people are probably wondering whats up with me right now. Im bound to get questions from whoever cares and can be bothered to read my blog occasionnaly(if there are even such people anymore - a consequence of not updating my blog)

Before I continue. No i dont want such questions. Youd just piss me off. If there was something wrong with me, I douldnt tell you because you asked me. Id tell you in my own time if I felt like talking to you. Chances are im not interested in talking about anything that bothers me to you - ie: you are an irrelavant friend.

Im not sure which is worse, having untrue friends, or having irrelavant friends. With untrue friends, well their not really your friends anyway....Theyd be the first people out the door the momement you cease to be an asset and are in a spot of REAL trouble.

Ok what am I saying! Having untrue friends is B-A-D! Its probably the worst thing to trust someone very much, only to have them betray you and scoot in the moment of your greatest need.

But most of us dont have untrue friends (I hope! - choi! pantang! touchwood and whatever other mumbo-jumbo the supersticious lot yell out the moment something bad or unlucky is uttered) Having irrelavant friends is well.... i suppose its up to the individual to decide what it is.

The thing is about irrelaveent friends is that...they dont actually matter or make much of a difference when your in need. Not because they dont want to help you or they run away. Im sure they mean well and will sympathise with you if your down. But really? they are irrelavan.

Hmm i bet im not making much sense am I? No im probably not. Think of it this way then. They are friends who you hang out with and have fun. You may or may not get close to them, but chances are your not going to get very close.

You cant really depend on them help you out when your down, because you woud'nt really want to talk to them about it, and you'd rather not go through the hassle of their comments or sympathies. At times when you need someone, its not that they wont be there for you, but rather that it dosent matter if they are there or not. Maybe youd rather they wernt there.

You cant trust to open up too much with them, and thus you cant really depend on them. They are the decorative dummy pillars that hold no weight. Pretty but strcturally irrelavant.

So whats the point of this rant??
*shrugs* Dont Know!

~Baron Out~

I wana go out SOMEWHERE for Haloween...

Hi long time no see! This is just a short post...

yup...basicly I wana go out somewhere Haloween night. ISIS is having a student nite for haloween...only 4 quid. Im sure Ocean Oceana n all the other clubs are doing the same. Sad thing?? CANT FIND PEOPLE TO GO WITH ME!!!!!!

Odd right? People are either not around (for some strange reason??) or broke or..wana go out with their boyfriend :S

sad.....

So Im back in the good city of Nottingham...

Well, as its typically me, this is a delayed post!
Well I planned to blog in dubai with my 4 hour transit n all that....didnt happen (sleepy/lazy)
Then I thought Id blog on the train from London to Nottingham...didnt happen (no wifi even though there was supposed to be)
Then I thought Id blog once I got back to my room. Well technically im doing that but its alrdy Monday night and I arrived on saturday evening.

So.... 2nd year is about to begin...*groan* its supposed to be ALOT more work than last year...and well with my brain rotting away for three months in Malaysia....NOT GOOD!!!

On the plus side...I finally managed to meet up with Hwee Yin!! Ya i know its been YEARS. Guess what we met up at London St Pancras. Dumb huh? we had 3 months to meet up in malaysia and it didnt happen. So i went for a BurgerKing with HY n her friends. Stupid thing was that I had to rush off after like 15 mins just after we started catching up (face to face for a change!) because my train was due to leave at 3.30. So at 5.10 i rush across the street back into STP and run all the way from the international terminal to the EastMidlandsTrains side.

I go to the ticketing counter...and get a ticket printed for 3.55pm instead!! LIKE WTF MAN>>> I finnaly meet up with Hwee Yin and have to rush off only to find out later I could have spent like half an hour more with her n her friends had I printed my ticket FIRST...BAH!! Anyway, she should be coming over for the Notts Games (like any other good malaysian in the UK would!) so well have more time to catch up then.

Still I was very happy with the train service. Very new very comfortable (nice bathroom too! >.<) and it still arrived at 5.30 in Notts.

Got to HuStu..n Steve the porter was there to greet me! Got david to help me lug my stuff up from the basement to my room. (belive me some of the stuff was HEAVY - I could not have done it without help). Then we headed over to the 'clubhouse' to chill for awhile.

I came back to my room bout 9.30pm and well just brushed my teeth and CRASHED! I didnt even put my sheets on. I was tired but not really sleepy. thought id just lie for a moment..n before i knew it i was asleep. Hey travelling for more than 24 hours + jetLag is goanna take a toll on you ya know!

I woke around 3am and started unpacking.....then I went back to bed around 7am as the sun was rising. but no I hadnt finished unpacking. In fact the last bits of unpacking have yet to be done even at the time of writing.

Let me see...what did I do on Sunday...hmmm leme see since i slept at 7 am it was only natural that I woke up around 1pm. Took a shower, and by then many of my new neighbours had started moving in. Got to know them. More like just introduce ourselves n chat a little. Im rubbish with names anyway!

Then took one of them to beeston for a subway (my lunch) and sainburys. Sorry cant remember his name...think it was mike :p

After that..more unpacking before dinner and the warden's address. Didnt bother going for the fresher's stuff after dinner. Headed over to the 'clubhouse' instead (if your wondering what the clubhouse is..ask me sometime and ill tell you ;)

Slept over there and came back this morning. been lazing and unpacking all day really. Went to the bank to get some stuff done and thats about it.

Oh yea! All the stuff i stored in the basement has a very funny smell. And alot of the organic stuff (clothes wooden spoones etc) are pretty moldy :S aigh. Looks like im gona have to wash some of my clothes even before Ive worn them. Oh well should have occured to me that it would happen when you put it in a very OLD basement for 3 months!!

So anyway..Im back in the good city of Nottingham...the land of Robin Hood, and life goes on.....

~Baron Out~

Stay Calm, Don't fall into their trap

You've probably been bombarded with this type of message ever since the ISA crackdowns, first on RPK, and then on the Sin Chew reporter Tan and Teresa Kok. No idea who else is on their hit list but rumors are of Haris Ibrahim and LKS. Anyway I cant repeat it enough STAY CALM and dont do anything stupid. Please please please spread this message around to as many people as you know.

Last I heard the situation at Bukit Mertajam was extreamely tense, im sure thats how it is in KL. The Poor Orang Asal couldnt go ahead with their march to the King's Palace (but we didnt actually expect it to be allowed did we??)

Anyway our protests and outbusrts go out in intelligent civilized ways:

1) SIGN THE PETITION ON THE JUDICIARY NOW!!!

Click Here to go to the petition site

As of 2.44pm 13/9/08 only as miserable 25334 people have signed. This is only HALF of the hoped 50,000 people!! Cummon! RPK has asked for 150,000 signatures! Go sign it if you havent and ask your family and friends to sign it. and MAKE SURE that they spread the word. Blog about it, and put it up on facebook even! You want to do sumthin meaningful? THEN DO THIS

2) ATTEND THE CANDLE-LIGHT VIGILS TONIGHT AND SPREAD THE WORD

DAP is holding a Candle-light vigil at the headquaters in PJ at 7.30pm tonight.

GMI (the Abolish ISA Movement) is holding a Candle-light Vigil infront of Bukit Aman police Headquaters at 8.30pm tonight.

A vigil will be organised in front of the Sin Chew Jit Poh office in Macalister Road, Penang from 2.00pm to 6.00pm today. The vigil is to express solidarity with the Sin Chew reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng, who was detained last night. Hopes are rising that she may be released soon.

I cant attend these, and if you cant either at least do this. Spread the following SMS around:

RPK, Teresa Kok and Sin Chew journalist Tan Hoon Cheng arrested under ISA. Join us tonight, 8.30pm at the entrance of Bukit Aman, in peaceful solidarity vigil for them. Let us be free from ISA. Please spread the word

RPK, Teresa Kok dan wartawan Sin Chew Tan Hoon Cheng ditahan bawah ISA. Datanglah ke pintu depan Bukit Aman pd 8.30mlm ini sbg tanda bersatu hati bersama mrk. Mari kita bebaskan diri dari ISA. Sila sebarkan SMS ini

You can also call a few friends and have your own small Candle light vigils at your padang or in your house. Whats the point of this? Its the spirit of the act - All of us coming together for that which is most important right now.

Finaly id like to refer you to The People's Parliament.

Thanks
~Baron Out~

ALIRAN's Statement on the RPK Arrest

RPK’s detention is unjust as it denies him his democratic right to defend himself. He should have been charged in open court in relation to the earlier charges made against him under the Sedition Act. By resorting to the ISA, his innocence can no longer be proven. This is indeed undemocratic, unjust and un-Islamic.


That is why we, other civil society groups and concerned Malaysians have opposed the use of undemocratic and unjust laws such as the ISA and the Sedition Act. Even individuals who express and do things that may cause anxiety and pain among the people and possibly inflame ethnic and religious sentiments should be accorded their right to natural justice and be allowed to defend themselves in an open court. They deserve this in any democratic society.

Moreover, the government’s drastic action makes us wonder whether this is a politically motivated prelude to a 1987-type of political clampdown, which involved mass detentions of innocent individuals most of whom were not even remotely involved in creating the supposed ethnic tension at that time.

The government’s latest moves reinforce the suspicion that these are desperate measures taken to undermine what is seen as the unstoppable Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat mounting a real challenge to the Barisan Nasional..

Whatever the case may be, we urge the government to release Raja Petra unconditionally and also retract the show cause letters issued to the three brave newspapers so that democracy can flourish and justice be served.

Aliran Executive Committee
12 September 2008

RPK arrested under the ISA!! (updated)

SOS!!!

At around 1.10 pm today, the Police showed up at Raja Petra's house in Sungai Buloh to arrest him under Section 73(1) of the Internal Security Act.

SPECULATIVE (meaning that its just what people say and that theres nothing to give any proof of truth) word on the net is that this is part of a wider plan by UMNO-BN to rile up people and trigger mass protests (and subsequently arrests...Ops Lalang II??) giving excuse for the government to declare Emergency Rule and Martial Law.

So please spread the word for all people to remain CALM but VIGILANT. Updates will be available on http://mt.m2day.org/ and http://www.malaysiakini.com/ as news trickles in.

update: Pakatan Rakyat is celebrating the anniversary of Malaysia Day on 15th September 2008 at Kelana Jaya Stadium. It starts at 8pm and all are invited to join. A show of solidarity is being organised at that event for RPK. At the very least please spread the following SMS around.

'RPK detained under ISA. Pls come to Kelana Jaya Stadium 8pm 15th September, 2008 to show solidarity for RPK. Plz forward.'

or

'RPK ditahan bwh ISA Tolong dtg Stadium Kelana Jaya 8pm 15 Sept 08 utk tunjuk dan beri sokongan kpd RPK Sila forward kpd kawan2'

currently unkown where RPK taken but he was removed from his house by around 1.50 pm. Police have also confisicated some books VCDs and his computer (again)

MORE IMPORTANLY: Id like to extract abit off the People's Parliament (http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com) emphasis is mine.

I’ve received sms’s asking if we are going to take to the streets.
People, do not play into the hands of the authorities.
Let’s not knee-jerk.
If we are going to do any vigils or peaceful demonstrations, let these be planned.
Will keep you posted on these, if any.

The following incidents have lead me to believe the speculations stated above:

1. A band of PKR fellows heading over to Taiwan today to meet the BN prospective crossovers
2. Racial Sentiments being flared up by U-Must-Noe-whO
3. Army General coming out with a warning recently
4. Show Cause letters sent by Ministry of (mis)Information to Sin Chiew, theSun, and SuaraKeadilan

I cant further emphasise the significance of these turn of events and therefore the ever increasing importance of signing the "Save the Judiciary" Petition to the DYMM Yang Di-Pertuan Agong. PLEASE.

ON THE LEFT YOU WILL SEE A NEW PRANGE POSTER FOR THE "SAVE THE JUDICIARY" PETITION. CLICKING ON IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE WEBSITE OF THE PETITION WHERE YOU CAN READ IT AND SIGN IT.

Please spread the word to your family and friends. Ask the to ask people to stay calm and to sign the petition.

At the very least DO THIS FOR RPK. P-L-E-A-S-E

Joint Press Statement by National Alliance of Bloggers (AllBlogs) and Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI)

SOS on Raja Petra Kamarudin to Fellow Malaysians

During the last few days there has been an ominous and increasing crescendo of messages – written and verbal – indicating the imminent arrest and detention of fellow blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

We hope that the Government is not contemplating this action. To alleviate the widespread public uproar and concern – national and international – that this shortsighted action will precipitate, we call on the authorities that may be planning this action to take heed of this SOS; to immediately cease all targeting of Raja Petra through the ISA or any other repressive measure; and to come out instead with an assurance that

1. no such ISA order is being envisaged to be served on Raja Petra
2. Raja Petra is free to continue his writings on the vital matters affecting the country
3. the draconian legislation of the ISA will not be used on Raja Petra or any other Malaysian blogger to punish them for their dissenting views and opinions.

In our view - and if the Government should care to undertake an independent survey, in the view of the great majority of Malaysians and non-Malaysians - Raja Petra in no way poses a threat to the country’s peace and security. Rather, he poses a threat to those individuals and organizations that he perceives as engaging in unconscionable and dastardly acts and activities that are bringing ruin to the nation. Many Malaysians too are of the opinion that his website contains some of the most incisive analysis on the ills that beset our nation. Further attempts to take down his website or to shackle his freedom of expression is not only an attack on a fearless, principled and ethical patriot but they will also be construed as an attempt to restrict our freedom of information and expression, a move that will take the country further down the road of authoritarianism.

While we respect the right to freedom of speech and information, we also advise all Bloggers and other online writers to exercise the same high ethical standards expected of journalists in the traditional media. We do not condone lies and malice in the Internet and should not only stand by what we write - we must be able to defend the truth of what we write.
We emphasise that in our view the current laws pertaining to Sedition and Defamation apply equally to print and online media and should be deterrent enough to check "irresponsible" writings. Hence we urge that there be no resort to a draconian law such as the Internal Security Act to hold peace-loving Malaysian writers to ransom."

A democratic government should not for one moment entertain - let alone pursue - the charges that have been leveled against Raja Petra. To isolate those forces in the system that are bent on using the repressive instruments of the state against various opponents for their own benefit, we call on

1. all fair-minded and honest leaders from the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat parties to speak out - privately and publicly - against any attempt to use the ISA against Raja Petra;
2. component parties of the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to publicly oppose any intended incarceration of Raja Petra under the ISA;
3. civil society, professional and other organizations and private individuals to demand that the Government guarantees Raja Petra’s freedom of expression and undertakes not to use the ISA against him now or in the future.

We hope that good sense will prevail in our country’s leadership. Any act of repression against Raja Petra especially at this particular time will not go unquestioned or unanswered. We are confident that hundreds of thousands - if not millions of Malaysians – will stand firmly to make their dissenting views known should the Government choose to silence Raja Petra through the use of the ISA.

Statement released by:
Ahirudin Attan -Interim President, National Alliance of Bloggers (AllBlogs)
Dr Lim Teck Ghee- Director, Centre for Policy Initiatives.
Kuala Lumpur, 9 September 2008

Plant a tree or two! Do your bit to save the planet

Hello everyone! Its been a loooong time since my last post hasnt it? 2 months to be exact!
Why? A combination of lazyness, and the sheer fact that so much has been going on recently that if i were to blog about them all...well you know. So i ended up not blogging at all! LOL

Well today, i've decided to take a break from the whole Anwar's not-so-tasty Sodo-Mee fiasco, the shambles the economy is in, the Proton vs Terrenganu 'gomen' and their Mercs, and what other shitty nonsense going on in Ma-lai-see-ah.

Heck im not even posting about more personal stuffo (despite the fact that it would have been more expected) such as my trip to Shweiz or how things are going with my summer job, or even about my darling dog!

This post is ment to be breif. The goal? plain and simple!
To ask and encourage you to pledge to plant a tree or three (and actualy carry out that pledge)

Well. I suppose the title of the post speaks for itself. Anyway, when I came back in easter, I pledged to plant some trees to offset my carbon footprint due to those 'evil' flights to and bck frm Malaysia that produce so much of CO2 and all else. I did abit of research and came to the conclusion that 2 trees is a resanoble estimate for a one way flight to Msia frm UK. Thus i planted 5 trees in various locations. 2 for departing, 2 for returning, and 1 spare just for the sake of it.

I did a check last weekend when i returned to Malacca to see how they were coming along. I found that 3 of the 5 have sprouted and are growing healthily. Anyway, i thought I would plant a few more trees as my bit to stave off climate change as well as increase the shade in oh so hot n sunny Malaysia.

Im hoping that you will join me. Its simple. Just take a seed or two, any seed will do. If you have a particular tree in mind (eg umbrella tree for shade in frnt of ur house, or mango for fruits) go out n get that seed. Then find a nice spot where it will not be a nuisance. (no point planting a tree only to have the stupid government cut it down later, then again they cut trees down for no reason whatsoever).

It would be best to plant a tree in an area thats open and could do with a bit of shade, howabout on the opposite side of your house to block out the evening sun, and as a place for your visitors to park their car? Also, do be considerate and dont plant it in fornt of other peoples lawns without first consulting them (even though its public property, the tree is likely to annoy them if they didnt want it there).

Dig a shallow hole with a spade and put the seed in and cover it up. Wet the soil throughly and then put some stones as a perimemter so that the grass cutter wont cut the little sapling as it has just started to grow :)

Its fast and simple! Maybe you could go to your local park, or just plant a tree in open areas that could do with some trees instead of just lalang! (Thats what I did anyway)

So do take up the tree pledge (http://passport.panda.org/campaigns/campaign.cfm?uNC=76553998&uCampaignId=1761) and plant a tree! An effortless task which is still your bit to help save the environment :)

Im back in Malaysia

Yup Im back! Actuly ive been back since thursday, just been too lazy to do anything realy esp blog....I had a good time in Switzerland though it was rainy. Too lazy to blog about that now, maybe some other time. In the mean time you can view some of the pics on my Facebook. Anyways I start work next monday, and finding a place to stay has been Hell, since I only need it for a short time...
Cant think of anything else to say for now
~Baron off~

Im going to Switzerland Tomorow!

I know its been a LONG time since ive had an update ....Hehehe Im going to Switzerland tomorow! Weee!!
For those of you who dono, im going from the 4th to the 8th on a whistle stop tour of Geneva, Zurich, Lezern, and Bern (in that order) LOL. 4 days 4 cities! Hope the weather will be good.

oh yea, NO ASKING FOR GIFTS!! I will entertain no such requests hahah! This is a blooody expensive trip as it is...

Okay! Baron Out!

First RPK, now Haris???

Word on the net is that the Gestapo (aka Polis DiRaja Malaysia) came for Haris this evening while he was at Dataran Merdeka for a personal candlelight vigil for RPK. I underlined PERSONAL, because its just him doing his own thing. He posted that he would be at dataran merdeka, and invited all who wished to join him. From what I gather, Haris was just minding his own bussniess, perhaps waiting around for more ppl to come, when the Gestapo came and dragged him off to Dang Wangi 'Police' station, for god knows what....

This police nonsense is realy getting too much. This morning Lim Kit Siang brought up the issue in parliament is the move against RPK is the begining of "The Empire Strikes Back", after BN's humiliating loss at the march 8 polls. Im becoming more and more inclined to think LKS is right.

So to all you idiots out there who can say to me "No la! How can you say that malaysia is a police state??!!" and then say something so stupid and contradicting like "Careful! They will throw you into ISA!!" go back to blissfully burying your stupid heads in the sand.

Haris was later released from the police station, after what they Gestapo claimed to be a 'misuderstanding'. RPK ahs also agreed to post bail and has called off his hunder strike. He is expected to be released frm Sungai buluh Prison tomorow.

Free RPK Now!

If you have no idea of what the title of this post is about, for the love of Malaysia PLEASE take your heads out of the sand! Raja Petra Kamarrudin has been charged for Sedition for his article "Lets Send the Altanthuya Murderers to Hell", which directly implicated Najib and his wife in the Altantuya murder. Read the article on Malaysia-Today (you may have trouble accessing it because of high traffic hehe): http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/6604/84/

Now its an open secret that Najib is involved in Altantuya's murder. Theres realy no need to go into details (and it might be considered seditious too!) but the Taxi-driver, Pisang goreng man, the Towkay and the marketing manager all have one thing in common: they will tell you that the government (or gomen) is desperately trying to cover up Najib's involvement. I mean cummon-LAH, malaysians are doing what they do best! Spreading half-truths, rumours and 'Official Secrets" in the kopitiams and mamak stalls.

Anyway, Im all for Najib to clear his name. (Though im another ordinary malaysian who wont believe him either way!) But to bring down the full weight of the governments machinary, the police, the AG's chambers; on RPK will only serve to enforce the public's opinion AGAINST Najib. The speed and ferocity of the government stinks to high heavens of a politically motivated charge that seeks to silence RPK. Who knows, this whole drama may turn into another Anwar Ibrahim cum CorrectCorrectCorrect! if you know what i mean...hehehe...The foreign media has already started to play up the issue, and im sure RPK is gona become another media darling.

Ok I dunwana say too much la, but its clear that the UMNO led government still dosent understand how the court of public opinion works. so bottom line...

FREE RPK NOW!!

Oh of course Lim Kit Siang brought up the issue in parliament. he tabled the whole fiasco as "The Empire Strikes Back" LOL! You should watch it if you can, though im abit upset that LKS only uploaded 4 parts of it. He didnt upload the rest of it, leaving us hanging... :(

My trip to Cambridge

Haha Yes! I went to Cambridge before Derek! (or Cumbwitz as he would call it :P) LOL.

Well I took hours n hours of video (which im gona have hell cutting together- esp since its like 20GB) but i didnt take that many pics...
Anyway, I went with Edith to cambridge on a SU active lifestyle trip. It was only me n Edith cuz long long ago when I bought the tickets no1 was sure if they wanted to go or not. So i just bought 2 tickets cuz i didnt want to go alone, but I didnt wana take the risk wasting too much money either, so i just bought 2 tickets! A few days before the trip, I asked everyone if they wanted to come with me during lunch. Jen said she had something on, Half the people ignored me :( and Edith jumped in to grab the ticket as soon as Jen said she couldnt go! LOL. So thats the story of how Edith n I ended up going to Cambridge together.

The coach left frm East Drive (my uni la) sometime around 9.45 am. The bus ride wasnt that nice...I sat RIGHT at the back, with no leg room and got my usual bout of motion sickness...To make things worse the journey was around 2hours+

Anyway, arrived at Cambridge around 12.40 or so. Dizzy and slightly hungry, I first breathed the nice fresh air and enjoyed the sun for a few minutes. Yes it was a lovely sunny day! Now...we had to find out where exactly we were on the sorry little map were given by the SU. Turned out to be somewhere behind queens college.

So proceeded towards the town centre. While there I opened my sandwich that i brought frm notts. Gave one to Edith cuz she was sooo hungry, and we decided to look for a Subway for lunch (was hungry and didnt know what else to eat).

Id say this, for a small town with hardly and resodent population except students, Cambridge is pretty big, and CROWDED! (yea cuz it was a weekend id say 95% of the ppl were tourists!) Cambrdige has more high street shops than Notts! Oh well, now we all know what sorta shops Derek will be visiting then. There are ALOT of churches too! In terms of shopping your needs are as fulfilled as any other big city! In fact, theres a certain lacking for cheap shops...but then again its cambrdige....youd expect everyone to be loaded anyway ;)

After walkin all around the town (more than once...it can be pretty confusing as your always going in circles! lol) we finaly found a subway. Grabbed lunch n off to the park to eat!

Yea..nice sun, of course you gota eat outdoors...Nice and refreshed started to tour the place...

Ok im seriously getting lazy. I think ill just post a few pics. By the time we got back it was around 8.30pm. (Though the sun was still up all you Malaysian peeps!) Realy tired, but happy. The bus ride home was alot quicker and better too. ok...PICTURE TIME!!!

Kings Cathedral, opposite Kings College. Unfortunately I didnt actully take a picture of the college itself :(


Cant remember the name of this museum, but its really BIG! This is just the main entrance


The Senate House, next to Kings College. Not exactly sure what this is.


Derek's (future)College! I cant be bothered to remeber the name cuz its quite long. Compared to Kings or Trinity its pretty small! HAHA!


At the park where we had lunch


Cambridge University Press. This was one of the better shots. Its a really nice building, but because of the narro streets I just couldnt get a nicer picture.


Bridge over the River Cam (hence the name Cambridge)


St Catherine's College (I think) Stupid cyclist just had to whizz by...

Ok anyway, as you would have probably deduced by now, i didnt go inside any of the colleges. Why? I didnt feel like paying the entrance fee! Plain n Simple! That and, the outdoors was jsut too good to pass up (excellent conditions for filming). Ill go into the colleges some time when I go to visit Derek. And ill be sure to bring my bike too!!

I realy didnt take that many picture, but I have a few hours worth of HD video. Maybe Ill take some stills from the videos and put them up some other time, but theres an awful lot to go through...

Ok thats all for now!

~Baron Out~

EarthHour 2008

WWF is calling for a global event in the fight against global warming, known as EarthHour 2008. On the 29th of March 2008, please switch off your lights between 8pm and 9pm, local time wherever you are

The idea is that by each time zone of the earth simply switching off their lights for a mere 60 minutes, awareness on the need to combat global warming will be spread, but also dramaticly reduce electricity consumption for that day, thus showing how much of an effect it has.

Many cities, corporations and individuals (including myself obviously!) have pledged to support and participate in this event including Sydney, New York, Toronto, Manila, Tel Aviv, Coca-Cola, HSBC, Citibank, and many more!

Im thinking of trying to get Malacca, and maybe even Kuala Lumpur involved once I get home, but obviously my priority is to contact as many people and maybe some organizations I have relations with to spread the word and try and get them involved. Please people! its just a mere 60 minutes, and it dunt cost you any effort! Besides, it could be a great social event! Campfire, Torchlight party, Candlelight social, you name it!

Im gona try n get Astro involved, and maybe ask my mom to push MMU on this as well.

Anyway, please sign up through my EarthHour page (simply so that I can track how many people I have roped in) this is the link to my EarthHour profile: http://www.earthhour.org/user/hUXD

and the general EarthHour page: http://www.earthhour.org/

There is also a small promotional video on youtube:

PS: I created the Image you see at the top of this post, and release it according to the Creative-Commons Licence. I will send a copy to WWF for them to use if they wish. Feel free to take and distribute it!

"Please Go Mr. Badawi!" Protest at Istana Negara

It seems that there is going to be a peaceful protest at 9.30am in front of Istana Negara tomorow to ask PakLah to resign as Prime Minister. The idea is for him to see the people telling him to leave as he drives into the palace to seek His Majesty the King's permission to form government. All are welcome to attend

I've yet to form any opinions on this matter, considering that Najib and that Kerismuddin bufoon are next in line. Also, with the power tussle to come between Najib n Khairy realy dono which way id want it....Ditelan mati mak, Diluah mati bapak??

Also let none forget how radical Najis and Kerismuddin can be....Najib's 1987 threat to spill chinese blood ring any bells?? Whatabout the mysterious allegations of Najib's involvement in the Altantuya issue?

I realy dont have an opinion on this matter, but one things for sure, weak, ineffective and sleepy though Bodohwi may be, he certainly feels more moderate than the alternatives. Also, its pretty certain that his clock is ticking....Mahathir's wish for him to b just a one term PM may just come true...

BN's 2/3 majority BREAKS! 5 states go to the Barisan Rakyat

SAMY VELU IS OUT! SHARIZAT IS OUT! KOH TSU KOON IS OUT! ZAM IS OUT! KAYVEAS IS OUT! But Khairy is in...

Ok by now, everyone probably knows all the news of who is in or out...so this is no longer an actively updated post...needless to say that I am in general pleased and happy with Barisan Rakyat's immense success in breaking the BN's 2/3 majority as well as taking 5 states and reducing the majority in the others. Now its time for these Yang Berkhidmats (as opposed to the yang berhormats) to get to work. Im hoping that they will introduce local government elections in Penang Selangor and Perak. This will force BN's hand to reintroduce it nationwide....

Im trying to keep live updates from Malaysiakini. But due to high traffic, i cant. But this is the big news!

DAP has taken Penang. They won 19 seats. together with PKR and PAS the opposition has 22 out of 40 seats. DAP is expectd to form the new state government with Lim Guan Eng as the new Penang CM

Selangor has been taken by DAP-PKR. PKR's Khalid Ibrahim might be the new Menteri Besar, with DAP taking the Deputy position.

DAP-PKR-PAS will form a new coalition government for the state of Perak!

Semi-value is now NO VALUE! HAHHAHA high time la....

PAS and PKR have together taken over kedah!
Terrenganu is still in BN hands, PAS keeps kelantan

So we now have 5 states in opposition hands

Elsewhere DAP and PKR are doing very well

Wee Choo Keong (PKR) has won in Wangsa Maju
Nurul Izzah (PKR) has won in Lembah Pantai
Sivarasa Rasiah (PKR) has won in Subang
Tian Chua (PKR) has won his seat too!

Lim Kit Siang Lim Guan Eng, Karpal Singh, Jeff Ooi, Teresa Kok, Fong Po Kuan, all no need to say lah! hehehe

Malaysiakini Goes FREE!!

Yup! just for this election season, starting today (4 March) Malaysiakini will be 100% FREE for all the 4 languages (English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil) and will stay free for one week.

You people have now absolutely NO EXCUSE not to read Malaysiakini for REAL and TRUTHFUL news. Please spread the word far and wide. No need for all the rubbish Star, NST, Nanyang, Sin Chiew, Tamil Neesan, Makkal Osai, Berita Harian and what other waste of money brands of propaganda are out there. Read Malaysiakini. Free, fair and informative!

www.malaysiakini.com

Barisan Rakyat - The last hope of the people

CLICK HERE TO GET THE PAKLALA-RINGTONE FOR YOUR PHONE NOW!!

Some time ago, The Peoples Parliament launched The People's Voice, and The People's Declaration.

DAP, PAS, Keadilan, PSM, and MDP quickly endorsed it. Pasok was the only BN party to endorse it, but now they are keeping mum on the issue.

The above mentioned opposition parties have not only fully endorsed and supported, but have incorporated these 2 important civil society documents into their manifestos.

A Barisan Rakyat has been born people!

The People's Declaration and The Peoples Voice are now a bridge between all these parties, essentially making a joint manifesto.

spread the word to all! Read the People's Declaration and People's Voice!

By endorsing it, the Barisan Rakyat has pledged to voice out and fight for the people. Thats why i hope you will encourage everyone you know to support the Barisan Rakyat, who are (for the most part) going on 1-on-1 fights against the Barisan Nasional.

Below is the link to the People's Voice and People's Declaration. Please read it and understand it. Im sure you will have no problems supporting it.

http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/the-peoples-voice-the-peoples-declaration/

Also, here is Malaysiakini's coverage of the event:

mms://122.0.17.3/23Feb08_PeopleDeclare.wmv

HIDUP BARISAN RAKYAT!!

Comedy Court and the elections

Comedy Court has come out with something great for the elections! Funny as it is, I hope you also read the message behind it! Say no to RTM and the sleepy PM! Enjoy!

A James Bond style dumb spy-comedy it is!!

Its settled. Derek and I have had a chat and we have decided that we are going to go with an Action-Comedy film, with a James Bond style theme (although this will be a dumb comedy instead of something serious). Apart from that we havent realy gone past that idea, but at least we now have a definate heading!

Maybe we can do something called 'The Spy who Laughed at Me' as opposed to 'The Spy who Loved Me'?? LOL just a random thought. Who knows....

So now that we have a definate topic and heading, I hope to see more input from other people! Start sending in your ideas and suggestions people! We need a story for a funny James Bond style spy comedy! What would YOU like to see incorporated into such a film?

Remember, this is a comedy. So anything appropriate to the dumb spy idea whether its slapstick, idiocy or a witty line; all suggestions will be much appreciated. It just occured to me that Jhonny English made an attempt at such a film, but maybe we can take a slightly different approach? Rather than a stupid spy, maybe we can have a semi-intelligent spy who ends up in funny situations instead? Just a thought.

Anyway, for this idea to work, I think we are realy gona need more input from other people. SO please send us your ideas, and maybe even talk to other people to get ideas from then! Once again please send them in as comments.

Hopefully by Easter there will be something concrete to start updating the BlueMarble Productions website with!

~BV Out~

Proposals for our next film

Heya! back to the discussion on the film!

Ever since shoe suggested stop motion, it seems a host of people have jumped on the bandwagon and called for a stop motion film. Unfortunately, though interesting it may be, I currently dont have an interest in stop motion. On top of that, stop motion would be ALOT of work. First theres the story...We need to come up with a story appropriate to a stop motion film. Secondly, theres the making of the models. Whether you use clay, or plasticine, or whatever, itll be alot of effort. Finaly theres the whole process of filming it...TIME CONSUMING!! Might as well take loads of pics and use motion jpeg! :P

So anyway, glad got that cleared. 2nd idea is by me!
I saw a ghostbusters fan film last night (pretty good actually, even though lame), and thought to myself "hmm...this might work!" The problem with ghostbusters is that I forsee even more work than starwars, esp with the effects department. Star Wars was rudimentary (albeit time consuming) effects. Ghostbusters is sumthin else... Also, we will need better actors, as unlike star wars, effects cant realy patch up shoddy acting! Actors will need to be able to potray the silliness and serious stupidity necessary to make the film good.

And the third idea is back to the action-comedy. Here it branches into 3:

• Rush Hour style
• Asian/Apologetic Viking (yet to decide)
• James Bond spy type (but stupid comedy instead of serious)

As usual, all will need a kick-ass story, good actors and great filming and editing (the third is covered by me! :P)

Comments and feedback more than welcome. As usual please leave in the form of a comment and NOT on Cbox. Thanks! Ive turned off the moderation so that it is easier and quicker for comments to go up, thus acting more like a forum / discussion.

BluRay Wins!!

The great format war of the early 21st century has finaly come to an end. Toshiba has announced that they will cease production of HD-DVD players. With this announcement, the path ahead for BluRay is clear. The format war is over.

Of course this will not realy come as much of a suprise to those of you who have been following the developments of the HD arena, most of us were solidly backing BluRay anyway. But for most people out there, it comes as of little (if any) consequence because both BluRay and HD-DVD have been so remote back in Malaysia.

For most people the only mention of BluRay was from the PS3. It comes therefore as no suprise that one of the major factors in BluRay's triumph was the Playstation 3. The final blow to HD-DVD came when 20th Century Fox switched allegiance to BluRay, marking the eventual end of HD-DVD. Microsoft is probably at a loss now since the Xbox-360 (while supposedly superior to the PS3) supports HD-DVD (although you have to buy an external drive unlike the pS3). The PS3 also had the edge in that it came out first (correct me if im wrong). Though I guess MS probably erred for caution which is why they decided with an External HD-DVD player, that way it be much easier to make the switchover to BluRay.

The battle between BluRay and HD-DVD was a big one in America, and to a slightly lesser extent in europe. Only this year did BluRay players appear on the Malaysian market (albeit with ridiculous price tag XD) HD-DVD? well i think they might have come a little bit earlier, but in general it was never that economical to sell either back home. This will probalbly change in the near future of course, now that BluRay has won. And with BluRay having being successfully cracked by the pirates (WOOHOO!!) its only a matter of time... Heck pirated BD discs might probably appear before the original ones....

A must see film

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1282796533661048967

A very educational and moving film that is guarenteed to change the way we view the world around us, and all things living

Its 1.5 hours long, but please spare the time to watch it. Dont ask me what its about. I purposely do not want to elaborate because everyone will just brush off the topic, secretly knowing that they are more comfortable being blissfully ignorant.

I am opening up this blog for all to have a frank, open and mutualy respectful discussion regarding topic.

JUST WATCH IT DAMN IT!!!!!!!

Parliament has been desolved...time to start making demands!!

On the 13th of Feb (1 day before Valentines Day), our sleepy PM Badawi turned into the Lying 'caretaker' PM Bodohwi when he announced that as of that day (the 13th - his favorite number) Parliament will be dissolved as His Majestey the King has given his assent to his request. This is a 180 degree turn from his previous statement less than 24 hours beforehand. I quote Badawi

"No, not tomorrow, (the date parliament is to be dissolved)"

and when pressed further if its going to be the last cabinet meeting before elections:

"What makes you think it's going to be the last cabinet meeting? The cabinet meeting will go on, go on and go on. You are the smart aleck, you all enjoy circulating the rumours” .

Mr 'Nice Guy' Bodohwi has blatantly lied to the Malaysian people, and his pathetic excuse was that he needed the King's permission before he could say anything. Granted that the Agong has to give his consent, but that dosent give him the right to lie! He could have said that he is still unsure, or simply evaded the question, or even just say no comment! But he chose to openly and blatantly tell a LIE. Im wondering if he actualy didnt intend to dissolve parliament, and if is sudden change of mind was due to the monkey KJ (the son-in-law) whispering stuff into his ear while he was dozing!

Anyway back to my topic: Now that elections have been announced for March 8, with a 13 day campaigning period (again Bodohwi's fav number) the BN goons are bound to be about putting up flags and posters, and going door to door seeking your vote by giving you election goodies. NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR DEMANDS!! Ask for whatever you want, no matter how ridiculous it may be. Its election time!! Milk it to the max while you can, and then when you go to the polls, kick their lying, cheating, vote-buying, ISA butts!

haha of course do the same to the opposition too! (that is if they go around trying to buy your vote) As Jack Sparrow says "take all you can, give nothing back" Harvest the fruits while you can, or youll miss the boat! If your not eligible to vote, tell ur parents and relatives to do it for you. Make as many demands as you want! At the same time, if theres a ceramah or whatever in your area, you can go and publicly ask the MP-wanabe whatever you want, ask him(or her) for his stand on things important to you, and humiliate him if he cant give a proper answer or lies.

On a more serious note, if your from any of the Constituencies below, please take a look at the 'Get an MP' initiative by the peoples parliament. They are seriously trying to find an MP (wheter opposition or independant) that will stand up for the people. If there is anything that concerns you, now is the time to voice it out. Hey its election time! It may just make a difference who knows?

http://getanmp.blogspot.com/

http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008/02/15/get-an-mp-1/

1. Ampang
2. Bandar Tun Razak
3. Batu
4. Bukit Bintang
5. Cheras
6. Gombak
7. Kapar
8. Kelana Jaya
9. Kepong
10. Klang
11. Kota Raya
12. Lembah Pantai
13. Pandan
14. PJ Selatan
15. PJ Utara
16. Puchong
17. Rembau
18. Segambut
19. Selayang
20. Seputeh
21. Serdang
22. Setiawangsa
23. Shah Alam
24. Subang
25. Titiwangsa
26. Wangsa Maju

Rembau has been hilighted RED because it is rumoured that Khairy Jamalludin (the Beruk SON IN LAW) will be standing for MP there!

Rasuah Sayang

I just had to post this. There is a new version of Rasah Sayang going around the internet. It describes everything thats wrong with Malaysia. Not sure which is the original, but Ive put together the version which I thought was the funniest. ENJOY!



Rasuah sayang ehRasuah Sayang Sayang eh,
He lihat Pak Lah tidur
Rasa sayang sayang eh,


Budak mongolia di luar pagar,
Ambil C4 tolong letupkan,
Saya budak baru nak mengajar,
Kalau salah you duduk diam - diam.


Rasuah sayang eh Rasuah sayang sayang eh
Eh lihat monkey Zam bodoh
rasa sayang sayang eh


Zainuddin kita nak marah al - jazeera,
tapi sendiri tak berpengetahuan,
Mungkinkah dia belajar di MARA
Kerana jawapannya macam ketam.


Rasuah sayang Eh rasuah sayang sayang Eh
Eh lihat parliment kita
rasa sayang sayang eh


Parliment kita macam zoo negara,
Penuh dengan banyak binatang,
Ada beruk, monyet dan kera,
Kalau pergi sana bawalah kacang,


Rasuah Sayang Eh rasuah sayang sayang eh
Eh lihat rempit jaguh
rasa sayang sayang eh


Khairi kata rempit sangat terer
Mereka ialah mat cemerlang,
Otaknya sekarang entah mana,
Mungkin dah jadi rempit di longkang.


Rasuah sayang eh rasuah sayang sayang eh
Eh lihat bola kita
rasa sayang sayang eh


Dulu kita main bola peringkat antarabangsa,
Sekarang main macam ketam,
Kalah 5 - 1 kepada Cina,
Semalam pula kalah kepada vietnam.


Rasuah Sayang Eh Rasuah Sayang Sayang Eh
Eh lihat Indonesia jauh
rasa sayang sayang eh


Rasa sayang milik indonesia
Malaysia kata mereka punya
Otak engkau lagu ini milik kita
Kita punya Rasuah sayang sebenarnya


Rasuah sayang eh rasuah sayang sayang eh
Eh lihat polis jauh
rasa sayang sayang eh


Bila nak tiba hari raya
Polis kita merata rata
Muka mereka semacam saja
Bagi IC dan Ringgit Malaysia


Rasuah sayang eh rasuah sayang sayang eh
Eh lihat Pak Lah tidur
rasa sayang sayang eh


Air di Johor melimpah limpah
Pak lah beli rumah di Australia
Bila Mahathir kita marah
Dia kata rumah itu orang lain pula.


Rasuah sayang,Eh rasuah sayang sayang eh,
Eh lihat kaum India
rasa sayang sayang eh.


Protes Hindraf memang patut,
Hak mereka telah diragut,
Kuil diroboh sehingga kaput,

marah kecewa India terus melaut.

Rasuah sayang, Eh rasuah sayang sayang eh,
Eh lihat Samy vellu
rasa sayang sayang eh.


Kata Samy pula jangan dihasut,
Mau sapu isu di bawah selimut,
Bila Samy naik gelabah and kecut,
akan luput kareernya di sg. siput.



Rasuah sayang Eh rasuah sayang sayang eh
Eh Malaysia sudah mau hancur
rasa sayang sayang eh!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

GONG XI FA CHAI!!!

My first CNY away from home. Im so sad! I have no idea what to do for CNY, but either way it doubly sucks cause Thursdays are my busiest in the whole week!. Sigh, this year i guess its gona be quiet. No Ang Pows, no long visitng streaks. No CNY goodies (haha used to stuff myself silly!), No crazy time with friends.... SIGH............

Anyway, happy chinese new year to everyone, and hope you have a good time, even though most of us arn't around (either UK or Aussie or wherever).

PS: About the film, I came up with the idea of 'The Apologetic Viking', or better yet. 'The Asian Viking' LOL what dyu guys think. Shu, stop motion would be realy alot of effort. Satya, yea I was thinking along the lines of Rush Hour, but then we need good action and actors.... COMMENTS WELCOME!!

Any Ideas for a new film?

As I said before, Derek and I have been talking for sometime about making another film, but that we've been brain-dead when it came to ideas. Now before you all jump onto the Star Wars idea, stop. I dont think I want to do ANOTHER Star Wars film, partly because its waaay to much work (no matter how fun it is), but also because I want to try my hand at other types of films as well. OK I admit it, I love doing sound and special effects, but theres more to the world of film thatn star wars!!

So anyway, back to topic. I just sent a message to Derek proposing that we do some sort of Action-Comedy. Im not sure when he will reply with his thoughts on the idea, but I thought Id want to start looking into the idea seriously. Problem is, I have absolutely no idea where to start!!

So Im here asking around for ideas, suggestions and comments. I realy need to know what you guys think about us making an Action-Comedy. If you have an idea or a story that you want to see turned into a film, PLEASE do share it, and it will certainly be most appreciated! (weather or not we take it up)

Please leave any genuine and concrete ideas in the form of a comment to this post and NOT on the Cbox! That way itll be more permanant. Once we have started on something, Ill post an update here regarding the matter, and hopefully it wont be too long before there is some news regarding another film on the BlueMarble Productions website!

My 2007 Christmas Trip!! (Part2- London)

Okay! Finaly its time to update on my christmas trip! Today is monday, and since I have nothing better to do, I might as well do this.

Right. I landed in London Stansted on the evening of the 24th, and took the tube to South Kensington, which is where Imperial College is. I was staying with Norman, for those of you who dont know. Unfortunately, I couldnt use the route I planned cause they were doing works at Victoria station, and so no trains were going there. Hmm, I had to make a (literally) last min change, but it was ok becuase the new route ended up being faster and cheaper!

A word of advice if you want to go to London. Get an Oyster!! (sumfin like a TnG) Its much cheaper with an Oyster rather than buying tickets. Youll regret it if you dont.

Anyway. It was WAAAY foggy that night. I oculd barely see in fornt of me. Haha Norman had to come out and meet me near the station exit because I could find my way(due to the lack of visibility).

Next morning he took me round Imperial College. No I dunt have many pics! Dont forget I didnt take my camera along... Anyway. Imperial is a very beautiful Place. Hahah most of their physics labs are underground. I figure its not just due to lack of space, but also becuase if anything happens, itll be contained underground. LOL.

Well, after that, Nomz took me around Kensington area. He took me to the Royal Albert Hall. Very grand place where all sorts of music and arts performances are held. Then we went to Kensington Gardens, which is just adjacent to Hyde Park.

There we saw the Royal Albert memorial, which bsaicly looks like a giant That building from a distance. It has a solid gold statue of Prince Albert (husband of Queen Victoria). Shows just how rich the British Empire was. At kensington gardens, we basicly just relaxed, and fed the birds and stuff. Walked around the area, then went for lunch somewhere nearby.

In the afternoon/evening, I basicly just walked around the area alone(Norman was tired and took a nap :P) I walked up to Harrods, and around the area basicly. Took some pics, and even got abit lost LOL. (thank goodness for my map of london). Later that night, met up with Ce Dong, Yevonne and Ian. There was a christmas party at Imperial, held by Malaysians (who were mostly studying at Imperial). Had quite abit of fun. I realy wanted to go to church though, and there was this great big catholic church that was having a grand midnight mass with Ochestra and choir. Unfortunately, before I realised it, the time was already 1am, and so I decided that there was no point going to church, so I stayed on at the party. Sigh. Ian and Yevonne stayed over at Imperial.

Next day was Christmas day!! The one day where England is practically dead. No public transport whatsoever. So Ian and I took a slow, long walk from Imperial to UCL (where he is studying). We went thorugh ensington Gardens, and enjoyed the scenenry. Walked through Oxford street, and urmm, what else. Of course the cristmas decorations at Oxford Street were absolutely beautiful. Anyway, you can probably tell Im abit lazy to blog. (somehow this feels more like a chore that I need to just get done...)

That night, Ian took me around UCL. Its also very old and beautiful, and I took one or two pics with my phone. Ian cooked me dinner, and urmm...what did we do that night? I realy cant remember! I think we just watched TV! LOL there realy wasnt much to do....

Next day? BOXING DAY SALES!!! It was off to Oxford Street! OMG it was sooo crowded! And all along Oxford streeet you could see the word SALE. LOL. Boxing day sales are realy big here.

Funny thing is, just off oxford street, it was quite the opposite. There was hardly a soul around. Most were just people who parked their cars and were walking to Oxford Street. I didnt realy shop, because I wasnt sure of what I wanted to get. LOL. Some people will call it a waste, but then this IS england. SO ill be paying in pounds....

So that was how our Morning and afternoon was spent. In the evening, the guys (Ian, Norman and CeDong) took us round Central London. We first went to Trafalgar Square, then to Bond Street, Down to the riverside, past Westmister Abbey, then to Big Ben. Oh BTW at this time Jolynn had allready arrived in London, and we were trying to meet up with them. Between debating on who should go where, giving her travel directions, and begging Jo to get a UK number ASAP, my phone bill skyrocketed, as I was the one in constant contact wif JO. Dont forget that she is using an Irish number, so its not included in my minutes.... Worst thing? In the end we didnt meet up at all!! AIGH....

Anyway, after all that we went back to Norman's place for dinner. After that? Ping Pong!! HAHAH yea, I learned to play ping pong, and we practically played that the whole night. LOL.

My memory is seriously failing me now... I cant remember what happened on the 27th. I know i spend the whole day at the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum, but after that, I have no idea as to whar happened..... :s

On the morning of the 28th, I packed up and left. I didnt even get a chance to say bye or thanks to Norman, becuase he had work, and so had to leave. I went over to Ian's place and got the rest of my stuff (which I had left there), thanked him, and said goodbye. Then I made a quick stop at Oxford street to get some souviners. After that I headed over to my grand-uncle's place for Lunch. His place is pretty far away, Zone 5 maybe??

Anyway, spent the night at his house, and ot to know them. I havent seen them in AGES. Then I left for home on the morning of the 29th! I was back in Nottingham by mid afternoon, and thats the end of my christmas trip!

So...what now? Pictures of course! ENJOY!

The Royal Albert Memorial

Harrods!!

The Famous London Underground

An Original London Bus! Very hard to find these nowadays...

Cute eh? This is at Hyde Park

Me at Marble Arch
Me, Ian and Norman at Trafalgar Square

Still at Trafalgar Square, but this time against the National Gallery

I know its a crappy picture. The Christmas Tree and The Pole at Trafalgar Square

Big Ben!

The London Eye and City Hall from Westminster.

Silly pic of the 3 of us at Norman's Place

Say No to the Spectre of May 13

Im writing to give my thoughts to the lattest hot issue going around back home:
The statement by PJ Utara MP Chew Mei Fun(MCA) that “If there is insufficient Chinese representation in the Barisan Nasional, it is not a good thing, the Chinese community cannot afford another May 13 incident.”

This statement was aired by China Press. Obviously I cant and dont read the China Press, this is just news gathered around from the blogs. This statement has caused an uproar by civil society groups because of the highly threatening nature of this statment. Anyone with half a brain cell will be able to tell the meaning behind this statement:- That if chinese dont vote MCA, we will have another 13 May incident.

Now, China Press has aired an apology stating that the reporter had "misquoted and misrepresented Ms. Chew" in their coverage of the event. They state that Chew actualy said “If we do not have enough representation in the Barisan Nasional, then to the Chinese community, the lesson of 1969 is sufficient. I think we cannot afford another such scenario.”

Now of course these are all translations, so there are bound to be inaccuracies. (I figure her speech was in mandarin, and CP is in mandarin).

If this is true, and the translation accurate, I feel abit sorry for the MP because of the storm that is now hitting her. However, She didn't deny it (to my knowledge), and anyway what did she mean by 'the lesson of 1969 is sufficient' (or insufficient??). Some people claim that what she meant was actualy the shamefully huge loss MCA suffered in 1969 (and UMNO too for the matter). But of course what did that end up with? 13 May of course! So the way I see it, it is no different (IMHO) from the previous statement, except that this is what she may have actualy said, whilst the reporter might have just written down what she meant.

Either way, I feel as an MP it was highly irresponsible to make such a statement(whichever it was). The fact is, you say 1969 the first thing that comes to mind is 13 May. And anyway, UMNO has been calling out the 13 May Bogeyman for sometime now right? So why not MCA? BN Buddies! LOL.

The fact is that making such statements are realy playing with fire, and until she comes out with an explanation as to what she 'actually' meant by her statement (if that isnt what she meant) people can, will, and should see it as a dangerous and threatening gesture.

Hence, several civil society groups(Bersih Included) have come out with a joint statement, and many other individuals have endorsed it. All who agree with it can put it up on their blog. I have reproduced the statement blow, for you to see(and to keep yourselves informed!).

My POV? I will endorse this statement untill an apology, explanation, and statement that all should not fear their safety when voting is issued by MP Chew. These are of course just my thoughts, and I would very much like to hear your view on the matter.

~Baron Out~

JOINT PRESS STATEMENT BY CONCERNED MALAYSIANS ON 22 JANUARY 2008:

We, the undersigned civil society groups and concerned citizens of diverse ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, stress that all Malaysians have the right to choose their representatives and the government in a free, fair and clean election. No individual politician or political party should resort to threats or intimidation to influence the voter’s decision.
We lament that Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, MCA MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, as reported in the China Press on January 21 (Monday), has conveyed this fear-mongering message to the public: “If there is insufficient Chinese representation in the Barisan Nasional, it is not a good thing, the Chinese community cannot afford another May 13 incident.”

The May 13 ethnic riot in 1969 was a dark chapter in Malaysia’s political history where political violence and manipulation overshadowed the democratic process as well as the voice of the people. Invoking the bitter memories of this tragic incident for political gain is a huge insult to those who died, the surviving victims and their families. This veiled threat to voters not to support the opposition parties is shameless and unbecoming of a responsible political leader.

If Chew is aware of certain quarters planning to use violence in response to a certain electoral outcome, she who has been speaking tirelessly on public safety should lodge a police report immediately and assist in the police investigation.

If she is merely speculating, we are truly disappointed that she has stooped so low in fishing for support. Politicians should not behave like gangsters. They should not use the threat of violence to solicit vote, as gangsters do to extort money.

By making this statement, Chew has in fact violated Section 9 (1) of the Election Offences Act 1954:
Undue influence9. (1) Every person who, before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes use of or threatens to make use of any force, violence, or restraint, or inflicts or threatens to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting, or on account of such person having voted or refrained from voting, at any election, or who by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device or contrivance impedes or prevents the free exercise of the franchise of any elector or voter, or thereby compels, induces, or prevails upon any elector or voter either to give or refrain from giving his vote at any election, or who directly or indirectly interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise by any person of any electoral right shall be guilty of the offence of undue influence.

While waiting for the Election Commission to investigate and lodge a police report, we call upon Chew to do the honorable thing. She should retract her statement and apologize unreservedly for her fear-mongering act. She must condemn unreservedly the use of political violence in Malaysia.

Voters must be assured of their right to vote for any candidate or party of their choice in an environment that is free from fear and intimidation.

We also call upon the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Badawi to disassociate his administration and party from Chew’s fear-mongering statement and condemn unreservedly the use of threats and intimidation on voters.

We must not let Malaysia become a failed state where political violence rules, like Pakistan. We must not allow any party to ‘play with fire’. We categorically reject anyone who uses the spectre of May 13 as a bogeyman to threaten Malaysians.

All individuals or civil society organisations in support of democracy may endorse this statement by displaying a copy of this statement on their premises, vehicles or the front page of their blogs or websites, until Chew retract the statement and apologizes.

Civil Society Organisations:
Coalition For Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH)
Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC)
Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
Malaysian Voters Union (MALVU)
Save Ourselves (SOS Penang)
PJ Utara Get an MP Initiative

My first attempt at a Zoom Out to Space!

Well, you probably are expecting part 2 of "My Christmas Trip" but im feeling a little too lazy to do that right now. Its going to be a very long post, and I may just break it up!

Anyway, just writing to announce that Im back into playing around with After Effects, after quite some time, and Im very happy to show you my first attempt at a zoom out to space. It starts at the Petronas Twin Towers (rather unoriginal, I know).

Its kinda crappy, but its just something I did. Id like to thank Andrew Kramer for all his wonderful tutorials that help me to learn more about After Effects, and try out new things. Been spending a long time at your site, http://www.videocopilot.net/

Also Im spending more time, coming up with a HD version for the intro screen of the BlueMarble Productions sequence. And whilst it dosent appear to be faithful to the 'blue marble' theme, I think its coming along pretty good. But havent come up with the entire sequence. Lets just say is going to be BIG! LOL.

Yup! That means that BlueMarble Productions might be facing a comeback soon! (Infact Im planing on redesigning the website, but its pointless unless there are any new developments) Speaking of which, just want to say that Derek n I have been talking (more like thinking) for a while of seriously doing another movie, (and no this time I hope its not Star Wars, we want to try something else!) But for now, we dont realy have any ideas at all!

Well enough of my rambling, just watch the video!

My 2007 Christmas Trip!! (Part1- Dublin)

OKAY!! EXAMS ARE FINALY OVER!!! YAY!!

Now I can finally tell you about my Christmas Trip which Im sure your all simply DYING to know about yeah?! Overall it was a fantastic trip, except for one f***ing blunder. I FREAKKING LEFT MY CAMERA AT HOME!!! Bah, I still cant stop hitting myself for it. I mean like, what the HELL is the point of having a super great and EXPENSIVE vidcam, if im gona leave it behind on such a trip?? Ireland is sooo beutiful, and its the perfect place to take outdoor HD, imagine 1080p!!!! So, I have very few piccies, I had to survive with my phone (which is thankfully a k800) as well as tumpang Jo n Norman's camera. Or course Normz has an SLR which leads to fantastc pics!

DUBLIN:

First, I went to Dublin on the 20th, and spent a few days with my cousin Anu, and Jolynn of course!! It was sooo nice seeing both of them after such a LONG time!! OMG!!! IRELAND IS SOO BEAUTIFUL!!!! you can tell im getting all excited thinking about it! XD. I will DEFINATELY go there again. Next stop Galway!! HOOITZING HERE I COME!!! muahahahaahh.

Lol im going nuts. I didnt really go around very much in dublin itself, but from what I saw in the city centre, it realy is a beautiful city. My cousin DID say that 3 days was too short a trip. SIGH. NVM Ill go again. One thing, dublin sure isnt cheap!! But its definately worth going.

My flight was delayed by several hours, so I arrived at Dublin in the late evening. In fact, by the time i got to my cuz's place it was already 7pm!! BAH!! Went out for dinner with her, had Malaysian food!! Oh. I will NEVER take a cab in dublin unless i absolutely HAVE to. about 60% of the money i took with me to Ireland went off to the taxi man! (im not gona tell you the exact figure!)

Next morning I met up with Jolynn n Elaine! Yup!! Elaine is in UCD too! I had no idea untill I saw her waiting with Jolynn. LOL. Had Lunch at her place, then we went around abit. We ended up going for a movie at the biggest mall in Dublin (cant remember the name). Then went around a little bit more around the town at night. Went to Grafton Streeet ( think thats the name, forgot so muh di!) to see the christmas decorations. Since it was already late, I slept at Jo's place that night, cuz next morning we were going HIKING!!!

Following Morning, we headed out of Dublin, to the small town of Bray. If you wana see Ireland, thats the best way to go. Head out, cause Ireland is all about the great outdoors. We climbed Bray hill, and it was absolutely fantastic!! The scenery at the foothills as well as the top of the hill is awsome! (scroll down for pics) You see, the hill is by this lovely pebble beach, and from the top of the hill, there is a giant cross, and you can see the town of Bray, and the whole of the Dublin metropolitan area in the distance. The view is absolutely BREATHTAKING!

Ok, so maybe we had planned to do too many things in one day, cause we had to dump the trip to the Guiness storehouse. The Irish are very proud of their Guiness. Practically all souviners are about Guiness. LOL. Anyway, next place we went was Ennis-kerry (doubt I spelt it right), which is EVEN further away from Dublin. At Ennis is a old English Lord's mansion, with B-E-A-utiful gardens. Words simply cant describe the whole area, not just the gardens, but the whole of Ennis. One word. AMAZING. (I soooo wish I had my cammie)

It was a very long walk from the bus stop, and by the time we were done touring the area, it was already dark. (bout 6pm I think). Before we went around we had Lunch/Tea there,enjoyed the view and fresh clean air. Its just sooo peaceful. Anyway we spent quite alot of time there since we had already decided to not go to the Guiness Store House, which was ALL the way in Dublin, and it closed at 5pm. But, we were practiclally in the middle of nowhere! After a very long walk back to the bustop, we were abit lost, because we were unsure of which way was back to Dublin! :S Well, one very lovely Irish couple gave us a lift ALL THE WAY BACK to Dublin! They were so friendly and kind, and went out of their way to help us. Bet you will never find that kind of people in Malaysia!!

I promised my Cuz that Id go with her to her friend's Xmas party, so I rushed back, took a shower and out we went! Got to meet my cousin's friends, and I had a good time. (Apparently they enjoyed my company too. YAY!) Oh my cousin n her friends are all around 26 (graduated n working, most of them), so they were all like "you're soo young!" LOL, but you know what, its 2008 now and im gona be 19! I feel so old.....

Anyway, came back reaaly late the next morning (obv, its a party!). Woke up late, so rushed to town to get some souviners, and then took ANOTHER cab to the airport! Sigh that morning was such a rush that I didnt even get to take any pics with my cousin. Oh well, I will next time I go! Deffinately! Maybe ill even get to meet her BF?

So! That was my whirlwind trip of Dublin! Even though it was waay to short, I had a blast! Got to see 2 people who I hadnt seen in a very long time. Then it was on to London! Malas to blog about that trip right now, so Ill continue later, but for now.... PICTURES!!!!

City Hall at O'Connel Street

An Interesting Tram Bridge

Christmas decorations at Grafton Street

Me n Jo at the Square in front of the Mall I told you about

Me n Jo halfway up Bray Hill

The Beach at Bray

At the Summit, with the hills at the back. Its really windy!!

The City in the distance! The picture dosen't do it justice!!

Me n Jo with the giant cross. Outstandingly Wonderfull!

Somewhere in Enniskerry, on the road to the Mansion. For some reason I realy liked that hill.

Dublin is full of Statues! but this one is just one of the many at the Mansion

The last picture I took in Dubin. The Three of us, somewhere in the Gardens.