The life and times of Jason Phoon

the end

2007-03-21T17:21:00.000+08:00

Ahh blogspot , you've been a good friend. However, all good things must come to an end. I'm moving on now. I know you'll be happy for me and I will always keep you in my heart. Wish me luck!

www.jasonphoon.com

See you on the other side !

pajama rocker

2007-03-21T10:27:00.000+08:00

I've been playing the guitar for 10 years now. I'm proud to say that I have no formal training , but I sure can rock people's socks off. Well, my own socks at least.

I don't play often, because it's my brothers guitar and I don't want to disturb him. You see, he's almost the opposite of me in terms of guitar playing. He's calculative and puts up papers on music theory on the whiteboard in his room. As for me ? I just pick it up and start wanking on the guitar. Figuratively, of course.

I guess it annoys him because :

he's always studying
I have to kick him out of the room to play
he has superior math-like guitar skills
he doesn't like some of my music

Well, now that my brother's off studying Mechanical Engineering in Melbourne, I get the room and the guitar. Guess what happens everyday folks ?

I wake up in the morning to the bright sunshine and rock out! In my pajamas! Before I brush my teeth! Oh sweet liberation.

Hey Raymond ! Hey Ifran ! Hey Ruzian ! Whatever the hell happened to our band ? Lets rock out before the real world gets to us ! Stick it up to the Man ! Come on !

ps: I play a Schecter Diamond Series with a Peavey Amp and rock out to Wolfmother, Silversun Pickups, Bloc party and Fall Out Boy

the fox and the sparrow 1

2007-03-19T20:43:00.000+08:00

the sparrow can sing

I've decided that the fox is my favorite animal.

This comic is based on a folk tale. Without the profanity, of course. Thanks to YinLee for the story !

On a related note, Farah asked me the other day , "Where can I download a firefox ?"

I laughed my ass out.

Sorry Farah ^_^

moving on

2007-03-18T12:51:00.000+08:00

I can't take it anymore !

blogspot is super slow , and I want to convert to the new blogspot to add tags but I can't ! I've had it with blogspot !

Plus , I've been getting tons of spam in my comments section which I have to moderate everyday. I've put the word verification which makes it harder for you guys to comment. Sorry , but here's the good news :

I've been playing around with wordpress , and I'm very impressed! Its really fast and as all these shiny features! It even transfers all your posts from your old blog !

I'll keep you guys posted as soon as I get my own domain ^_^

Enjoy the fox comics for now.

the fox

2007-03-17T19:11:00.000+08:00

infiltrate racoon city

2007-03-16T00:54:00.000+08:00

fuck buddies

300 movie review

2007-03-14T11:02:00.000+08:00

I watched 300 last sunday, and I almost creamed my pants.

300 is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel , which is the story of the Battle of Thermopylae . In this battle , 300 Spartans have to defend a narrow road from the massive Persian army.

Firstly, this movie is historically inaccurate in these ways:

There were actually 5000+ soldiers in the Greek army . Including 300 Spartans of course.
Persians of ancient times were not just giants, ninjas, lesbians and monsters.

Then again, we did not watch this movie for a history lesson, did we ?

300 is aimed at the videogame generation and it really shows. The game that comes to mind , is of course God of War. Greek mythology and monsters aside , if God of War were to be made perfectly into a movie, 300 would be it.

of wolf and man

The first thing you'll notice about the film is the superb art direction. The film has a grainy , washed out look, making everything hyper-stylized. Not like how history would look like, but how legends are supposed to be told. Beautiful.

The next thing you'll notice is the ultra-violence. Yes, somehow our censorship board let this pass and didn't censor a damned thing ! Severed heads , limbs , sword against metal , sword against flesh never looked so beautiful. Violence , never looked so beautiful.

violence never looked so beautiful

The action , is breathtaking. Slow motion is used to it's best effect here. Everytime a spear or sword hit something, you can feel the impact. Seriously, some of the action sequences nearly made me cry. It's that good.

Spartan six packs

Next , is the machismo of it all. All of the Spartans, are blood-crazed , laughing at fear and insurmountable odds. Hell, every single damned Spartan has a six-packed-abs. Even the queen is very macho. The audience in my cinema (probably feminists) were applauding at one scene.

the queen

The music is a mix of typical movie score , rock and industrial music. When I watched the trailer and they had a NIN song in it , I wouldn't imagine that they actually would put industrial music in the movie. One scene had the Spartans marching , and it was awe-inspiring. Of course, it all blends well into the movie, raising it all to a whole new level.

If you guys have not realized, I really love this movie. I've put it into my favorite movies of all time. Here's the updated list :

Saving Private Ryan
300
Gladiator
American Beauty
Forrest Gump
Apocalypto
~~Troy~~( 300 kicked Troy's ass of this list )

Hell, this is the results of my fanboyism:

cutting my hair like a Spartan helmet
attempting to get a Spartan six pack
watch it the second time , and third time. alone , if I have to ...
pledging to buy the original DVD when it comes out
ranting and raving to all my classmates
ranting and raving on my blog !

2007-03-13T00:48:00.000+08:00

troubleshooting

Eragon movie review

2007-03-11T00:34:00.000+08:00

I watched Eragon yesterday. I can't help but thinking that I would have enjoyed it much better if I was a few years younger. And a few IQ points lower too.

Eragon is a story about a boy named Eragon, who is the last hope to overthrow an evil empire. The last hope because he has a dragon. Because he is the "chosen one" . And also because he's a farmboy.

Eragon, the reluctant farmboy hero

Hey , Luke Skywalker and Frodo were farmboys, and they lived with uncle Owen and uncle Bilbo respectively ! So of course Eragon has a good chance of saving the world, right ?

Lets point out the obvious Scifi/fantasy cliches that Eragon has :

reluctant farmboy hero that stays with his uncle
empire = bad , rebels = good
princess in distress
mentor that dies
despite never having training, hero is able to use magic that everyone else takes years to learn

For fucks sake, retire these cliches` already !

Put in one more sun , and I swear this scene is Star Wars: A New Hope

Then there were the WTF scenes.

WTF scene 1:

It was daytime , Eragon is speaking to the dragon.
Abruptly, the next scene , Eragon is walking for no reason in the forest and stumbles into a cave. At night !
In the cave , there is a book about dragons and Mr Jeremy Irons is there.
WTF

WTF scene 2:

Nightime, the enemies kill Eragon's uncle while he watches
He runs away from the farm and dragon picks him up to save him
Dragon flies very far away. I repeat, very far away !
Eragon argues with the dragon and says "Let me go !"
The dragon lets him go and Eragon falls into a haystack. Right outside his farm ! Daytime !
Eragon runs into the farm and finds his uncle dead.
Eragon blames dragon for not letting him save his uncle
WTF

Are teenagers ( the film's target audience ) really that stupid to not notice these discrepancies ? Or am I too old to understand the beauty of WTF scenes ?

The book that this movie is based on was written by a 15 year old , and it shows. But that doesn't mean the movie has to feel like it was made by 15 year olds right ? Or was it ?

Oh , and guess what ? The movie also felt like it was a really expensive trailer for parts 2 and 3. Yes , another trilogy !

However, the movie wasn't entirely unenjoyable to me. I kinda liked the dragon flying part. And the princess is pretty damned hot too. Plus, did I mention that dragons are cool ?

Ahh , princess Arya

I wish I had a dragon :(

2007-03-09T00:18:00.000+08:00

My heart belongs to another

anti social shell

2007-03-07T12:48:00.000+08:00

Hmmm , seems like that time of the year again, where I go into my anti-social shell.

I'm not going to stop blogging , but you're just going to have to put up with my ramblings, amateur philosophy, anti-female comics and miscellaneous rubbish.

Don't worry, I'll be fine . I have my video games and computer stuff to keep me company. Monday, I was feeling down , so I went and bought a DVD burner! Now I can backup my stuff ! Yay !

And for friends I have my loyal DOTA gang ! My friend Joshua would say "Who needs girls when we have videogames !"

But seriously folks , I'm in the middle of my 3 week intensive computer training. Everyday I kick myself because I really need my holiday and break from computers. Especially after my 1-year long programming job at (if )interactive. The monitor glare is really getting to my brains.

I guess I'll limit my contact to a few close friends now. Time for hibernation.

fishing

2007-03-05T21:14:00.000+08:00

Girls like to play fishing with guys

funeral party

2007-03-03T23:53:00.000+08:00

Some of you guys might know, that I imagine my cause of death would be a sharp thing falling from the sky and impaling me. Like , a beam fell of the plane or something.

Then after that , I would want my body cremated and my ashes spread around the world by my descendants. I have a list of places that I like, and I would update that list frequently. No grave please.

Then there would be a party ! Shufen came up with this idea, where people would celebrate the life and death of the deceased , by eating his favorite food, play his favorite music, talk about his accomplishments, his bad habits, his smile and everything that he left behind.

Wouldn't a funeral party be cool ?

Then I would proceed with Shaun's idea. The cremated ashes , would be spread around the orchard where the people grow apples. So that each generation after that would always have a little bit of grandpa everytime they eat apple pie.

Oh , and my ex-girlfriends and their families would attend the funeral and realize how small the world is.

Ahh , dying doesn't seem so bad after all.

sometime ?

2007-03-02T00:10:00.000+08:00

Want to go out sometime ?

tabula rasa

2007-02-28T15:28:00.000+08:00

Well , guess what ? The cute marketing girl stood me up. I messaged her , and she replied "Oh sorry, I'm out with a colleague. Another time perhaps .. ". And I was like , ouchies.

Then again, she said "Another time perhaps .. ". Which is my que to ask her out again next week ^_^

So during lunch, I went to MPH and picked up the book called "Introduction to the Enlightment".

As you might know , "the Enlightment of the 18th century was a crucial change in human history, as people began to free themselves from the authority of the Church and find their own vocation". Oh , I ripped that line from the back of the book.

What compelled me to buy the book was the meaning of tabula rasa as written b John Locke. The dogma believes that all knowledge is derived from experience .

That's what I always believed in. That's why I never really liked learning by reading or just listening to advice. I'd rather make my own mistakes. Life my own life ! Do it my way !

Oh wait, that was a song already.

It also explains why I'm more of a practical person , rather than a theory based one ? I mean , rules are meant to be broken right ? I cannot stand people who would be so afraid to do something , because they're not doing it right. Come on , be adventurous ya. Do something crazy, like ask a stranger out !

I also find it curious, that one episode of Lost was called Tabula Rasa. I wonder if it was the same one where the character Locke ( even the name is familiar ... ) has his flashbacks. Let's not psychoanalyze Lost here. It's a pandora's box eh.

I'll blog more about Enlightment soon ya.

teenage hearts in parking lots

2007-02-28T00:03:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I've felt this alive. I can't quite explain why but everything seems new again. Even the morning sun as I pull myself out of bed at 8am (that's very early by my standards) to go for my Linux administration training.

Oh , by the way, I'm attending a 3 week , 9am to 5pm intensive computer training near midvalley megamall. I attended the second class today and it was quite boring. I'm sitting behind the class and chatting on MSN !

Somehow, I catch on real quick at class. Its like my my brain's gotten much sharper because of my one year working at (if ) interactive. I kinda miss that place. And I can't blog about the last day of work because I haven't got the photos !

Also, I'm having lunch with the cute girl from the marketing department tomorrow ^_^ . I was high on coffee when I asked her out. Hehe , sorry Amy, I couldn't use that pickup line you recommended. I think you want to sabotage my efforts :P

The year feels great, like it's starting out with a bang. Now , lets make the best of it ya! All hail those born on the year of the pig!

ps : oh, and the title of the blog entry refers to how your heart feels right before you make out in the parking lot as a teenager.

muse

2007-02-26T01:14:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Ann, I get to watch Muse LIVE at Stadium Negara ! Holy cow , they're like only the best live band from Europe. Here in Malaysia! Althought I wish I was in the mosh pit with the other crazy people. I got a very nice seat instead, cozy and comfortable. Oh well ....

Ann , Hui Ru and Dorothy. Before the concert, we played cards at Starbucks!

Sigh , I wish I was in the mosh pit.

Hui Ru and me. I'm not a very good camwhore, therefore the blurry picture.

"This is the EEENNNNNNNDD OF THE WOOOORLLLLDDDDDDD!!!"

The lighters were out.

All in all , the concert was GREAT. They are just as an amazing live band as I expected them to be. Too bad I wasn't in the mosh pit, jumping around with the other rowdy bunch. I'm going to get their older albums now. Good nite !

new beginnings

2007-02-25T15:12:00.000+08:00

I've delayed blogging about this because I don't have the pictures yet. But I'll just tell you guys about it anyways.

Some of you guys might know that last week was my last week working at (if )interactive. I've left because I'm going to continue my adventures abroad, in a country unknown at the moment.

The same time last year, I was applying through AIESEC to work abroad, in a foreign environment. It's always been a dream of mine. Like how it was a dream to work in a cool company like (if )interactive.

Ahh , i'm going to miss working at (if )interactive. It was such a great year. Stay tuned for the last day of work and farewell dinner pictures. And a real blog entry of course.

It's not like I can slack off and bum anyways, next week is some intensive Linux Administration training , which is 9-to-5 , everyday for 3 weeks. Why can't I holiday for a while ? ^_^

On a sidenote: I'm going to watch MUSE live ! Thank you ANN for the free tickets ! Ohhhmygoodness ...

mata mata turtle

2007-02-23T17:54:00.000+08:00

Speaking of turtles and tortoises, this is probably the ugliest turtle I've ever seen. Okay , make it the ugliest animal or living thing on earth.

It's name , in spanish means "it kills, it kills". You can insert any joke you want here.

Its face looks like my puke on Sunday school many , many years ago.

This is its face. The snout in the middle is used to breathe over the surface of the water. I don't know what the other two snouts do.

Check out his smile. It says , "I'm happpyyyy ... "

This is how it eats small fish. Looks quite violent eh ...

To read more :

rebellion

2007-02-20T17:02:00.000+08:00

My family probably has some history of son against dad rebellion. When my dad was young, grandad would bring him along on his gambling trips. My dad , of course, would get very resentful and I don't know what kinda adventures he would come up with.

Of course, my dad would soon do the same thing to me. Meaning that whenever he goes back to hometown, he would force me to go. And wait around while he gambles. It's really funny how things comes around full circle , isn't it ?

This year, I chose not to wait around, and wanted to back a little earlier from my hometown. So I took the bus home from Negeri Sembilan ! And don't worry , my dad consented to this , so it's not really a full fledged rebellion.

So begins , my little adventure:

First , my dad dropped me at Bahau town bus station. I looked for the smelliest and smallest bus there. JUST for the experience. It started raining lightly, which made the bus trip seem more special. I don't know how to describe it.

It's been a year, I'll show how my eyes look like.

What most of my hometown look like, rubber plantation and palm oil trees.

I arrived at the Kuala Pilah bus station, where Tsuqi and boyfriend came to pick me up.

Tortoise soup. Tortoise tastes like pork to me. Tortoise you know ! Not endangered species like turtle okay !

From Kuala Pilah, there were no buses to Kuala Lumpur direct. So I had to take a bus to Seremban first. As you can see, the bus is very crowded, and I had to stand up for 2 hours in a traffic jam. Standing in between 2 guy's armpits. Yeah, this is the worst part of my adventure.

I finally reached Seremban. Tried to shop for some shirts, but found nothing nice. I took the nicest bus to KL from there though. I can't stand the smelly busses anymore.

The nice bus arrived at Central Market in KL. Bought some nice bracelets. Shufen picked me up later on.

I finally reached home ! I was greeted by neighbour's doggies, Milo , Schnooty and Cookie. Peanut should be around somewhere there too.

I left Bahau at 1:00pm and arrived at my house at 6:30pm. The journey took much longer than expected (of course , I stopped by Kuala Pilah for an hour or two ). The whole journey cost less than Rm10.

Was the journey worth it ? You bet it was. Sometimes, people should take the long scenic route. And rebel once in a while ^_^

Happy Chinese New Year!

2007-02-17T02:29:00.000+08:00

Hello !!

I'm going back to my hometown in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan. Yep , it's a rubber estate. That place doesn't even have service for my mobile phone and obviously no internet connection.

So for the first time in a looong loooong time , I'm going to be off the internets and any computer interaction. My brain needs this clarity , and I'm going to do some soul searching too.

When I'm back , I'm going to blog about my last day of work , and hopefully a little bit about my hometown.

Stay tuned folks !

oh , and Happy Chinese New Year !

Happy Valentines!

2007-02-15T01:30:00.000+08:00

I drew a few comics before about this subject:

Hmm . since when did I get so cynical ? hehehe...

takeoffs and landings

2007-02-12T13:18:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I was at KLIA to send off my brother. It was quite a ruckus , because along with him there were probably 10 other families sending off their respective children. That and a whole bunch of my brother's church friends , school friends etc etc. So many people.

By the way , he's going to study Engineering in Monash for 1 year. More like 10 months.

So his friends asked me "Are you going to miss your brother ?" I'm more like :

Yes I'm going to get his electric guitar!
Yes I have 2 rooms now !
Yes I have double angpow money !

Then of course, I went home and felt a little disoriented that no noise is coming from the next room. I woke up this morning , and Humpty had no one to disturb ( maybe I'll blog about this one day ) , no one to fetch me to work and hear me complain.

So yeah , of course I miss him.

Julian and me

10,000 grams

2007-02-08T14:59:00.000+08:00

10 kilograms

I weighed myself a few days ago and was a little shocked to see 75kg. This means I've gained 10kilograms ( that's 22 pounds for you americans ) in the past year.

That's since I started working to be exact.

Funny thing is , I look basically the same to everyone I've asked. So where'd the 10Kilograms go ? ( one theory is the comic above. Because muscles are heavier than fat )

Then again, I don't really mind cause I've never felt better looking in my life. Yes, you heard that vain statement right. For those of you new to this blog, just to let you know I'm prone to bimbo statements once in a while. ^_^

Let see what theories I can put out for the additonal unseen weight:

phantom limbs
muscles ( that only come out occasionally )
ghosts

Dead Weight

Any other theories ?

pointing at the moon pt 2

2007-02-06T13:23:00.000+08:00

A chinese superstition goes, if you point at the moon, you will get your finger/ear cut. In my opinion , this is what happens.

lunar-ninja-assasin-of-superstition

I guess you all should be lucky I'm not in charge of making these things up.

pointing at the moon

2007-02-05T17:40:00.000+08:00

There is a chinese superstition, that if you point at the moon, your ear will get cut off. Last week I pointed at the moon and my friend said "Hey , don't do that , you'll get your ear cut.

I'm never one to believe superstition. I've always thought they're stupid and people made them up to explain otherwise common sense.

So a mosquito bit the behind of my ear and left a scar there. It hurts a little and is very annoying.

And 2 days ago , I pointed at the moon again ! And I got bit by a mosquito on my left ear !

If I believed in superstition , I would make this up "If you point at the moon , a mosquito will bite behind your ear. Alternately. And it will annoy you. Kinda ... "

Bleach

2007-02-03T15:38:00.000+08:00

I've been watching an Anime called Bleach. You may have heard of it. Or not. Anyways, some things about it annoy the buffalo feces crap outta me:

The main character, Ichigo , when seems to be defeated will always suddenly burst with new unknown energy and defeat his opponent. Come on , you don't want to teach young impressionable people that blind luck and determination will always trump traditional hard work and insurmountable odds. It's ridiculous
One of the female lead characters , Inoue , is a skinny girl with ridiculously large boobs. What the hell is wrong with Anime and Disney cartoons ? In fact, this issue deserves a blog entry on it's own. I'll deal with this later.
In the middle of a swordfight, the characters will stop and reminesce about their past. Then the episode will end in a cliffhanger. The next episode might be a filler ( not related to the previous fight ) , and the conclusion to the fight in the next episode will be anti-climatic. FUCK , this is anime at it's worst !

It's not that I hate this anime , it's pretty cool, but I'd love to see all these anime conventions be down away with. I'd certainly prefer Naruto , if not for the filler-episodes ( which outnumber the proper episodes , by the way . Yeah . WTF ).

Oh , and the real purpose of this post is that I like the 'villain' character (I don't know if he's really a villain , I'm at episode 40 , so don't nobody spoil it for me !).

Because he's always smiling.

市丸ギン, Ichimaru Gin

Funeral

2007-01-31T17:12:00.000+08:00

Donkeys are saving the funeral

This was inspired by Shufen's dream. I called her when she was sleeping, and I asked her "what are you dreaming about ?"

She told me about her dream:

"The donkeys are saving the funeral. They make him alive again, and the flowers were very colorful".

So I draw this comic.

Now I feel compelled to know. Who's funeral is it ? How did the donkeys save the funeral ? Maybe I call her again when she sleeping.

Too old to play

2007-01-29T00:38:00.000+08:00

Too old to play

sanctuary

2007-01-26T09:57:00.000+08:00

Ever grew up with a person, and for many years you were together, you just found comfort with each other ?

And after a while , that comfort zone is the thing that keeps each individual from growing up ?

That safe warm place is where you go back to when the whole world is crazy around you , and you build your life and dreams upon that unrealistic ideal.

Then that dream itself becomes just that, a dream.

And after a while , that dream becomes insufficient for one person, and that person tells you "I don't feel the same anymore".

It's like Christopher Robin telling Winnie-the-pooh , "I can't play with you anymore .. you don't exist , and I have to grow up and go to school".

I feel like a ghost now.

sunset

2007-01-25T10:30:00.000+08:00

Few days ago I was walking home from work. It's been a while since I've walked home while it was still bright. Well, bright enough to see the sun at least.

It just happens that the direction from the office to my home is facing the sunset. The sky was quickly getting dark, and it seemed to overtake me.

I felt then, that life was telling me "I don't have time to wait for you ... "

So I stare at the distant sunlight , the day that has passed by and the warm glow of the past. And right behind me, the cold night approaching. The dark present and the uncertainty of it all.

And I knew a great change was about to happen.

And I also know a new day would come, and I would have new memories. But at the moment, I don't want to let go. Not just yet ...

Life doesn't wait for you.

Fan Art gone wrong ...

2007-01-20T17:52:00.000+08:00

Look at this fan art !

Mario

Luigi

Evangelion

Ronald Macdonald

Nice or not ??

I got these from : http://www5c.biglobe.ne.jp/~kurekure/index.htm

I have no idea where I got that website from.

of buffets and the internets

2007-01-20T14:27:00.000+08:00

You know how a buffet works right ? Everyone takes as much food as they can before they puke their guts out. This works for restaurants because people can't really eat as much as want to.

Okay , what if , everyone at the buffet were large eaters ? The buffet would most certainly run out of food right ?

This concept is called overselling.

But not when it comes to our internet service !

Our internet service is offered by tmnet to us on "best effort" basis. What the fuck does that mean ? On peak hours when everyone is using the internet, your tubes can only support less people than you sell to ? And you complain when we use 100% of our bandwidths all the time ?

Sure , we want to download music and movies , because we paid for the bandwidth !!

smurfs and communism

2007-01-13T12:40:00.000+08:00

I was reading up smurfs on wikipedia (don't ask why) and some controversy caught my eye. Apparently some people think that smurfs are communists. Here's why:

they all wear the same clothes
they share stuff with each other
each smurf has a specialized role
they collected their food , and distributed it fairly
nobody sells the food
S.M.U.R.F might stand for Socialist Men Under Red Father
Finance Smurf once tried to introduce currency to the village, and everything was in chaos
The enemy , Gargamel wants to turn the smurfs into gold. Gargamel represents the greed of capitalism

And Papa smurf looks like Karl Marx.

to read more:

hamsters

2007-01-10T13:17:00.000+08:00

My life's work is complete ! I've managed to train hamsters to do amazing feats ! All bow down to my hamster mastery !!! I'm one more step closer to world domination !!

Okay, that was all a complete lie.

google calculator

2007-01-07T01:14:00.000+08:00

The other day , I was curious and I tried typing in Google Search:

1 + 1

And that smart bugger actually answered 2 !

So I tried expermenting further, and typed something more complex:

sin(0.5) + cos(0.8)

And the answer was :

sin(0.5) + cos(0.8) = 1.17613225

"Holy cow" I thought to myself. Then I tried some currency conversion:

500 ringgit = ? yen

and the answer was:

500 Malaysian ringgit = 16 944.1446 Japanese yen

I read up a bit about Google calculator. It seems you can even type:

5 kg in pounds
10 feet in cm
how many seconds in a decade
The Answer To Life The Universe and Everything

Isn't google smart ?

2006 retrospective

2007-01-02T13:58:00.000+08:00

Quite a lot happened last year, I :

Hooray for such a great year !

happy new year!

2007-01-01T00:22:00.000+08:00

So another year comes. This time we had so much fun until we lost track of time and we missed the countdown. At least we saw some fireworks !

Well , all I can say about the upcoming year is:

everything is going to change

of earthquakes and internets

2006-12-29T10:52:00.000+08:00

Seems that earthquakes in taiwan can cause internet disruptions here in Malaysia.

I found this out from lowyat.net .

Those red lines show the tubes of the internets. So this earthquake right (shown by the white star in the middle of the picture) kinda blew open the tube.

Our internet overlords, Tmnet, says our internets outage would be fixed by next Thursday. But today my internet is working fine. Why ar ?

Seems that they are using alternative tubes or something. But my guess is that Taiwan fixed their underwater cables. So if it was up to Tmnet , they would fix it only by next Thursday.

I don't know, maybe I'm biased.

merry christmas

2006-12-24T14:49:00.000+08:00

badminton

2006-12-22T15:37:00.000+08:00

quick PS3 Update

2006-12-21T01:57:00.000+08:00

I just made a trip to Sungei Wang today. Here's the next-gen console prices:

PS3 - Rm2500
Wii - Rm1800
Xbox360 - Rm1000

And for well-meaning girlfriends, don't get the ps3 ! There's only 2 games out in malaysia, that is Genji2 and RidgeRacer7. Hardly worth getting a Ps3 for. Plus the online capability sucks ! Not sure if they have PS online update service in malaysia though.

I'm not too sure about the Wii either. You have to fork out rm250 for every game ? Ouch.

Wow, the xbox360 is reallllly looking attractive at that price. Damn you microsoft, damn you !

I promise , this is the last post about video games. For now .... eheh.

PS3 , WII , xbox360

2006-12-18T13:43:00.000+08:00

This is the sad situation in Malaysia:

Price of consoles:

Playstation3 : Rm3000+
Nintendo Wii : Rm 2100
xbox360 : Rm1400

Price of games:

Playstation3 : to be determined
Nintendo Wii : Rm250
xbox360 : Rm140

How can the Nintendo Wii be so expensive you might ask ? Well , they import from the U.S. Even then , its USD 250 right ? and convert to Rm , which the exchange rate is 3.5. So technically , the Wii should only be about a thousand right ? But no, Rm2100 !!

And don't even get me started on the Ps3. Terrible launch reviews and the Blu-Ray drive forced upon us ! ( that alone , made each console cost USD200 more ) . It's not out in Malaysia yet, but according to Sony salesmen, the price is estimated to be Rm3000+. Holy SHIT !!

And that leaves us with the final and least expected option. The Xbox360. Priced at a reasonable Rm 1400 , superior online service and the killer-app , Gears of War. I'm even tempted to get this !

As for me, I'm sticking with my Ps2 and Final Fantasy XII , thank you.

Kancil Awards

2006-12-14T01:02:00.000+08:00

Every year, the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia ( 4As ) has the Kancil awards !

This was (if )interactive's first year at the awards
We won a total of 6 Bronzes and 7 Merits.
There are no Golds and Silvers for the "Online Media" Category
Meaning we're the best in that category!

Here's some pictures ya:

The Kancil Logo

Marionette, JasonPhoon and Alex

Alex, Tsuqi , LeeSeng and Darien

Time to collect our awards!

Adrian, Marionette , Ahbonk , JasonPhoon and LeeSeng.

Saiful, holding the awards we won. You see, they made the awards shaped like Lego bricks. So that we can stack our awards together. Cool concept.

After the awards, we went drinking. In this picture, everyone's sober.

Tsuqi , Ahbonk , LeeNyin , Bob and Sanyen.

And now , Sanyen presents the drunkard employee awards to:

The winner: ALEX!

Man , he didn't remember much. I don't want to post his puke and underwear picture here.

The runner up, Ben

See, he's sober enough to hold up a peace sign. But not sober enough to puke on the walkways.

I myself , puked at home in my own toilet bowl. I took a picture of that but the phone camera cannot possibly show the full glory of my own puke. So I'll not post it here.

Ahh , good times .. good times.

Tenacious D Movie Trailer

2006-12-12T11:17:00.000+08:00

Awww Jack Black is fucking awesome.

I now declare him my favorite Actor.

Expect more posts about him ya.

All HAIL THE D !!

disconnected

2006-12-10T22:07:00.000+08:00

I've been feeling rather detached lately. Guess all that time in front of the computer and playstation2 is taking its toll on me. By the way, FinalFantasyXII is really addictive.

Even my blog seems to have taken a personality of its own. Sometimes I wonder who draws these comics. Is my life really that boring ? Where are the posts about my life ?

Thank goodness the end of the year is here ! Time to get out of hibernation!

Mix Tape

2006-12-06T18:50:00.000+08:00

This is the soundtrack to my life (currently, that is):

Placebo - Meds
Damien Rice - 9
Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Killers - Sam's Town

from http://www.says-it.com/cassette.

I heart you

2006-12-04T13:23:00.000+08:00

The weekend

2006-12-01T01:00:00.000+08:00

The weekend is here!

Malaysianisms

2006-11-29T10:34:00.000+08:00

Here's a rundown of what's going on at the moment:

Malaysian Airlines actually reports a profit .
Then again, it might be due to the fact they sold a building.
Toll Rates Increase
Aren't toll rates supposed to be lowered eventually when the costs are covered ?
Can you build toll booths on exisiting roads (LDP) and charge people for it ?
Increased Fuel Prices
Due to the high price of crude oil in the U.S, our government raised the price of fuel in February. The price of crude oil has since dropped, but the government is not considering lowering the fuel price. Petronas ( Oil and Gas company , wholly owned by the government ) reports a RM 27.7 billion profit.
We send 2 men to space
They're going to make teh tarik (that's tea) and play batu seremban.

Urghh .. I've been reading too much jeffooi

Diary

2006-11-27T01:25:00.000+08:00

Guess what happens when I can't sleep at night?
I draw comics ! Yaaay ...

slump

2006-11-21T23:04:00.000+08:00

People

That's a drawing I made this morning using my colleague's drawing-board/stylus/wacom/tablet thingie. It's pretty cool.

Despite the cheerful drawing, I'd have to say that I'm in a slump. I don't know why, I don't feel too good overall. When people ask me how am I , I can only answer "moderately fine". Sigh.

I'd definitely have to find some new energy, to break the routine.

Like last Sunday, I tried something extraordinary. First I took a long walk in the Kiara trail. At a certain point in the path, I walked of the normal road into some hill. After a while I chickened out and also because there was too many mosquitoes. Then I saw a tractor with a monkey sitting on top of it. Not something you see everyday right.

Then later, I joined my brother and friends for volleyball. Right, the first time in my life playing volleyball. It was not bad, and I didn't suck that bad. I was having fun ! Then it started raining.

Hmmm .. I should do more stuff like that. Maybe even shave bald.

6 panels

2006-11-19T02:17:00.000+08:00

Last week, the office had the weekly sharing session. Bob asked us to draw 6 panels (3x2 boxes) and label them. So I drew these:

Bob later revealed that the 6 panels represented what you feel:

What others think of you
What you think others think of you
Your relationship with your parents
What you think about your job
You relationship with sex
What you think of your future

Of course he said don't take it too seriously.

Eheh.

Annie's Birthday

2006-11-14T00:48:00.000+08:00

Me, Stephanie , Felicia and Annie.

I LOVE ANNIE

Stephanie is getting a guy for Annie as a birthday present ^_^

I guess there has to be a cake at a birthday

Korean food, mmmm.

Launch of C18

Annie, Isabel and Stephanie.

Tiff's at Starhill

Annie's second birthday celebration. Or is it third ?

Ceiling, light , glowing thingie.

I think I falling sick from all this outing. Happy birthday Annie!

pringles

2006-11-13T11:13:00.000+08:00

Did you know:

They were made for the U.S army
The man in the pringles logo is a caricature of hitler ? I can't find a picture of the old logo.
A pringles chip's shape is a hyperbolic paraboloid
Locally, the pringles have gotten smaller and crappier. And they now have more crappier flavors.
My favorite Pringles flavor is Pizza. Which they don't have anymore in Malaysia. Fuck.

the past week

2006-11-09T00:33:00.000+08:00

The new table

Some wallpaper

A visit

Drove a porshe

Caught a cockroach

Played some office football

Made a papercraft Katamari prince

stars

2006-10-28T02:44:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, a girl bought a bunch of glow-in-the-dark stars. She took half and put them on the ceiling above my bed. As I helped her down from the bed, we nearly had our first kiss. The other half she put in her room , also above her bed.

Every night before I slept I would count the stars, just to make sure none of them dropped off. It was the last thing we both saw before we fell asleep, dreaming of each other. Sometimes, we even had the same exact dreams.

When we broke up, she took down all the stars from her room. All except one, which was all the hope that things would be better between us. But that was not to be, and she finally took the last one down. The last time I spoke to her was when she slammed the door of my car and walked out of my life.

Years later I met her at a club. We were worlds apart by then.

I went home and looked at the stars, still on the ceiling. The irony is that it is now my brother's room, and he has no idea where the stars came from.

Today I was cleaning my room and found her old letters. I sent her a message "I took down the stars. sorry about everything, and thank you".

Tomorrow, I'll put the stars in my room, above my bed. Just to remind myself that I wasn't always this cynical. I won't always make the same mistakes. And hope, maybe, for me to be a better man someday.

jason vs flarke

2006-10-26T20:32:00.000+08:00

Flarke , by the way , is the name of this TV table thingie I got from Ikea. Who comes up with these names anyway ?

First thing I see out of the box are the instructions. Here's a snippet:

Great, after I bring home the box (alone) and it's in my house I see this. ? How about the fact that I don't have a curly haired friend to help me out ?

Well , this is my first purchase from Ikea and first assembly ever, for furniture of any kind. A landmark moment in my history folks. ( yeah yeah, I know you all built a house, whatever)

Here's what happened:

empty box and marvel at the instructions
panic a little cause there's so much stuff to do
run around the house looking for a screwdriver and a hammer
put the stuff together
run around the house looking for a ruler. For some reason, there is no ruler in the whole house
yell a little and use a measuring tape instead
hammer the stuff together
be proud over achievement

Flarke (pronounced Flar-kay). Yeah, wtf.

And nope , I didnt' get hurt. No blood, no severed fingers no nothing. Just a lot of profanity. Sometimes I feel that I'm getting older and grumpier. Hmmph.

purgatory

2006-10-24T05:59:00.000+08:00

Every once in a while, you can't sleep at night. You just can't figure out why. The silence at first is deafening because you're away from all your distractions.

Then if you think a little more, you realise you have a lot of unresolved issues. Not just work, assignments, deadlines or whatever you procrastinated. Everything that you avoided comes back and engulfs you.

You're now in your own personal hell.

What do you do ? Do you fight and deny it ? Rationalize ? Put it off and fight another day ? overthink and overanalyze ?

.. and what if there was no way out ? Would you end up in a asylum somewhere ? Or perhaps just go into depression ?

This very night I was faced with such a predicament. And I'm proud to say I emerged victorious over my own demons. Somehow the years have thought me something, that there is nothing to be fearful about. That everything will turn out fine. Or even better than I ever wanted it to be.

This is my coming of age.

warning!

2006-10-23T13:28:00.000+08:00

Don't ever let life pass you by!
Please:

bat your eyes
be otherworldly
count your blessings
seduce a stranger
love ourselves ( before it's made illegal )

warning

pain

2006-10-21T14:58:00.000+08:00

emo thought of the week:

the greatest sex

2006-10-20T00:43:00.000+08:00

Contrary to the earlier comics, this wasn't thought of while I had insomnia. I nearly feel asleep and this comic came to my head.

Gosh , my brain is such a mess. Tomorrow I bleach my brain.

i feel stupid

2006-10-18T22:41:00.000+08:00

Earlier I tried to blog about my day and how I've been feeling in particular these few days. Somehow the words didn't come out right.

This was a drawing I made earlier this afternoon, which pretty much sums it up :/

coffins

2006-10-17T22:04:00.000+08:00

Dan likes to sleep in coffins

Well, this is another product of my insomnia. I don't know what's wrong with me but I can't turn off my brain till 2am. And the next day at work I'm sleepy. Hmmm ....

on love

2006-10-16T00:09:00.000+08:00

On a fine sunday afternoon, a random though occured to me. How was it like being in love ? Gosh , it was such a long time ago.

Then this comic came to my mind:

Yep , girls like watching guys crash and burn.

comic break

2006-10-13T00:26:00.000+08:00

I couldn't sleep again last night, which made me extremely PMSey today. The only thing productive out of the insomnia was these few comics.

The Revelation

The Conspiracy

The Death of Ed

The Comic Break

Damnit , now one of the comic characters has escaped and vowed to kill me. What else could go wrong today ?

Well , I guess there's good days and bad days. It's a bad day for me

happy birthday ahbonk!

2006-10-12T00:16:00.000+08:00

Some of you might know, he's the head of the technical team at (if ). Which means that he's my direct boss. Most of the time we're thinking of crazy ideas and thinking of how to give the design team a headache .. heheh. I kidd kidd ...

Here's a bday present , a comic which only ahbonk, me and smashpop would understand ! It's an exclusive comic just for your birthday !

Associative Arrays

For his birthday we went to Soul'd Out on short notice and gotten a little drunk. I'll just shut up and post the pictures like a good Malaysian blogger would:

Ahbonk, he didn't know what he was wearing

The technical team: Lee Seng, Saiful , ahbonk , Jason and Adrian. Actually Adrian is freelance. Whatever.

Birdie ( my ultimate street fighter nemesis ) , Ahbonk and Sanyen ( who teach me how to draw a guy TFK )

Me , adrian and hazmer. Wait a minute, something is not right with this picture.

Ahhh , much better.

Hazmer and Nyin. I don't understand how they are related though.

And then the drinking began.

Happy birthday BOSS !!

From your minion,
Jason Phoon

The Conspiracy Theorist@work

halloween

2006-10-09T20:10:00.000+08:00

Okay , I didn't really celebrate Halloween, nor did I give candy to anyone (interpret that however you like, elaine). But I did take a picture of myself and Stephanie at the Curve.

Me and Stephanie

Gosh , it's been so long since I've posted a picture of myself on this blog. There you go!

I watched Taladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Is it Nascar fever or something ? This movie coming so soon after Cars. But it was very entertaining nonetheless, if you like politically incorrect jokes.

I think you can't be funny without being politically incorrect these days. My comics can attest to that fact.

Okay, I'm going to go find a life now.

my favorite cds

2006-10-08T18:46:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, I actually bought original CDs. These were my favorites:

Collective Soul - Dosage
First CD I ever bought. It weened me off boybands and pop groups really nicely. This CD is very radio friendly yet experimental enough to put my past music tastes to shame.

Creed - Human Clay
Music taste starts to get heavier here. Or as heavy as Creed anyway.

Pearl Jam - Yield
Randomly I bought this CD cheap at some Speedy video. Definetly one of the most solid Pearl Jam records.

Incubus - Make Yourself
I don't actually own this cd, someone lent it to me. The version available in stores actually censored the f words, so that really sucks. Another reason not to buy original cds.

A perfect Circle - Mer De Noms
This CD gave me the creeps when I first listened to it. My music taste definetely went heavier after this. Listening to this led me to:

Tool - Lateralus
Maynards true band, aside form his side project, A perfect circle. Progessive Metal at it's finest.

Deftones - White Pony
Can a metal album be delicate yet grinding ? This was quite a crazy departure from their nu-metal roots that it dissapointed fans. Well, it gained a new fan in me.

Led Zeppelin - How the west was won
Technically this isn't even a CD. I just got this DVD maybe 3 weeks ago ? I've been listening to LedZep for a while now and was looking hard for any live DVD of theirs. Somehow I found this as Borders at RM60 for 2 DVDs ? Now that's a great bargain, considering the prices of CDs are at RM40 nowadays.

-------------------------------------------------------------

There you go , my favorite bands. Or at least the ones which I actually bought CDs too. There's this whole other list ...

cockroachman

2006-10-06T00:24:00.000+08:00

From the previous comments left by Ik , ahbonk and Farah, me and ahbonk came up with 2 comics to further illustrate the decay of our brains. Yes, ahbonk, you're taking credit for this also, muahahhaa:

Cockroach Revenge

And if you wonder about the origins of that guy:

Origin of cockroachman

Now my blog is officially not safe for work (NSFW)

Drawing that second comic wasn't easy, and evidently it didn't turn out quite convincing either. I actually asked a few of my colleagues on how to draw that certain action. As you can see, I have a lot to learn about drawing.

Sanyen drew this (don't sue me) :

TFK

cockroachman

I learn something new at work everyday.

A little insomnia

2006-10-05T00:47:00.000+08:00

Last night I couldn't sleep a little. Then it rained and there was some lightning. Then I thought of this:

Lightning Boy

On an unrelated note , i also thought of this:

Internet for the Orphans

It's weird how one chain of thought leads to another.

puzzle frustration

2006-10-02T23:26:00.000+08:00

My colleague, Lee Seng, just got back from a Japan Trip. It was customary to bring back gifts for everyone!

Some of my colleagues received puzzles as gifts. There was this puzzle involving 2 hook like thingies which I don't quite know how to describe.

Most of them solved this puzzle in 5-10 seconds, while I took a good half an hour to accidentally solve it. I even brought it down to lunch.

While trying to solve this puzzle I drew these comics:
(just click to enlarge)

Puzzle Death

Don't nobody solve my puzzle

Puzzle Paradox

Obviously I took some cues from the pbf

staring at the sky

2006-10-02T10:52:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I went out to lock the gates (I'm usually the last one home). Up in the sky was the moon as its brightest. I looked at it a while and wonder why I don't look at it much. It was a half moon.

My neighbours dogs were looking at the moon too. There were 2 beagles named Schnooty and Cookie. I wonder where was the other one, Milo ?

Sometimes I think dogs can see what humans cannot see. Maybe they know you're sad, or know when you're lonely. Sometimes they stare at something behind me and I always imagine they're looking at ghosts or something. I patted their heads and Milo came out.

The other day I was looking at the bright blue afternoon sky. I realise I can't stare at the sky without my eyes hurting.

I think I should stare at the sky once in a while. For good mental health.

just stuff

2006-10-01T11:54:00.000+08:00

Yay , I finally got my new router so I can go online at home now. I don't know what I've been doing without Internet at home. Not like I was avoiding the computer anyway, I was still playing computer games. And video games. Just like the nerd I am.

I've been reading Interview with a Vampire. Wow, the book has so much detail that the movie left out (as always). The story so far has been quite tragic and the relationship between and Lestat and Louise is rather .... homoerotic. It helps that I imagine them to be women . Hmmmm.

I've upgraded the RAM on my computer too so I can now play the games at maximum detail!

I've also bought a Led Zeppelin DVD. My first original purchase in a while.

Then I realise that all this is just stuff. They keep me occupied sure. And it's my friends that really make me happy. Yay.

nerd

2006-09-27T11:20:00.000+08:00

I've been doing some thinking.

Here's a simple formula:

nerd = anti-social retard + technically smart
geek = anti-social retard

Well ,things get a little complicated when dorks come into the picture. What defines a dork ?

dork = anti-social retard + technical skills + black-framed glasses + dorky laugh

The characteristic of a dorky laugh includes a uhuhk like sound, in addition to a snort after each uhuhk. I remember one dork back from school, I used to give him shit. He even survived a thumbtack on his chair. ( I swear it wasn't me ). He's so undorky now.

Here's some examples:

Bill Gates: well , I don't mind being a nerd like him. and rule the world.

Bill Nye the science guy

Hackers: even angelina jolie is a nerd. was . whatever. but they're cool I guess.

Milhouse: I quote him "I'm not a nerd. Nerds are smart. I'm a geek"

Napoleon Dynamite: Now he's a dork. A loveable dork.

Evidently, nerds are definitely more attractive than geeks or dorks. Maybe it's because they actually are smart. The jocks may beat up the nerds in school , or make fun of them. But revenge is sweet when their paychecks are double or triple of their "peers" when they get out of school.

Assuming that the nerds invest their brainpower into something lucrative , rather than say Dungeons and Dragons. Unless you're a comic book nerd store owner that is. Now that's a whole different story ...

In any case, I'm proud to say I'm a nerd.

Take this quiz if you're unsure

nerd

2006-09-25T11:03:00.000+08:00

This survey, has sorta confirmed what we sorta knew all along.

We are what we listen to.

For example, people who listen to classical music are more educated and earn more than people who listen to rap.

58% of rap listeners admitted to have committed a crime, as opposed to 18% of fans of musicals.

And those who listen to rock have anti-social tendencies ?

The weirdest finding was that opera buffs took less showers.

Okay, quite a silly survey.

But I'll agree that my mood changes to whichever music I listen to. Or is it that I listen to whichever music that fits my mood ?

When I was young and stupid , I listened to Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls ( *gag* )
When I was young and angry , I listened to Soulfly , Deftones , Sevendust , Nine Inch Nails and System of a Down.
Now that I'm a little mellower, I listen to Sufjan Stevens , the Arcade Fire , Death Cab For Cutie.

Maybe the major record labels are controlling the brainwaves of the masses with music ? Maybe they're working with the government. It's all a major conspiracy I tell you.

the rain

2006-09-23T14:38:00.000+08:00

For a refreshing change, I just stared outside at the rain for a while.

It's been a while since I just took the time and appreciate something. Even the smell was nice. I guess there's something about the rain that makes people feel a certain way. It's like the skies saying, "cool down everyone". I appreciated the moment.

Then I decided to blog about it, and here I am staring at the computer again.

~_~

road block, trouble, wisdom gap, mosquito bite, A.D.D .. whatever

2006-09-22T10:36:00.000+08:00

For the first in my life, I got stopped at a police road block.

You see, usually I get to just drive by while the police disregard me as a good boy. But nooooo, not yesterday.

Well , I blame ashley, but she said I didn't stop when they wanted me to stop. You see, ashley is trouble. As are most girls anyway.

I'm just troubled cause I'm proud of my track record. stupid me.

I'm still not used to the gap in my mouth where my wisdom tooth used to be. On Thursday the dentist took out the stiches.

And I got a huge mosquito bite on the left of my nose yesterday. It's the biggest mosquito bite I've ever seen.

I've been walking quite a lot these days, to and from work, to the park with the monkeys. Great getting the exercise and fresh air. Well, haze filled air of Kuala Lumpur that is.

omg what a stupid bimbo attention deficient disorder post. I should shut up now.

some work

2006-09-19T10:39:00.000+08:00

Work's been a little busy a few weeks ago.

I think I was quite demotivated and stressed out by everything. It also certainly didn't help my anti-social condition.

Here's the results of some overtime and overwork courtesy of (if )interactive:

eems like we're doing more work for Discovery now eh. There's more upcoming projects too. Stay tuned :)

Ernie and Bert

2006-09-15T12:50:00.000+08:00

They live together
In the basement
They have pictures of themselves
They are not brothers

Wouldn't it be surprising if they were the first gay couple cartoon/puppet characters ?

I didn't realise this until misstwit pointed it out.

Well, the clues are there I guess.

She also pointed out that Winnie The Pooh bear is sexually ambivalent. That means it's hard to determine his/her gender. Hmmm...

misstwit, you have to post more of your findings ^_^

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a sidenote:

I'm currently blogging from Flock, a web browser with Photbucket/Flickr and Blogspot/whatever blog engine integrated. It's kinda convenient. Its built from the same stuff as Firefox too. Quite cool indeed.

wisdom my ass

2006-09-14T12:25:00.000+08:00

I just got my wisdom tooth removed, and damnit it hurts.

First there was 4 injections to the affected area.

Then a whole lotta shit happened for 20 minutes which I must have blanked out of my recent memory. I know there was drilling, a whole lotta plucking, scraping, cutting of the gums, sucking and stitching.

Now I'm on some painkillers (pontalon) , antibiotics, and biting on some gauss to wait for the bleeding to stop. I'm also waiting for the anaesthetics to wear off so I can feel the full pain of the surgery to come in the next 2-3 days. There's also the swelling.

I guess this was a neccessary procedure, considering that my wisdom tooth was growing sideways into my normal teeth (which would cause them to decay later on)

What's the point of wisdom teeth anyway ? Maybe I'm too stupid and undeserving to have wisdom teeth that grow properly ? Why am I bitching so much ? Is it the painkillers ?

Anyways, some reminders for myself:

No chewing on the right side ( duh )
Replace Gauss every 15 minutes
Saturday , wash mouth with salt
Put ice on swelling
Complete antibiotics course
Take painkillers as neccessary

One final thought:

I bet bears don't have this problem

sending off the interns

2006-09-12T12:03:00.000+08:00

Yesterday the company had a sorta farewell dinner for the interns/director's birthday/post-event dinner kinda thing. So we headed off to Telawi Street Bistro. It's kinda expensive.

BBQ Salmon

Chocolate Volcano

On a random note:

I want to be a bear when I grow up

hiatus

2006-09-10T00:31:00.000+08:00

Some of you might have thought that I've really exploded into flames, but alas, I'm still alive. The reason for my hiatus is but a more mundane one, my router is spoilt.

I had a fever for 2 days, thats why I didn't go to work on Monday and Tuesday. And I when I went to work on Wednesday, there was a surprise assignment to go to J.W Marriot for the launching of CIMB Bank (that's a huge bank). I even got to see the Prime Minister up close ! I was supposed to stand by for 24 hours till the event, but I went home anyway.

Well, besides being sick and overworked, I've got a toothache. I went to the dentist today and got an appointment for Thursday to pull out my bottom-right wisdom tooth. I haven't pulled any teeth before so I don't know what kind of pain to expect. heh.

Okay, things to do:

pull out teeth
get new router
get a life

Hmm .. the last one has been procrastinated waaaayy too long. Speaking of procrastination, if I was a super hero, my super-power would be procrastination. Okay I shut up now.

spontaneous combustion

2006-09-02T20:12:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday I had an odd dream which kinda kept me up all night:

I was working in the office as usual, but then suddenly I felt really hot. Really burning inside. Then all of a sudden I burst into flames ( lucky none of my colleagues got hurt ).

So this flaming man decided that no one should get hurt, and jumped out of the window (not very smart right). Instead of falling to my death I started flying and grew flaming wings. For whatever reason, it was raining outside.

Does this signify a rebirth ? A desire to fly unhibited ? A desire to shine ?

The revelation was much more mundane.

I had a fever that day.

work distractions

2006-09-01T16:45:00.000+08:00

Look what I found on the internets!

Arrow shooting game:
http://www.lostvectors.com/bowmaster/low_res.html

Sammy Vellu Friendster profile:
http://www.friendster.com/8668372
( do check out his friends and the comments )

This is what you find on a slow day at work.

Happy Independence Day all Malaysians !!!

the doom of men

2006-08-31T02:10:00.000+08:00

July 5 1946

The United States had begun atomic testing in the Bikini Atoll.

Louis Reard invented a scandalous alternative to the two-piece swimwear. The only difference to previous swimwear was that it showed the navel. God forbid men would get so turned on by the sight of a navel.

He deemed the invention so momentous, he named it after the place.

And thus the bikini was born, to the outrage of conservatives and to the doom of men everywhere.

Read the brief history of the bikini (with pictures) , courtesy of Slate.

all computers go to heaven

2006-08-29T01:18:00.000+08:00

As of now I'm blogging from my new computer. Here's the specs:

AMD Athlon 3000mhz
512MB DDR RAM
80 GB SATA Hard Disk
Geforce 7600 GS 256MB RAM
Samsung 17" LCD Monitor

I'm really quite happy with the setup, except I forgot to buy more RAM ! I can't play quake4 with max detail and nice framerate ! Urgh !

Throughtout my whole life, I've had ... maybe 6 computers ? Here's a trip:

IBM 386
This computer didn't even have a hard disk. It had a double 5 inch floppy drive ( back then , the diskettes were really floppy ). This was when I learnt how to program using GW-BASIC, played Dig Dug , Moonbugs , and all those retro games. Yes, I was only 9 years old. Back then we used MSDOS to do anything. C:\
486
Still used DOS mostly. But this time I could play DOOM2 , Duke Nukem , X-Wing and all those great games. I think I started using Windows too back then. I remember getting my first cd-rom , and upgrading ram was like RM200 for 4MB ram ! You can get 512MB RAM for the same amount now!
Pentium Pro 180Mhz
This computer was the first pentium I got. For some weird reason I can't remember much of the specs. But I sure as hell know it was damned fun hooking up this computer with my older one to play one-on-one deathmatch with my schoolmates.

They used to come over my house to get their asses kicked in Doom and Duke Nukem. Good times , good times.
Pentium 3 800 Mhz
Ahhh ... my first computer with an accelerated 3D graphics card. What this means ? Playing Quake3 , Alice , Mechwarrior3 in glorious true 3D. This computer was top of the line back then.

Besides the graphics, this computer was and still is the most defining computer in my life. It's been with me for 5 years now and provided me with countless hours of entertainment, whether it's music or games. Writing this segment actually brings a tear to my eye, thinking of all the good memories with this computer.

Okay, I'm a sentimental nerd.
Dell Notebook
I'm ashamed to say that I don't really know the specs of my first laptop. I got it a year ago. It can't really play games but I love it anyways. The battery life isn't that good ( and according to recent news, it might even blow up ! )

This laptop is pretty significant in terms of how much work I've done on it. It's been through my final year of college, when I was doing game programming. Heck, I even used it recently for game programming. Therefor it's a work-horse.

And it's ironic too that I use it to play the retro games I use to play on my older computers/consoles !

Awww I'm all sentimental now. I'll blog another time about all the gaming consoles I've had before. As for those who dont understand a word after "As of now I'm blogging from my new computer...", you must be female.

it's a two way mirror

2006-08-25T11:07:00.000+08:00

Just look at the newspapers or watch CNN.

What do you see ?

Explosions , natural disasters , terrorists , death , war , famine , crisis , scandals , bombs , nuclear weapons.

Is this really just what's going on in the world right now ? Is it always so depressing ? Imagine an alien coming to earth and seeing all this shit and decides that earth isn't just worth it.

Why does everything have to be so fucking sensational or dramatic ? Only then would people stand up and take notice ? What about good news ? My good friend Jack Johnson asks "Where have all the good people gone?"

Or maybe it's just a two-way mirror. Because human beings are all ugly inside. Or maybe it's a major conspiracy on the part of the United States to spread fear. Because fear profits them ( ie. oil prices or their war against 'evil' )

It's all just a state of fear everyone. The world is really safer than you think.

I'm under 18

2006-08-20T04:15:00.000+08:00

I got my IC checked at The Loft. Do I look under 18 ? under 21 ?

In any case, I take it as a compliment ^_^

Been feeling a little old the past weeks, with the eyebags, wrinkles and smile lines etc. So it's good to know I still look young. Or maybe it was because I was in my work clothes. Which is t-shirt and jeans :(

Seems like everytime Ie-Tsen is back in town (he's cabin crew) the bunch of us have to go eat at some place and go clubbing. Initially I didn't really want to go then we remembered Suet Yeing was there , and it was her birthday!

Actually met a girl I like. Too bad I probably won't see her again. Eh.

And of all places I met my long-lost best friend that's dissapeared for 9 years ! I really thought he dissapeared in the Indonesian troubles back then. No sign of him and suddenly here he is; a friend of a friend.

... and to think I nearly didn't go cause I wanted to go home and play video games, eheh. Well this more than makes up for the no life 2 weeks I had.

(me+friends+beer)

click

2006-08-19T19:02:00.000+08:00

I watched that Adam Sandler film , Click.

The funny parts werent really funny to me and most of the time I was kinda annoyed by the gimmick of the movie ( he has a super remote control which can fast forward time , see old memories , pause time , make people queit etc etc ). It's mostly a gag for some of the most uninspired Adam Sandler toilet humor. And I usually like Adam Sandler toilet humor, like say 50 First Dates. One of my favorite movies.

Then suddenly it turned into a kinda drama. well kinda.

It was unusual to see Adam Sandler in a serious film. It has quite some difficult to watch moments and is really quite touching. It also has quite a serious moral lesson, as corny as it may be. I can imagine the film striking a chord in a lot of us hardworking-and-don't-know-where-we are-going-people.

Especially after the crazy past 2 weeks where I was really working at overdrive. Kinda ignored everything else. If I'm not careful I'd watch my whole life past by.

Won't have second chances in real life.

stupid facial hair

2006-08-17T01:09:00.000+08:00

My facial hair grows stupidly.

I can never grow a moustache. Lots of hair on my neck but not near the chin to grow a goatee.

Then for the past few years, half of my left eyebrow dissapeared mysteriously. Thankfully it grew back recently. I hope it doesn't go off again.

I also realised another stupid thing when I didn't shave a while. Only my right side burn grows. The left one doesn't. Stupid facial hair.

I might as well just shave clean. Okay what a stupid blog entry.

(sketches)

2006-08-15T00:36:00.000+08:00

my imaginary evil twin brother, Jacob

(me)

2006-08-12T11:37:00.000+08:00

See those brackets on the title ?

That's my isolation bubble. Seems I've been socially retarded of late( as you can see from last week's blog entries) A colleague of mine said something the other day which I found quite absurd:

... in our discussions, we usually imagine you have a life outside of work ...

Well, he might be wrong there.

I realise that when I started this blog, it was about a month after I broke up with my girlfriend. I made it a concious decision to be more open and break out of my bubble. You see, it used to be like this :

(me+girlfriend)

I built this world around me that only revolved her. We observe the crazy world outside from the safety of our own bubble. It was very comfortable but it was also very silly of me. So after the breakup, I kinda forced myself to be a little more outgoing. A little more friendly. A little less socially retarded.

It's been more than a year now. Seems like things are reverting back to this:

(me)

Kinda like before I met her. In my own world.

busy days

2006-08-11T14:29:00.000+08:00

The past few days I've been working on a game. Game programming is really tough. Okay , but that doesn't fully explain the social and blogging hiatus. I guess I've been a little hermit like, watching movies and sketching by myself. I drew a tribal random pattern the other day ( promise to post up later ).

Well, an older project's finished and launched, I can at least post the URL:

http://www.angkasa.gov.my

That's the website of our national space agency, Angkasa. It's one of the websites I've been working on at (if ). Actually right, couldn't they have come up with a more imaginative name for a space agency ? ( Angkasa is 'space' in the malay language). Unless it's actually an acronym for something else ? Not that I know of anyways.

Another one ( actually it's been launched a while already ) is :

http://www.heinekenmusic.com.my
(the webserver seems to be down at the moment)

Thats the website for heineken music malaysia. Maybe I should go to some of their events. Then at least I can have a life.

Well, there are some other projects but I can't reveal them yet. Or I'll have to kill all of you. Just kidding. Like I can actually trace all your IP adresses and hunt all of you in your homes/cybercafes. I don't think so.

I need a holiday.

i watch too many movies

2006-08-07T01:31:00.000+08:00

By looking at the blog entries the past few weeks, one can be mistaken that all I do is work, look at stupid stuff online and draw stupid stuff.

I watch movies too you know.

Last weekend:

Friday I watched A History of Violence . Wow is that movie really violent. I cringed when I saw Viggo Mortensen's skinny ass though. Urgh. But really, the movie is quite good. Action movie + family drama + mistaken identity = good combination.

I watched two Jennifer Aniston movies ( most of her movies are crap ). The Break Up was quite pointless. A bit true to life though. But still lame.

Rumor Has It was actually quite decent. It is some sorta pseudo sequel to the The Graduate (1967) (I actually saw the end of that film) It's not a direct sequel but it's a sorta what-if retelling of the characters that supposedly inspired the 1967 movie itself. It can't get any more postmodern than that folks.

Earlier today I watched Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) (thanks Shi Ying). I was pretty much blown away by how unpredictable and unsettling the film was. Am going to watch Psycho next.

Watched Harry Potter with my parents at night. I feel asleep cause I was kinda tired. I don't think my parents understand time travel.

a sunday

2006-08-06T13:41:00.000+08:00

On a Sunday I'll think it through.
On the drive back I'll think it through.
What you wish for won't come true.
Live with that.

On a Sunday she thought it through.
Now as I drive back, there's thirty-six less hours
I have to change the course I send myself.
Live with that.

The haze clears from your eyes on a Sunday

(sketches)

2006-08-04T13:28:00.000+08:00

Kogepan

"I am a burnt bread and certainly, nobody wants to buy me. I felt lonely and upset. I thought to myself that my life as a bread was very meaningless. I was so disillusion that my eyes turned white. "

"I spent most of my time smoking and drinking milk as beer. I became very depressed and pessimistic. After a few days, I finally came to my senses, and decided not to live my life like this anymore. The bakery is still my home after all"

Kogepan

(For Su Yin, cheer up :P)

(sketches)

2006-08-04T00:46:00.000+08:00

Behold ! The man from Lego

>_<

2006-08-03T10:44:00.000+08:00

I took a panadol this morning. I didn't drink coffee either. Then I walked to work, which took me about 11 minutes.

Feel much better already, that crazy headaches gone.

I somehow feel refreshed, maybe I should walk to work more often ? Or take more panadol.

You guys might have noticed that I havent been online much. I figure I'd have to take a break from the internets for a while. I've been online everyday for the past few months. Especially at work, doing research and all. Plus when I'm doing work, my MSN friends probably notice my zombie like responses. Heck, I'd probably even fail a Turing test.

The challenge this weekend is:

no coffee
no internets

So what am I going to do ? I think I'll spend time with nature and meet my monkey friends at the Kiara Park.

I'll have to bring my mp3 player though. Can't leave home without Devendra Banhart.

tired

2006-08-03T00:42:00.000+08:00

~_~

I'm so tired. And feel like my brain's dead.

Need to sleep earlier.

Urgh.

Here's a song for you guys, it's exactly how I feel like nowadays: