I don’t think I have ever felt as devastated and emotional over the loss of someone unrelated to me. I was midway clubbing when I checked my mobile and saw the horrible news. As I sat in the cab on the way home after excusing myself from my friends, the tears just came flowing naturally.

Yasmin Ahmad was one of the greatest Malaysians ever in my book, a truly selfless compassionate soul. She had a natural talent for identifying simple meaningful moments in our lives, and craft beautiful short clips and films out of them to remind us of all that we take for granted.

She has written and directed countless heart warming, funny yet tear jerking festive ads for Petronas, and a number of equally moving, internationally acclaimed and award winning films (Rabun, Sepet, Gubra, Mukhsin, Muallaf, Talentime). Her messages were plentiful and always meaningful, preaching tolerance, understanding, and above all else love. Not only did she open up our eyes to what was important, she did so by bringing us together – regardless of race or religion.

Despite never being fully accepted by her own, despite tonnes of criticism heaped on her from her fellow countrymen and despite the ridiculous amount of censorship on her movies in her homeland, she forged on ahead to show us her vision and ideas of her Malaysia. And what beautiful visions they were!

Dearest Kak Yasmin, you left us too soon. You had so much more to give, so much more to teach us. Your courage knew no bounds and I have you to thank for having never lost hope in a better Malaysia. I’ve always held your many messages on racial religious tolerance, and filial piety close to heart. You had the craziest sense of humor – and your jokes never failed to put a smile on my face. Your passing is a huge loss to the collective expression of our nation. You are irreplaceable, and I can only wish that this serves to inspire more of us, and that your work will spread on to those who’ve not had the opportunity to appreciate them. You will be dearly missed.

And to think that I only saw you just 4 months ago at your special screening of Muallaf down in Singapore..

Me, Yasmin Ahmad! & Gerardine

My heartfelt condolences go out to your family and to everyone else whom you’ve touched. From a huge fan, rest in peace Yasmin Ahmad.

Other blog tributes from friends

Clairmeiz – In Memoriam
Daphnemaia – Yasmin Ahmad (1958-2009)
Christina – To Yasmin

Anyway, after trying it out, I can only say this.. “I LOVE IT!”

Over the last year, Facebook has become synonymous with massive hordes of viral applications that serve no real purpose, with many of them doing the same thing in different ways. Send me a hatching egg, no send me a growing gift instead.. no SPAM BOTH of em as gifts. Poke your friends, no, superpoke them better, or X them or Hug them or whatever. Write on your wall, your Superwall, your Advanced Wall, heck got nothing to write, so just forward lameass videos, other peoples artwork and chain letters. Vampires lar, Werewolves, Gangsters lar, Mafias, Soldiers lar, Knights, Anything lar.. iDescribe me, Superlatives, Nickname me, Have sex with me, etc etc etc etc. The list goes on and on and on..

Facebook literally became the biggest and most cluttered up social networking site (rivaling MySpace) and waste of time ever.

Honestly, I’d prefer to just log on to see new photos uploaded by my friends, read other friends notes comments and conversations, establish new contacts with like-minded people in Groups, get updated on latest events and who’s attending, chat, and more, instead of the silly stuff above.

The New Facebook does just that! It’s ultra streamlined, leaner, cleaner and meaner now. A lot more emphasis is placed on your relationships and social circle activities and the previous focus on useless apps has been removed.

Here’s what I like most about The New Facebook:

Awesome Feature #1 : Tabs!

I love tabs. Sometimes I wish I can tab everything and not just websites in my browser. The New Facebook automatically separates your Profile into 3 main tabs – Your Wall, Info and Photos. Which is great, because it minimizes clutter and these are the 3 main things people want to see when they visit your profile anyway.

What’s even better is that you can also add your favourite Application into New tabs! You know all those movable hideable windows that your various apps used to have in your old Facebook profile? Well, you can move ALL of them into a Tab called Boxes. Talk about compartmentalizing! At least I don’t have to leave them cluttering up my Facebook profile now.

Awesome Feature #2 : The Publisher

You can post new photos, write on your wall, publish new stuff, write a new Note, update your status, etc etc, simply by accessing your own Profile. Less hassle..

Awesome Feature #3 : The NEW Wall

The biggest change of all IMHO. The Wall has now been MERGED with the News Feed! Now your profile page just shows a long list of the latest news related to you, as well as Wall messages from your friends. True that it might be hard to find certain things – but that’s easily remedied with a Wall ‘Filter’ which allows you to split your Wall posts into either posts from yourself and posts from your friends.

Fuck the other walls and their spam content man.

Awesome Feature #4 : New Sidebar

This narrow spot is now the only place for you to park applications that you want to display on Facebook. At this time, it seems that most applications do not display properly when parked there, as its too narrow. But I wouldn’t mind putting a few relevant and useful apps here (eg. a birthday calendar, my daily horoscope, motivational quotes).. But I had some major problems getting most apps to display here for now.. guess the application developers have some updating to do…

And now the BEST PART. IF you click on a friend’s link to view THEIR profile…

You can now ‘comment’ on almost EVERY single Wall post / News Feed on their profile page! XXX just added YYY as a friend and you want to comment? Comment away! XXX joined YYY group, comment away! Hey, you can even have a ‘comment conversation’ on just a single news feed! This should be the right way to maintain social circles at a networking site like Facebook – rather than through all the pointless applications..

Currently, you can choose to use the New Facebook by logging into the new URL at http://www.new.facebook.com in case Facebook’s ‘Try Me’ link doesn’t work.

There will definitely be resistance to change no doubt – especially by many of the application developers and their respective fans, since the concept has changed quite radically. For example, when Airin first tried it out – she was upset that she couldn’t see her FluffPet (and her beautifully decorated habitat) on her Profile page anymore (which also means that public profile viewers might not be able to ‘pet, feed or race’ her Pet as often). I completely understand her since I once actively used that app before… but I’m sure its just a matter of getting used to how certain things work.. I for one have added my Fluff Friends to a tab of its own..

There are plenty of other minor changes (social ad placements, the way photos are handled, homepage layout, etc.) Overall however, I see this is as a good sign for Facebook, as its maturing into something that will be functionally better for its users at the end of the day. We just have to keep an open mind…

Malaysia Today – The website of the famous/infamous Raja Petra Kamaruddin and all things conspiratorial/blatantly honest/sarcastic about the ridiculous state of Malaysian Politics – just got hacked a few hours ago (it was fine when I was reading it earlier in the morning about Anwar’s sodomy case)

Says it was hacked by gasakdotnet.. which leads to this page:

Whois trace on the domain didn’t return anything conclusive.

The IMG of the poster on the hacked site, was pulled from this political blog:

http://kickdefella.wordpress.com (I’m not gonna link to it)

I wonder which of one of our increasingly Internet savvy politicians (or their wives) had a hand in this.. To my knowledge, this isn’t their first time getting hacked (what to do, with so many powerful enemies around, or their hundreds of thousands of pageviews per day)

Other political sites (non BN/UMNO factions eg. Malaysiakini), it’s time to either jack up your security, or be next on the hit list…

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry, being a part of this country.. hahaha..

It was taking up too much of my free time. I spend about 2 hours or more on average just prepping photos and writing a post. This is mostly because I wanted the blog to look good. I was a perfectionist, and I hated spotting grammatical and typos 2 days after a post was uploaded. Even after countless proofreading – it still happens.

You may also have noticed that I don’t bother writing my innermost thoughts, fears, insecurities, gripes, problems, hopes, etc. and I sorta got the impression that the whole blog was pretty one dimensional. Not really an issue in itself, but I did ask myself.. what was the whole point? I didn’t need to protect anyone / worry about hurting somebody’s feelings.. I didn’t need to hide either..

Conclusion, instead of blogging for myself, I realized I was starting to blog for my viewers. This was really not my initial intention..

Also, my PC’s graphics card finally died on me. Then Ching came back from National Service. It kinda forced my hand – he needed a new PC for his college, I needed a new graphics cards. I ended up getting an almost entirely new unit for myself, while donating my old mobo, cpu and RAM to Ching.

Now with the new PC, I started gaming again – a past time I’ve deprived myself from for far too long. And we all know how much more time consuming gaming is compared to blogging. Heck, now I don’t even have time to go on my movie marathon streaks anymore!

In short, got distracted, discouraged and lost direction.

BUT

I ended up coming back to this good ole blog, and reading some of my old posts – repetitive movie reviews included – and I realized that this is at its core, a catalogue for all the minor events and accomplishments in my life. The sum of which at the end of the day is greater than its parts. And if I did not continue, all of these small little memories will disappear into a forgotten past.

I had to keep this going even if it means lousier unedited pictures, shorter less thought out posts & fewer updates.

FoOie’s back.

Screw politics. There has always been  a bigger war in the background. The casualties number to the million and it does’t look like it’s going to slow down. Hence, my guide to surviving… YOUR WOMAN.

Ok, you got the chick, she’s great but you have to learn to keep her happy. Here are some typical issues that crop up. p.s. I’ll be doing this occasionally so don’t expect a bloody list now!

Shoes -  A woman can never have enough. Never. Don’t try to argue. Just don’t. You can’t stop her buying shoes. You can however, regulate the frequency that she buys. You can utilize the guilt scenario, or the opportunity cost scenario. For example.

“Sweetie, do you think I should get this pair of patent black heeled peep toe Aldo shoes?”

Safe yet effective responses are

“Umm, didn’t you like just buy a pair two days ago?”

“If you get these, what about the handbag that you’re saving for?”

“Hmm, not sure, how about the other color * (ensure that color stated is out of stock or not available)?”

“How’s that credit card debt coming along?”

There ya go. The last one in super risky as it might keep you dry for a week. But, it keeps the shoe buying habit to a minimal for at least 1.5 weeks. So it’s pretty much up to you.

Nic… out.

I know! SO FOO right? Too bad they don’t make it…

It’s an addictive, time consuming, and expensive hobby to get involved in – but its got its fair share of good points too. I’ve quit the game a total of 3 times now over the years due to various commitment, distractions, and financial reasons.

Just before I quit last year however, I participated in an international Grand Prix tournament that was held in KL. It was the highlight of my MTG hobby. I managed to win RM1,000 in the process (the smallest cash prize actually) – and it was my very first MTG cash prize win. The first place went to a Japanese player who walked away with USD2,400. Pro players regularly win a WHOLE LOT more.

Recently some friends (Sandra!) decided to give the game a go. I dropped by at their place just the other day to pit my old deck vs their new ones, and I ended up having a lot of satisfying fun.

Sandie : Ummmmmmmm…
FoOie : Why? Wanna concede?
Sandie : Of course not! I will… *proceeds to initiate killer combo that kills me*
FoOie :

Anyway.. to keep the long story short.. I am VERY TEMPTED to restart again.

The question is.. SHOULD I?

Why I Should

• I know I am capable of playing well at the tournament level
• I enjoy the serious, professional competitiveness of the game
• BIG prizes to be won regularly
• Meet lots of people
• LOVE everything about the cards – artwork, the whole mini-economy, deck construction, strategy..
• Improves mental alertness

Why I Shouldn’t

• It’s bloody expensive. Restarting cost could reach up to RM1000, and maintenance might require around RM300-500 per month. Of course, I can always sell my cards to earn most of the $ back, but the problem is I don’t quite like doing that..
• It’s bloody time consuming. Weekly Friday Night Magic sessions, qualifiers, tournaments, pre-release events, etc..
• I do not exactly have a ‘team’ to train regularly with YET.
• My geekiness will be amplified 10 fold.
• I probably won’t find my future wife by playing MTG.
• I might just end up quitting again.

Any advice folks?

Well, this isn’t going to take that long to answer (at least a whole lot shorter than my regular photo posts) – so here goes!

(tagged by Henry Yeo)

5 Things In Our Bag:
(this is my handcarry to Sydney)
Tash Aw’s Harmony Silk Factory (which I have yet to start reading)
My old outdated Sony Mp3 Discman
Spare clothes
Chargers – for both phone and camera
Chocolate bars

5 Things In Our Wallet:
My IC
Oz Dollars
Some Receipts
Triple heartshaped folded cash from yearssss ago..
A lucky charm

5 Thing We Like Most In Our Room:
(including my ‘personal office/room’ downstairs)
My BELOVED computer
My book collection
My BED & pillows (sigh)
Patrick, Pinky, Gary & Andy
My DVD collection (technically, it’s outside, but what the heck)

5 Things We’d Like To Try:
Sky Diving / Bungee Jumping & stuff like that..
Backpacking ALL around the world
Go into space
Be financially independent
Be REALLY fit & healthy

5 Things We’re Doing Now:
Absorbing as much as I can of Sydney life..
semi-watching “How I Met Your Mother”
Feeling melancholic
Getting ready to shower and sleep
Thinking how to answer these questions..

Note : This is the FIRST time I got tagged with anything. I’m still thinking if I should entertain future tags.. but well, for now.. I’m tagging YOU!

Squiikivois (tag completed)
Immi (tag completed)
EmpressJay (tag completed)
Meiz (tag completed)
Low Jen (tag completed)

I do have a minor complain to lodge against Foo here though.  He has failed to text me to announce his safe arrival at Australia. Obviously too caught up with the hot girls there to stop me from worrying.  

Confession time, I never thought I’d see the day when I’ll miss Foo’s presence but I’m experiencing it over the weekend now. :s  

Somehow, knowing that he’s far away sort of unnerves me. Hehe. It’s probably the lack of an arguing partner. I’m such a sucker for punishment eh?  Well, guess I’ll just have to learn to live with a week of silence before my arguing partner-in-crime comes home.  

Now, I do remember that I owe you people pics of Foo during his younger days but silly me, I forgot to save the pics to bring home with me. It’ll just have to wait till tomorrow then. Patience… good things come to those who wait….

*evil laughter*

say hello to interim blogger no. 2. unlike mr. interim blogger, i’m not going to be foo’s messenger while he’s at australia. i’ll just be updating his loyal “fans” about his youth. haha. we’ll see how many old photos i can dig up from my photo album over the weekend.

i think it’s only fair that i give some background information about myself since i’ve been appearing fairly regularly in his recent postings. i feel like a mini celebrity already. haha.

foo is actually a friend that i met through the interact club while i was still in secondary school. we were both very active in our respective clubs and attended almost all the IUs and installations held within the Klang Valley. we nvr really got to talking till my junior introduced me to him and we clicked immediately.

soon, we were hanging out on a frequent basis. mamak, mcD’s, playing pool, etc. basically just having fun enjoying each other’s company. we’ve known each other for roughly 10 years. lost touch for 4 of those years for reasons i wish to keep under wraps. somehow, he managed to get hold of me again recently and we’ve been spending more time together. sorta like paying up for lost time i guess.

i know this is SO soppy of me but i can’t help it. i mean, it makes sense doesn’t it? to sing praises of the blog owner where u’re guest writing at? hahaha.

foo is one gem of a man. he’s argumentative (dun argue with me on this foo!), intelligent, caring, sweet, n one of the most trustworthy guys i’ve known so far. we’d stick our necks out for each other if situations call for it n he’s someone very important to me.

uncle foo, tks for giving me the opportunity to guest blog at your haven. i’m damn bloody glad u called me after all these yrs n yes, i’ll treasure our friendship.

p/s: girls, i think his fashion sense needs some rescuing. what do you think?