Memoirs of a Teh Tarik Drinker

Of Debates and Politicians

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:09:00 +0000

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After the dust settles in a debate between Khairy and Rafizi on the issues of PTPTN, perhaps now is the time for one to lament on the outcome of the debate and what this will lead to the future of politics in our country. After all the hype and anticipation, I for one would like to know the general public's perception on the debate itself.

As for me, I have my own reasons of following the debate itself. I've always admired the speaking and arguing abilities of Khairy in the past, although I may have some comments in his methods in politics in the past but nevertheless, the man knows his stuff and he knows how to bring it out to his speeches. And of course Rafizi, who has been a legend among debaters in my school ever since he left and until today, people in MCKK still speaks of his ability in debating in both English and in Bahasa.

Part of me also follows the debate because I love the world of debating. I've been in the scene since back in 1997 and ever since that I hung my boots (or debating text) back in 2007, I sorely miss the feeling of being on stage and doing what I do. I admit I was a debating freak and I was good at it.

[Last time I was in action back in 2007]

Honestly, as for my opinion of the outcome of the debates itself, I couldn't care less of who was the better speaker as I may be accused of making a biased statement on this matter. But more importantly than that, this now ushers in a possibility of a new era within Malaysian politics.

an era where people argue in sense of logic, rather than emotional shouting with no sense whatsoever

[Bigot who would not listen to any other arguments but herself]

For so many years, I am sick of listening to people out in the streets, talking without a clue what exactly are they shouting and screaming about. It makes me sick to my stomach to think that too many occasions we have seen scenes of people not even wanting to listen to the arguments of other people and in the end resort to hooliganism and racist remarks without even thinking what they are doing or saying. For far too long, I am sick of seeing Malaysians portraying ourselves as uneducated, disrespectful and emotional morons. This would reflect not just to supporters of one party but it is evident in both side of the fences.

But now perhaps we have a chance to change things around.

With more and more emergence of debates between politicians, it finally gives a platform for us to actually let the politicians explain LOGICALLY and in the same time listen with a level of maturity to really understand what is happening with Malaysian politics from both side of the coin, rather than influenced by what was said or gossiped from a source that we don't even know the origins of it from.

The problem that we have been having before this so far is that we would never take the time to sit, listen and understand the arguments of another person before making our own judgement and act accordingly. Regardless whether it is because its hard for us to bring ourselves to listen, whether it is in our culture to no longer accept the ideas of others when we are convinced with our own arguments, or maybe we are just too plain lazy to listen anymore.

I remembered a quote from a man whose book I truly adore:

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

- Habit #5, Stephen Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People)-

Come at least with debates like this, people are forced to listen and understand the story from both sides before making judgement for themselves based on what they have heard. So many times that I hear a lot of people saying that their feelings are not understood and there is no-one up in the government level would want to listen to their woes. Problem is, do they even bother to take the effort to understand first?

I would say to people that if it is political maturity that we seek in Malaysia, stop making hurtful and racist comments anonymously, resorting to hooligan or rempit attitude in public and try to bring up your arguments one-on-one in a debate. Discuss and argue your issues logically and revert back to what is said against your argument.

Kudos to Khairy and Rafizi for opening the eyes to Malaysian and the global public that we too can argue on politics rationally and logically. I surely hope there would be more intellectual debates among politicians. no more of these name calling speeches and defamatory states in the public. We have had enough.

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Using Endomondo to Track Your Workouts

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:08:00 +0000

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It has come to my attention that for most of us runners or even workout addicts out there, it is sometimes expensive to purchase most of the gadgets and gizmos that is available out there to actually track your workouts or runs. Like myself for example, not only it becomes a problem for me to track my runs because I DON'T have a super expensive and high tech gadget to do so but I still find it important to do so. Even if I can afford to buy a tracker, I still don't know which one is the best to use.

Then someone introduced to me, Endomondo!

Originally Ash was the one using it first before I caught on to the hype, Endomondo is a FREE system that is provided via online and your smartphone that tracks down your workouts via GPS and calculates your record and statistics while you run. The application is made free to almost all smartphones (except Nokia for some reason) and its pretty easy to navigate considering the features that they have included on the program.

[Basic view of the application]

From what you can see, the program actually does initially a very basic interface where all you need to do is press start and start running. The program will not only allow you to play music from the playlist that is available in your phone but at the same time it has a voice trainer that will update your statistics every kilometer that you run, cycle or even swim!

[Interface with mapping!]

The first time I tried the application out was just recently in my PJ Dawn run, which was a 12km run. Throughout the run, the program updates me on every kilometer on how fast am I going, how many KM's do I have left, which was my fastest and slowest kilometer, the elevation of the trail and everything else. The best thing was because Ash was also running with Endomondo, we could compare out statistics after the run and discuss about our progression.

[Linking Endomondo to social media]

Another feature that I love about the program is that it is very much social media friendly, which means that every single time that you are about to start your workouts and also when you are done, it automatically updates your Facebook status so that your friends could also see your progress and track how far have you run on real time updates!

Endomondo itself actually runs like a social media platform which means that if you have friends that are using Endomondo as a tracker as well, you could add them into your friends list and every single time they post and update on your status, Endomondo will actually read it to you as a motivation while you are running or cycling!

[Comparison between the applications]

So in comparison between Endomondo and the rest of the workout application our there, how exactly does it stand? From my observation in all my previous runs, I realised that the other most popular choice is obvious. Nike+ is the one that I see a the most nowadays.

Very much popular with the IPhone series, I have yet to see much statistical data in regards of the program, although I have been told that the application is pretty much awesome. The problem that I have with it is what I mentioned earlier: availability.

Because the program caters specifically to IPhone users only, you are forced to own either an IPhone or an Apple or Nike product in order for you to use the program itself. For most of us who are not Apple users, we get don't get much options out of it. Endomondo however gives the option to connect with ALL phone users who are running which in my book is pretty awesome.

Personally I would recommend Endomondo as a preferred choice for the obvious reason. Any thoughts on your preferrence? Do drop a comment on this!

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Diablo 3 Game Review

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:23:00 +0000

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After 12 whole years of waiting and patiently looking at the development of the game, finally the latest Diablo 3 is finally out to our shores and you can bet your bottom dollar that I was one of the first people to go around and collect my pre-order copy of the game! I remembered back in 2001 where I went nuts (especially in StormyZaaba place because he had a better computer set up back then) with the previous Diablo 2 and now I can't wait to get my hands dirty with this one.

[hello there old friend...]

So with much hype with the game worldwide, question is how does the game fair in real life? Does the game really performs as how we expect it to be? Without haste, I dived into the game and took the game by the horns myself to find out how it turned out.

[Loving the box art inside the package!]

For the first 7 hours, all I did was attempted to get into the bloody server....

You see, because of the hype of the game, everyone tried to get into the game at the same time which resulted to a massive congestion in the server online. Hence, I couldn't even get into the game let alone play it because some Koreans were already on their way to meet Diablo himself. So basically the whole night I spent cursing at the server for not letting me in...

[My sweet sweet setup for Diablo 3]

Thankfully the next day, they managed to rectify the problem and I was on my way to visiting New Tristam. So, going into the game review, the first question is which character should I choose for my adventure this time?

[Classes available for Diablo 3]

Being mindful that in the past, I went for the Necromancer role and got quite sweet results out of that one but I wanted something more "melee" type character but at the same time would not just be another hack and slash character as well. So, choice was quite difficult at first but after much consideration, discussion with Miss Ave T and watching the gameplay videos online, my choice was made.

[Went for the Monk with the Russian accent]

The choice was a good one, although I was considering the witch doctor a lot before making the choice. Regardless, the Monk plays around a flurry of melee strikes and combos with a defensive tactic to back that up. More importantly, the reason why I chose this character was after watching this particular move.

[The Seven Sided Strike]

This was the part when both me and Miss Ave T went...

we both did that face in the same time. seriously.

So coming back to the game, I have so far clocked in a few hours into the game and I am really liking what I am seeing with the game progression. Story line followed up from where they left off in Diablo 2 and once again, the entire storyline was to get down there and give Diablo the nice arse kicking that he has been missing for the past 12 years.

The game still uses the original game engine as the one before, with improvements made on the system and response speed for the game. Now the have incorporated individual skills settings which gives each character a very individualistic view and strategy on how to progress and improve your character, rather than the standard way of improvements like before. Shops and NPC support still exist in the game, but this time they allow the progression of both NPC and shops which gives you a variety of options to even progress with the shops around you.

So far I have yet to try out the multiplayer gameplay, because of the whole server issue in the game so I will update this post once I have tried out that part of the game. In the mean time, I am enjoying my time working on my Monk as far as I can.

So for all of you out there reading this, please please pretty please leave a comment on the other characters that you are working with apart from the Monk. Would love to read more on how the character works and perhaps even try out another character in the future.

If you would like to add me up on Battle.net, do so at TehTarikD#6537.

Bring on El Diablo.

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PJ Dawn 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 17 May 2012 02:29:00 +0000

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After my successful stint in the Borneo Marathon, it was going to be a tough one to run for the PJ Dawn 2012 on the basis that this was going to be a back to back week run and to make matters worse, the run was held the morning after the Russell Peters show, which only gives me a couple of hours sleep before running the trail!

[At the starting line in the wee hours of the morning]

Nevertheless I was quite pumped up to get this run going and clock in another running event under my belt before Ramadhan starts. Before this, the run was usually known as PJ Half Marathon that annually will be held by The Star around the PJ town area. I believe that this year they wanted to take in a different approach and not involve a high density area for the run itself.

I came in the Kelana Jaya MBPJ Stadium rather late because I tried to get as much sleep as possible before the run (to be honest I could only clock in around 2-3hours of sleep) and by the time I reached there, Ash was already at the starting point which means that I had to skip my warm up routine entirely. To make matters worse, out of panic of the rush I completely forgotten to bring my ankle and knee support for the run which is a huge worry considering the stress my legs will take on the uphill areas of the course.

[I kinda like the design of the logo this year!]

[Programme list for the day]

[very organised arrangement for participants]

Despite everything, I was getting myself mentally prepared for the race it was quite awesome to have 2 new people to join in the TehTarik Runners group, being Ash's sister and her friend who used to have quite an impressive running record back in school. What a way to get back into the grove.

So as the race start, there was an enthusiastic crowd at the starting line and because this race was done much earlier in the morning, we could see that the trail in front of us was still dark. This was going to be an interesting run...

At KM 2, we were already hitting a downhill trail along the Subang Airport highway, going towards the Federal Highway. So far not much pain on the legs without the supports.

At KM 3, immediately after the turn was a high inclination which was slightly difficult to most of us. Lucky that this was in the early trail so I could still maintain the usual pace. Had a few glimpse of cramps so slowed down accordingly.

At KM 5, we just passed the first water station and I realised according to my GPS that the distance marker was a little off that shown. Decided not to let petty things like this distract me

At KM 7, we already covered the Subang Airport highway section of the run and at that time we were turning towards Ara Damansara to continue the trail. There, I could see a number of the 21km runners making their way around the bend for the final stretch of their run. Gave them a little cheer as well.

At KM 9, we merged ourselves with the rest of the 21km runners and I was slowing down quite a number of times, just to make sure that the ankle is not hit badly during the run. I checked my GPS and did some mental calculation for my timing and realised I was still in good time.

At KM11, we were already veering into the road towards the Stadium and there were some runners that has already completed the run kept cheering us on. This is the reason why I love running events like this, with this sort of sportsmanship being shown to the rest of us. Kudos guys!

And thus, THE RACE WAS DONE AT 1:27:08!

[PJ Dawn 2012 Done!]

I was quite happy with the running trail itself, not too difficult and not too easy at the same time. It was rather scary at some point of the trail where we could see lightning strike from a distance every now and then but thank god the weather held up for us to at least finish the run. All of us manage to complete the run successfully, including the newbies as well.

Who we of course included in our trademark finish post. :D

[to the next run!]

Big shout out to the Kuala Pilah Runners group who was friendly and helpful enough to help us take this picture for us. One of them actually recognised me during the Brooks run which I thought was awesome!

Looking forward for the next one, Standard Chartered KL 2012 here we come!

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Russell Peters Live in Malaysia : The Show!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:05:00 +0000

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After much hype and also my own posting of wanting tickets, out of some stroke of luck I managed to get 3 tickets for the Saturday show, much to my delight! If you haven't been following the story of the show, the tickets for the Saturday show were sold out 3 hours after the were opened for sale! Because of that, they decided to make another earlier show for everyone else but then I would rather stick around for the Saturday show itself!

[Official Russell Peters merchandise logo for his show]

So that night, we made our way real early, considering the traffic that was going to be happen with the number of people coming in to Shah Alam that night. Fortunately for me the venue was relatively close to my house and I am very familiar with the traffic situation in Shah Alam during high peak hour periods and sneaky places to park. Once we did, we made a hike to the Melawati Stadium in Shah Alam.

[Entrance to the stadium]

[They even had official merchandise selling outside the stadium]

[People filling in the stadium fast from our seat view]

As expected, they were keeping a tight watch on people bringing electronic devices to the show, on fear that people might bootleg the show and sell it off in the market. I did my level best on coming out with sneaky pictures for the night but because our seats were rather near the entrance, the guy keep flashing his torchlight to me everytime I took my camera out. Sheeshh....

While waiting for the night to start, we were entertained by the musical spins of DJ Spinbad who according to my colleague is the regular DJ that tours with Russell in his tours. Quite honestly I can see the reason why he does that because the man is an amazing DJ. Fantastic mix of old skool and new age music which did entertain most of us waiting that night.

The first comedian to come up was a taste of local flavour with Andrew Netto who is not exactly a new comer to the Malaysian comedy scene. Typical Indian jokes with a few hits to the local news and happenings kept us laughing for the early stages of the night.

After that, we were entertained by the comedic styles of Joey Medina, one of the Latin Kings of Comedy in the States. Personally I thought this guy was hilarious, especially when the crowd roared when he incorporated a few Malaysian situations into his jokes. Sharks in the club, friggin classic!

And then, it was time to hear from the man himself.

Honestly the show was seriously up to the expected hype. Being a Russell Peters fan, it was awesome that none of the previous material was used again in this show and he basically came up with new things for us to laugh ourselves to.

Of course the stereotype jokes and adult "sex humour" was there as well but was brought into totally different light than before. Crowd participation with his jokes was obviously there, my particular favourite was a Malay lady sitting in the front row with ridiculously blond hair which was picked on by him. And who can forget Mr Bupinder (or Bups after an hour or so) who was this huge Singh guy sitting in the front row. We also had a few punts made to the Indian accent which was funny as anything. We all heard of thick Indian accents but who would have guessed thick Indian Accent sounds?

What surprised me though was there were a few that walked out of the show around 10 to 20 minutes to the show for unknown reasons. Until now I can't figure out why but I'm sure the rest of of you reading this would have your own theories as to what happened.

Personally I thought the show was bleeding awesome and for those that actually missed the show really did miss out big time on this. Perhaps we would be seeing him again in our shores in the near future? You never know...

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TehTarik Reviews : Dark Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:58:00 +0000

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After much speculations from the pre-release reviews of this movie, there were some doubts as to whether this movie (which was originally made from a TV series) would have much success in the market. However with a star studded line up in their armoury, perhaps there are some chances it would turn out to be a good one in some way.

[Johnny's back...]

As always, I was given the great opportunity from the awesome people at Nuffnang to catch this movie not only three days earlier than its actual release but to watch it in the huge screen of the IMAX Theater as well earlier this week. I have to admit I have very little knowledge coming into this movie screening, unlike the previous movies that I usually watch so I did a little research into it beforehand.

Plot follows a man born in a rich family back in 1772 that migrated to the US from England. There, their family made a fortune by creating a fishing industry in the town of Collingwood and soon after their only son, Barbanas Collins was dwelling his riches into everything, including women. However one heart that he broke in particular turned out to be a witch and through her anger, she cursed him to be a vampire and locked him in a coffin through time. 200 years later in 1972, someone managed to find and open the coffin itself, releasing him into a world where everything has changed and his descendants were no longer the powerhouse in the town.

Despite the grim outlook that we are always very familiar with the works of Tim Burton, surprisingly enough this was actually a gothic comedy movie and personally, I found it quite entertaining and funny at some points. Of course there were instances of some dark and twisted outlook in some parts of the movie but overall, it really was a comedy with a twist.

So as always, this is what I think of the movie:

Would I watch it again? : I would not, as the first viewing was enough to capture everything in the movie

Movie or DVD worthy? : Definitely DVD material, but do watch it first time in the movies.

Plot : Quite funny and dark at the same time, which I would think that it does take and acquired taste to really appreciate the movie.

Star Power : Once again the focus is obviously to Johnny Depp and his chameleon like ability in acting but credits due to the ever sexy Eva Green and the return of Michelle Pfeiffer. 54 years old and still stunning as anything. Meow.....

Teh Tarik Rating : I'll give an easy 6 out of 10.

In conclusion, I would implore those that would love the dark romantic comedy type movies to check it out and to be honest, it wasn't a bad experience watching the movie entirely with everything in mind. Perhaps some part of me would expect more coming from a Johnny Depp movie.

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Borneo International Marathon 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:21:00 +0000

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I would have to admit that it has been a hectic week for me so far hence the slight delay of updating the post on this event. As many would have already known, I whisk myself away to the Sabah for another running event and also my second running event outside of KL. There were a lot of expectation on my side for this running event, especially since that this was now held in my birth town!

[Running proud in Sabah!]

[Team TehTarikRunners geared and ready!]

So this time around, I was set to run with resident Team TehTarikRunner Ash who was visiting the state for the very first time. However, there were some difference between our targets for this run. For me, I was dead set to break my personal best record and what better place for me to do this than here in Sabah. As for Ash, since that this was his first time in Sabah, he was going to take his time and take pictures while running the trail.

Unlike my Penang Bridge run I didn't have my lady luck Miss Ave T so it was going to be slightly different for this run but then I do have some of my family members in Sabah coming to cheer me on for the run, including my mom! (yay!)

[Clearing up the gear for the run!]

One of the best thing about this run are a number of reason, one being the scenic view that we will be running by during the run. Most of the time the runs in KL will be around township areas which kinda limits the view that you get to see during the run itself so this would be a refreshing change of scenery entirely. The other of course is that the Borneo Marathon is said to be one of the flattest run in the country which means that if there is anywhere you would want to break your personal best record, it would be here in Sabah. I was nervous and excited in the same time...

[The three trails for the run!]

So the night before, we had a major carbo loading session at a Italian restaurant near town and head to bed real early, which is kinda of a shame since that it was a Saturday night and Kota Kinabalu is bustling with its night life. A small price to pay to achieve my target me thinks....

We got up bright and early and started to head out for the stadium for the starting point. Because we were staying right in the centre of town, we could see some of the 42km runners passing by the hotel as we went out, since they started theirs much earlier than ours. Gave them a few pep cheer and off to the starting point we go!

[Morning mist started to cloud the area...]

So as we were preparing for the run, we were told that there were a lot of celebrities also running in the 10km race so we were quite excited to see if we could bump into some of them. Then again I started to get butterflies in my stomach as I was really determined to break that record one way or another.

Everyone was then organised outside of the stadium, with the gun fired and we were off!!!

At kilometer 1, I was going at my slow initial pace as how I trained before, until I realised Ash was running in front of me while running BACKWARDS and taking pictures! Talk about surprised motivation!

Kilometer 3, we were already running outside the main road and passing through our first watering point. The weather at that time was holding up (thank god) and I started to pass a lot of traffic from the initial starting point.

Kilometer 4, I realised that I was behind the Miss Universe Malaysia 2012, Ms Kimberly Leggett, who is actually a regular when it comes to 10km runs like this. I tried to pace with her run but I couldn't keep up after around 15 mins. For those who says that models suck at sports, this one just proved that out of the water!

Kilometer 6, we made a turn back from the town area and back to the stadium area. So far there were no major problems with the ankles but started to feel slightly sore on my left knee at the turn, which kinda slowed down my run a little.

Kilometer 8, I was walking for a bit by this time because of the knee problem. But when I saw the signboard to the stadium, I got my second wind back.

Kilometer 9, I could see the entrance to the stadium and I was checking my stopwatch regularly. I clearly missed my sub 1 hour mark but I was way in time to break my personal best timing, which is where I started sprinting like mad.

And thus, I DID IT! NEW PERSONAL BEST TIME!

1:06:24!

[Mom was waiting for me at the finishing line!]

[Team TehTarikRunner both beating our personal best record!]

[Managed to finally catch up with her and take a pic!]

[Never short of a friendly face and jokes, we managed to even catch up with JJ and Ean!]

And so, I was friggin ecstatic that I finally managed to beat my personal best time as how I planned and what better way to remember the run here in Sabah by doing so. So far, I found that the event itself was great, with very little problems both on the organisation and public participation during the entire event. Perhaps in the future, I would love to see more big names running the event itself and making it even bigger than it already is.

[My finishing photo. Cannot get anymore epic than that!]

of course, we didn't forget our trademark pose.

[Borneo International Marathon 2012 : COMPLETED!]

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Back Home in Sabah Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sat, 05 May 2012 08:21:00 +0000

Just a short post peeps, at the moment I am enjoying my arrival back to my little home town of Sabah!

[Feels good to be back!]

While I am here to enjoy the sights and sounds of Sabah as how it is intended to be as well as enjoying my well deserved holiday here, of course I am also here for a mission to break my own target. Right now I have very very very limited access to the internet so I will leave the blogging of my trip when I return.

Boy its good to be back!

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#FindNayatiMoodliar

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:50:00 +0000

<data:blog.pageName/> <data:blog.title/> <data:blog.pageTitle/> With everything that has happened over the weekend, with the demonstrators and apparent carnage that ensued with it, we have somehow overlooked a more pressing matter in hand that kinda got itself overshadowed by the over hyped event.

[Please help find Nayati]

Last Friday morning there was shocking news of a boy abducted while he was making his way to school that morning. So far there are still no news of his whereabouts nor was there any indications or descriptions of how his abductors look like. From close circuit TV monitoring there have been an indication that two men of Indian origin have been seen bundling the boy into a car that Friday morning.

Once again we are stricken by another inhumane crime of abducting helpless kids and for whatever reason this maybe, this has to stop. Too many people have suffered because of this so I implore for people out there to help find this boy and hopefully even find those behind this.

To all my readers, please help by spreading the word with the contact numbers and make use of the voice of bloggers count to help a clearly suffering family. We need to get this boy safe out of harms way and we need to get it now.

Get this information spread through your social network platforms people, be it via Facebook, Twitter or even your blogs and please spread the word. We have heard enough about Bersih being talked about through everyone and everywhere, for once we use our voice to make matters count.

UPDATE!

I am pleased to report that the authorities managed to find Nayati and he is now BACK HOME SAFELY!

https://twitter.com/#!/ShamMoodliar/status/197863607311138818

This was posted by Nayati's father at 9.45am this morning with much delight and rejoice. Kudos to all of those who helped and those who managed to make this hunt work. Well done guys, you have done good.

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TehTarik Reviews : The Avengers

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:50:00 +0000

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This was supposed to be the movie of the year. One of the most anticipated movie for most of us movie buffs and comic book geeks around town. So of course the expectation was very very high when it comes to this movie for all the reasons. After much success with the rest of the independent super hero movies that we have been watching for the past few years, there were some concerns that this movie was not going to reach the expected hype it portrayed over the years.

[One of the best fan art poster of the movie]

The thing is, THE MOVIE WAS FANTASTIC!

Thanks to the good people of Nuffnang, we were given the opportunity to watch the movie in all its glory on premier day itself and boy were we thankful for that! Being more of a comic geek myself rather than anything else, I came prepared not only with expectation but also some background research on what to expect of the movie. (I believe most people would already know the fact that I am a fan of Marvel Heroes more than anything else...)

WARNING! REVIEW MAY HAVE SPOILERS OF MOVIE!

[was so tempted to don the uniform again for the movie...]

The storyline was based after the dismissal of the Avengers Initiative, the world was attacked by evil forces of Loki whose main aim was to divide the world and conquer. Using the assembled heroes of the world, Director Nick Fury was forced to regroup the Avengers Initiative back to give the world a fighting chance. However doing so may provoke a problem within the group itself, let alone saving the world from chaos.

In general what I loved about the movie is that it started off from where each individual movie left off, which kinda gives the viewers a familiar vibe as to start the show. Another thing that I fancied that despite the movie was to be included in an all star super hero cast, it did show many instances of vulnerability among the heroes which is very rare to see in superhero movies nowadays. Kinda like to remind us they are human and mortal after all...

[Oh Natasha]

[Someone just pissed them off...]

[Oh and him too...]

So, this is my general breakdown of the movie:

Would I watch it again? : Awesome storyline, fantastic fight scene, this was not going to be a one time viewing.

Movie or DVD worthy? : Movie, hell I'd go 3D if I can!

Plot : Carried on from the original plot of the individual movie but credits given to Tom Hiddleston for his potrayal of Loki. Got it spot on!

Star Power : We all kinda figured out this was going to be an all star cast but I'd give credit to the producer for making what was supposed to look like the most useless Avenger with arrows and turning him into a badass fighting machine. And of course Scarlett Johansson in a tightsuit...

Teh Tarik Rating : I'll give an staggering 9 out of 10!

So if you guys are a fan, be at ease to know that the hype of the movie was seriously brought to justice. Stunning portrayal of an all star cast and a plot to match for the movie made the experience so much better. There is without a doubt that the saying was right, for those who wait will be rewarded well.

Speaking of that, DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE END CREDITS! there might be someone unexpected making an appearance....

[I believe only fans know who this is...]

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Claire Squire: Tragic Runner's Dream Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:12:00 +0000

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Just as I was running the Energizer Night Race 2012 last weekend, it was also the same time when one of the Marathon Majors event, the London Marathon was held which as expected attracted a lot of runners and spectators alike. Much like most of the people running the event, everyone had their reasons of running, which included one lady by the name of Claire Squire

[Claire moments before her run]

She was running the London Marathon on the sole purpose to raise money for a charity of her choice, Samaritans who are a support group that helps emotionally distressed people and those bordering to suicidal tendencies. Claire made that run happen on that day and as she was approaching the final mile of the marathon, something happened.

Claire collapsed on the final mile of the race and died due to unknown reasons.

With her tragic passing, the news devastated so many runners that were participating the event especially when they found out her story of her run. There is still no news on the cause of her death and she herself was a fit person, having managed to climb up Mount Kilimanjaro in 2010 successfully.

One of the most tragic stories behind her was that she has been involved in so many charity organisations and drives before this and the reason why she is doing this charity is because that the group supports her late brother, who overdosed after falling into an emotional depression after the tragic loss of his girlfriend in an accident.

Right now, so many people have either been inspired or touched by her story continued on to lend in support to the charity that she was running for and at the moment, the count for the donations has been staggering. What she wanted to achieve was to collect 500 pounds for the charity of her choice for the run itself.

At the moment, the amount has surpassed 500,000 pounds!

When I was reading in, my mind started to wonder the power of humanity that can be proved at times like this, despite those that believe there is no room for kindness in this cruel world but the gallant effort of one runner has now brought the attention of so many people from around the world which I thought is fantastic.

My condolences to Claire's family for the tragic loss of such an inspirational runner and at the moment, there is campaign to push her donation drive and her legacy to reach 1 million pounds and I think its possible.

For those out there looking to donate, do so by clicking on the link below

Claire's Just Giving Page

and give generously. For a runner that did everything for everyone else.

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Energizer Night Race 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:56:00 +0000

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After my last run, I am super geared up to continue on with my running plans this year and the upcoming one is the one to look out for. Last weekend, I managed to conquer the Energizer Night Race 2012! For one, the run this time is going to be in another iconic Malaysian location, where runners are given the opportunity to run INSIDE THE SEPANG FORMULA 1 CIRCUIT!

[Positive Energy!]

After the fiasco that happened in the Energizer Night Race last year, there were a lot of talk on how exactly things are going to change for this year. Then again, the organisers this year was Twenty First Century Sports, which is an experienced company on handling large scale running events in the past. Unfortunately because the madness that happened last year left such a bitter taste to the memories of a lot of runners here, it is little wonder that there were a lot that boycotted the run itself.

[Bring on the race!]

As for me, I was nervous as hell because this would be my maiden run that would go more than 10km (apart from the Brooks Run's miscalculated distance issue) so preparation wise was very very different from my runs before. Plus, this time around I was running WITHOUT the support of my TehTarikRunning group because of unforeseen circumstances.... This time I was to run alone....

[Entering the Sepang Circuit real early]

Fortunately for me I had Ms. Ave T with me as a support, who has been missing from my previous runs this year. Then again, the last time she was with me in my run (back in the Penang Bridge Marathon) I actually broke my own personal best record. Talk about having the real lady luck with me... :D

[Head Light Distribution Area]

[Made myself a new friend!]

I suppose the one thing that came into people's is how the entire event was to going to turn up. We got there bright and early for the race and so far, everything was organised very well around the area itself. With enough signs to point everyone to the right direction, booths and other things being sold and organised in the area, adequate food stalls around the park which gives us a lot of things to do while waiting for the start of the race. As I see it, everything that was organised pre-run was done perfectly.

[Starting grid for the cars.. I mean, runners]

As night falls, the time for my run came closer and closer as I was getting even more nervous than before. Ms Ave T was trying her best to calm me down a bit which did help a lot. As the 42km runnners were getting ready for the flag off, everyone turned on their headlights and the entire track was filled with a sea of lights. I thought that looked awesome.

[Flagging off the 42km runners]

And after that, I was set to flag off with the rest of the 15.5km runners.

[Here we go!]

So as we got flagged off, I was late to reach the starting line during the gun time (partly because of traffic and partly because of confusion of the starting time) so I was actually running toward the starting line and just kept running from there. Talk about panic!

After the first 3 kilometer, I was honestly enjoying the view from the track. Personally I felt so unreal that I was actually on the legendary Formula 1 track. As I turned my head to the side, I saw the runners from the 5.5km was about to flag off and could see the sea of lights from the starting grid. Truly a magnificent view.

At the 6th kilometer, we existed out of the track and outside to the service trail. So far the organisers have been absolutely fantastic in catering to the runners. More than enough drinks and sponging stations and people cheering and playing drums while you run. Total bliss.

At the 8th kilometer, I realised that I truly underestimated the track of the run itself. While the Sepang track was nice and flat (albeit some uphill track) the one outside was one hell of a trail. Constant change in the gradient meant that I couldn't get my heart rate to get used to the the trail. This was going to be a difficult track.

At the 10th kilometer, I started to feel sharp pains on my knees and calves, thanks to the hills. I was already walking a lot and was in a lot of pain.

at the 12th kilometer, we joined in the Formula 1 circuit again and I felt something I have never felt before in the previous run. I started to starve. I was seriously so hungry that my mind couldn't concentrate anymore. I was walking and running in the same time and was going slower by the minute.

and then, it happened...

At about 300 meters left to the finish line, both my calves started to twitch and cramped to full glory. I fell to the side of the track for a bit and some of the medical guys came and helped me. I told them to just get me up and let me finish. So I limped and cramped my way to the finish line, in front of so many people. My target timing went to dust when that happened.

But I still finished. With the timing of 1 hour 57 minutes and 34 seconds.

[With my work colleague Davie who was arguably on of the best runners in my company]

I gave everything I could for the race and once I reached the end I had nothing left but to limp myself to the medical station. I have to thank them so much because the minute I was there, they reacted so far as to give me treatment and had a bed and water for me to lie down and drink. Much thanks to the medical staff from University Malaya hospital, who even took a picture with me while I was sitting in pain, for their excellent work during the event!

All in all I would have to say this run WAS SO FAR THE BEST ORGANISED RUN I have attended for this year and they have truly redeemed themselves from the fiasco that happened last year. Excellent organising work, with enough water station and sponging areas to provide to the runners and everything was provided very very well for all the runners this year.

All was left was of course, the signature pose after my run. :D

[Energizer Night Race 2012 : Completed!]

[I tried to get the battery to pose with me but he had other ideas]

My deepest congratulations and appreciation to both Energizer Malaysia and Twenty First Century Sports for organising a really awesome event. I enjoyed it big time and looking forward to join again next year!

check out more posts like this under TehTarikRun

For all the runners, do check out your individual results HERE

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Of PTPTN Loans and Rebels Without a Clue

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:46:00 +0000

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With the upcoming elections around the corner, lately I have been hearing a lot of complains and protests that has been happening around town. However one that really caught my attention are 30+ students gathering in front of Dataran Merdeka, protesting for free education and the abolishment of the PTPTN (National Body of Higher Education Funds).

[Students protesting against Student Loans]

This will be a lengthy, wordy post so please bear with me. With all the commotion against those who are protesting on the streets, I can conclude on one thing very, very clear about these protesters.

These people haven't got a clue what they are protesting about.

Referring my explanation based on the brilliant arguments posted by fellow blogger and classmate of mine, NoktahHitam, personally I feel that what they are asking for has nothing to do with the welfare of students in general or the betterment of students in the future, but rather just a bunch of people who are not even grateful with the loans that THEY THEMSELVES TOOK to get into universities and just refused to pay them back.

Of issues on abolishing PTPTN loans

What I question is that do these people even realise what would happen if people would have to rely on other means of study loans?

If say for example students were to ask for a bank loan to student, in general banks would fork out at average between 11% - 7% per annum, depending on the bank and how long do you plan to pay back the loan. These are the rates of normal banks like Maybank and CIMB, don't even think about discussing the rates of international banks such as Standard Chartered or OCBC.

You compare that with the set rate 4% per annum that PTPTN charges its student, a logical person would be able to deduce that students are much better of paying loans to government bodies like PTPTN rather than forking out even more to banks and monetary institutions mentioned above.

Mind you that with governmental bodies, at least there are levy of situation of delayed payments if in situation that the student would not be able to find necessary funds to repay their loans. If you fail to pay with a bank, their default action is to immediately go after your collateral that you have assigned to your loan in case you wouldn't be able to pay them back in time.

I would have to agree with what has been written in Noktah Hitam, the fact that most people would be more than happy to pay their loans for other assets such as cars, IPhones, TV's or homes yet when it comes to appreciated assets like education, immediately they start squirming themselves to get out of the loan. Saying they deserve to get it for free. My question is, should they get the other loans that they have or will take for free as well?

These people know fully well what they were signing themselves into when they took the loans, with the promise to repay the loans in the future. Later on, they turn around and say that its unfair and refuse to pay off their loans anymore. The civilized way of society is not to borrow and then turn around to scream and shout that they should get it for free. In normal circumstances, you call that a conman or a thief.

Free education for Malaysians

On concept, I believe that the idea of free education is actually a brilliant idea that should be implemented in the Malaysian education system, much like the ones that has been implemented in most developed countries. But how much does these people realise on the ways that are practised in other countries when it comes to "free education"?

In countries like Norway, Denmark and Sweden, university fees are completely covered by the govenment HOWEVER other living expenses are still covered by the student themselves. This would mean that the students would have to fork up thousands just to survive and for those that can't afford it, where do they go?

Once again I agree with what has been noted by Noktah, in the end without government loan bodies available, you have better luck on landing in the moon then getting an affordable bank loan to survive. No bank would want to risk a personal loan to a person that would not seem to be able to repay them back, especially with no sizeable fixed income to back up that loan.

So I question, where do these students go for help then?

And if we give everything for free in this country, much like countries like the UK or US, what guarantee is there that the system itself would not be abused by the people themselves? This is what's happening to the countries mentioned above, people taking advantage of benefits because people are just used to getting things for free and not having to pay anything back for it.

What of these Student Protesters?

So the question is, who are these students? Personally I feel that the students are just out to pick a fight and nothing more than that. A bunch of "Rebel without a Clue" of what they are really out there for.

I was one of the lucky ones. I was blessed with a family that could afford me to go to university without relying on loans and I was lucky enough to have some money of my own through part time jobs while I was studying. But I have immediate family members and friends who relied entirely on student loans to get them to university and they for sure didn't waste their time protesting and screaming like thugs on a rampage.

One of my best friends, who was from Tawau and came from an average income family but blessed with a brilliant mind and was in university with me in UK was given the opportunity to study with the help of government student scholarship. Today he is serving the government, after graduating as one of the top in his class.

I have hundreds of close friends of mine, all graduated from local universities with excellent results and brilliant minds of their own but each and everyone of them knows what the REAL situation is and not be swayed but popular beliefs and hearsay issues.

[I believe that some have made them look like that themselves....]

Majority of us don't need to be in public, enticing officials, calling people "Bodoh" and "Barua UMNO" and hurling abuse, undermining someone's education level when being referred to by officials in a calm and considerate manner (especially for one claiming he is screaming and angry because he is hungry. Well done mate...). Most of us are civilized enough to channel our concerns in ways that need not be this confrontational and just plain rude. These people just an insult to the majority of local graduate student's credibility and intelligence.

Conclusion

One must remember that our basic teachings have taught us, in both religion and social understanding, that we are not animals to simply pick a fight with people when we don't get things our way. The need of PTPTN is very apparent, especially those that needs it the most YET IN THE SAME TIME, I would have to criticize the way PTPTN officials manage their debt collection methods and serve their responsibility better in serving the students.

If there should be an introduction of free education in our country, I will support it with STRICT regulations being implied to the screening process of those who are eligible for the benefit, not all students. The last thing we want is to give free stuff to deadbeat students who is in it for a free ride rather than truly appreciating the help.

Do check out the writings of Noktah Hitam on the similar issue. My hat goes to him with an excellent breakdown on the issue. Kudos.

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[ADV] Marvel's The Avengers

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 10:55:00 +0000

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Probably one of the most anticipated movie of the year is finally around the corner I am for one uber excited to watch this one. After so many "post credit" teasers in the rest of the Marvel based movies within the year, this time they have finally announced that the movie is here!

[The Avengers are finally assembled!]

So with the release of the upcoming movie next month, once again the awesome people at Nuffnang have come up with a little competition to invite bloggers to enjoy the movie on its opening day in Malaysia with them which is, as always, AWESOME AS ANYTHING!

Question is, they ask if I was to create a new superhero for the Avengers, which superhero would I be?

[A few awesome shots of me as Captain America!]

Its been a known fact that I have been indulging myself with some ideas on how I would look like if I was a superhero. My previous engagement as Captain America himself was one of the examples and from the look and feel to it, the Shield of Justice does fit very very well with me! :D

But in previous times, I have been trying to get some ideas on on other superheros that would fit the bill to save the world, just in case the Avengers weren't around to do the job instead.

I could come up as a SuperNinja, stealth as cat and fast as lightning. Insert your ninja jokes here but with abilities like that , bad guys won't even see me coming! Armed to the teeth with weapons that you usually associate with a ninja, I'd come prepared with my legendary Katana sword that would cut to almost anything!

Then again I have been known to lose out to the fairer sex when in battle.. :P

And then of course you have, The Flaming Ferrets. If you heard of the Ghostbusters, the Flaming Ferret would terrorize the baddies with our well equipped laser gun and "baddass" gaze. Truly worthy of a superhero troop.

But of course if you have been reading my post on the Flaming Ferrets here, we still lack the organised structure of battle, apart from running towards the enemy while screaming like a lunatic.

So on that note, my personal favorite would be my tactical suit that I created before (check out the post HERE) which is well equipped to fight bad guys without much difficulties. Since that the most probable bad guys that we are going to go up against might be undead zombies, I present to you this!

[T.E.H Suit! (tactical enhancement for hunting!)]

[Some of the equipment included in the suit]

Armed with conventional weapons that you can makeshift around the house, this bad boy is like the Iron Man armor, only this one looks more realistic and of course, more hardcore. Bring on the baddies...

So there you have it, my version of superheroes that would easily make the cut in the Avengers with ease and spice up the group a little bit with some flair and hardcoreness... I wonder if they are taking any applicants?

Movie is coming out soon peeps. Be prepared! :D

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Russell Peters Live in Malaysia: I WANT TICKETS!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:08:00 +0000

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I suppose almost everyone out there would have heard the news that was announced by TimeOutKL on the arrival of the one comedian that we would never imagine will ever make it to our shores.

[The Legendary Russell Peters is coming to Malaysia!]

I believe that one of the most well known comedian in town right now has finally decided to graze his comedic self to the shores of Malaysia and as expected, everyone is anxiously waiting for the news on how we get to score tickets! Brought to you by Time Out KL (who were also the same guys that was gracious enough to organise their weekly comedy nights, one that I attended before HERE), I suppose that everyone would want to see how the "stereotypical Asian jokes" would fit here in Malaysia, the hotbed of Asian cultural mix bowl which would surely give him enough ammunition for his jokes!

[Thank You Time Out KL!]

So the question is, how exactly do you score tickets for the show?

So far according to my research with their Tweet feed, they are announcing the ticket details today (13th April) on their website and from what I was told, tickets will only be open for sale on the 18th of April which means it gives you ample time to find friends to go and watch this crazy person on stage!

In the mean time I'll be keeping an eye on the website to see if there are any changes on the news there and I will update it here, so keep an eye on this space!

[Oh really?]

UPDATE!

Much thanks to Ms. Catwoman for highlighting the news to me, it seems that we have some news of prices and ticket sales opening for the show itself!

Show Info:

Where - Stadium Malawati Shah Alam
When - Saturday, 12th May 2012 (8.30pm)

Ticket Info:

Platinum - RM438
Gold 1 - RM338
Gold 2 - RM248
Silver - RM188
Bronze - RM128

Ticketpro – www.ticketpro.com.my, 03.7880.7999
RedTix – www.airasiaredtix.com, 03.8775.4666

Tickets are open for launch on the 18th April at 9 am so be aware!

This is going to be a dog fight for tickets I would assume, since the last show he did, tickets went out within 8 FRIGGIN MINUTES!!!

I will get tickets, by hook or by crook...

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Why Do I Run?

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

<data:blog.pageName/> <data:blog.title/> <data:blog.pageTitle/> This was an interesting question posed to me a few days back and in fact, my dad ask me the same question many months ago. It seems that to a non runner, the idea of running 10km is madness, let alone completing a 21km half marathon or a 42km full marathon. Let's not even get into the whole ultra marathon running business...

Some say that you can never run away from your troubles, but I believe you can run to make them disappear for a while.

One of the things I always tell people that once I'm out there, everything else doesn't matter anymore. Somehow in my mind that once I am on the road running, I phase out into my own world and just keep running. I don't think about the problems that I am facing, I don't think about the things that pisses me off on a daily basis and I don't even think about the heavy burden and responsibilities that I am carry over my back anymore. I just see the road and I run.

[In my own world while running]

[Of course nothing compared to the Ridiculously Photogenic Guy]

It really is hard for me to explain to people what I mean whenever I say this. Despite me putting a cheerful face most of the time, I am subjected to constant problems, pressure and expectations everyday and with running, it becomes one of those outlets that I take to just to get myself out of that world for a while. And believe it or not, rest.

Hence why in some way, I am running, away from my problems for a while.

And the other reason why I am so hard up on doing this is simple, we only live once.

So many times I have heard of amazing stories of people achieving feats in their lifetime and I for one would not want to be living my life thinking "what if I did that" or "what could have been"s. I spoke this to my running mates that I would love to actually say to people "I've done this and this" rather than the other way around.

Take Fauja Singh for example. A champ in his nature.

Aged 100 years old and have so far completed 7 full marathons starting from his twilight age of 89 until now. I remembered reading an interview when he said "you only stop living life when you truly say and think it is over". Great stuff....

And so there you have it. That is why I run. :D

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GPlusMY Presents: Snickers Advert Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 06:04:00 +0000

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Its been a while since I last posted an activity with GPlusMY but then again I have been away and the group has been going through some revamping period in the past. Nevertheless GPlusMY members were given the opportunity to be involved with the launching of a new Snickers TV advertisement campaign.

[Hungry?]

This time around, the campaign launching took it to the courts (futsal courts to be exact) and had the launching at the Sports City Fustal Section 13 PJ. Best part of all, the launching was officiated by none other than our Malaysian National Football team head coach, Datuk K Rajagopal!

[Entering the Launch]

[Media and guests grabbing a seat]

[Hosted by none other than the Hitz.fm Morning Crew JJ and Ean!]

The idea behind the campaign was quite simple. Most people in town act, talk or even sound different when they are hungry and therefore becoming a "completely different person" at those times. Snickers aim to solve that problem by combating sudden hunger moments with bite sized snacks when you need them the most!

Hence why when the Malaysian team get them hunger going, they need a solution quick! :D

[Head coaching giving players an earful for performing with an empty stomach!]

[Much happier coach! :D]

At the moment, I am not allowed to disclose what the advertisement looks like (because the launching date will be done simultaneously in Malaysia and in Phillipines) but here's a sneak preview on how the advertisement is going to look like!

So for the event itself, it was awesome (despite the weather) to hang around with the Nuffies again and in the same getting to meet the Malaysian team players up close and personal during the event. It comes to no surprise that I am a big fan of Harimau Malaya and this really did made my day.

And then, we were required to play football with them....

Not to mention that we are not even near the standards of playing with the Malaysian football team, neither of us have been kicking around a football for god knows how long, which in the end would spell a predictably disastrous results!

[this is his fault]

[Enjoying the camera before the game!]

[Despite losing the game, we still got ourselves some prizes!]

As the match progressed, we sweat and played our hearts out for a 10 minute futsal game. I have to admit that despite the training I have been going through for the past couple of months for my running, its a different ball game altogether when it comes to futsal. Then again I had my fair share of fun playing around the futsal field. Lord knows when would be the next time I'll be playing again in the near future.

After our little exhibition match, we had more chances for photo ops with the VIPs!

[JJ and Ean, friendliest bunch of radio jocks ever!]

[National Captain, Safiq Rahim!]

[Group photo op with Safiq and S.Kunalan]

All in all I had huge fun hanging out with the rest of the GPlusMY members in a hot Thursday afternoon and hopefully we can get to see more of this happening in the next couple of month. Or are we? :D

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Something is Returning...

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 03:19:00 +0000

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I just got the news. Its coming back. And this time bigger and better than ever!

Its been a long time since we last heard of this group and after a long hiatus it's finally back to serve active bloggers in Malaysia everywhere!

and here's the best thing... it's also expanding its reach....

[Glitterati Plus Malaysia is back!]

We've added a lot of other things in the club, with events that you would never imagine we would be able to organise.

Do wait for it's official announcement people and help spread the word! :D

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Yuna Breaking Grounds for Malaysian Music!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:40:00 +0000

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Was driving to work earlier today and every single radio station has been buzzing about this news and for all the reason why. Earlier today our very own Malaysian songstress, Yuna has been making and breaking new waves for the pride of Malaysian music in the land of opportunity itself! :D

[Yuna was featured and sang on TV hit show Late Night Show with Conan O Brien!]

[Conan promoting Yuna's new album]

Quite possibly one of the may few Malaysian singers that manage to break into the American mainstream music industry, she was introduced to the show to showcase her new self title album, Yuna that is set to debut in the American music industry.

[Meeting up with Yuna somewhere early last year]

I remembered the first time I got to know about her was watching her in an independent music gig in MMU and she was one of the undercard performers there before the main act that night. I remembered everyone was wondering who was this girl with a tudung and a guitar she hardly could carry herself to stage. When she started singing, the crowd including myself was dubstruck.

Fast forward today, one would honestly have to give props to her achievements so far in breaking into the music industry the way she did and with this in mind, surely we would be seeing much more coming from her in the near future.

[She even met Barney Stinson aka NPH at the show!]

One thing for sure, after the likes of Zee Avi making a mark for Malaysian music before, this is another proud achievement for Malaysian musicians everywhere that we are continuing to improve along the way. Kudos and way to go Yuna!

Check out her video of her performance, Live Your Life

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TehTarik Reviews: Wrath of the Titans

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:45:00 +0000

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Had the awesome opportunity to check out the movie courtesy of the awesome people in Nuffnang yesterday for the much anticipated Greek mythology movie Wrath of the Titans!

[They're back... and they're pissed...]

If you missed out on the following movie before this, this one is actually a direct sequel of the Clash of the Titans which I would recommend you to watch before you watch this one, just in case you get confused with the storyline. The entire movie itself was promoted as the next up and coming mythological epic movie, complete with battle sequences between man, titans and god which all adds up to a setting that would well suit a guy with a bloodlust taste for movies!

"The storyline follows as Perseus son of Zeus, 10 years after the setting of Clash of the Titans wanted to stay as a human and live life as a mere fisherman and away from the battlefield. However acts of betrayal and conflict between the gods has brought forth a force that threatens to destroy the lives of both man and gods. Therefore it has been called upon demigods, half human and half gods to come and fight for a battle that they themselves feel they cannot win."

[1. Run like hell 2.Put pointy end of sword to bad guy 3. Don't forget to scream like hell]

As a self proclaimed geek, I came in this movie prepared with the average knowledge of Greek Mythology (partly from reading books, and partly from playing Age of Empires) so it was quite exciting for me to see how they are going to bring these characters to life once again. On a general view, I felt that the movie was quite average and considering the hype that was brought out of this movie, I felt there were some parts that was quite good but there were some disappointing moments within the movie.

So, this is my general breakdown of the movie!

Would I watch it again? : One time thing. Wouldn't be tempted to watch again.

Movie or DVD worthy? : Perhaps a DVD worthy movie at most

Plot : Similar to Clash of the Titans, I felt that majority of the plot was very predictable but the fight scenes was really good!

Star Power : They managed to re-cast the previous line up for this movie, with Sam Worthington and the ever impressive Liam Neeson back in the line up. Biggest disappointment was no return for Gemma Atkinson... boo...

Teh Tarik Rating : I'll give an average 5 out of 10 for this one.

[Tell her to go back to the kitchen... go ahead I dare ya]

So for those of you who either enjoy watching epic battle movies like this or have watched the first one and is aching to see what happens here then I would recommend to watch the movie. Otherwise, I wouldn't miss that much from missing this movie to be honest. Still was not exactly a bad movie, perhaps was expecting slightly more from the storyline compared to the one before.

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The Voice = Amazing!

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:31:00 +0000

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Recently I have been lacking on my musical side in this blog a little bit. Particularly with me busy tending to the other issues at hand with this blog, partly of course with the other musical members of TeamTehTarik a little busy with other things as well.

[The Voice]

Usually I would shun from writing about reality singing competitions particularly because that most of them are predictable and the same like any other. On first instance, I figured this TV show would not be able to produce anything different like any other singing competitions out there.

Until I saw this...

Enter Anthony Evans and Jesse Campbell.

This was suppose to be the round where two of the contestants who went through several elimination rounds before would have to sing against each other AS A DUET and selected a winner by their mentor.

I couldn't even choose which was better to be frank, let alone make a decision on this.

Honestly I think I pee'd a little a few times listening to this.

Can you choose who wins?

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Teh Tarik Travels: Seoul, Korea

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 03:26:00 +0000

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Anyeonghaseiyo!

I know that this has been a long overdue post but due to some distractions, I have to admit I have finally finished processing the pictures now. About two weeks ago I was sent all the way to the land of kimchi, K-Pop boybands and everything else related to.... SEOUL, KOREA!

WARNING! BUTT LOAD OF PICTURES AHEAD!

[View of Seoul from me room!]

Since that I was there for work (as usual) I only had a couple of days to spend in Seoul, including settling my work there. Regardless, I did have an opportunity to move around the town and have a little sight see on what this place has to offer.

Set as a bustling business city of Asia, its amazing how this place has turned from an agricultural civil war torn country into one of the business heartbeats of Asia. Mapping out my travelling route here was not easy but not impossible. With the right maps available and English speaking people to help you of course!

[A combination of the city map and subway map is what you essentially need to plan out Seoul]

So, from there on, I've mapped out several key areas in Seoul which is a must visit for anyone that comes around this place. So first up, my main target was the bustling district of Insa-dong!

[Insa-Dong street]

What this place is known for are all the souvenir shops around the street and it is filled with quirky, fun looking things to buy. Basically if you are looking to buy some gifts or presents for friends and family at home, this is the best place to go in Seoul for that. Of course most people would leave this place as the last place to visit, due to the number of things that you are expected to buy.

[An abandon building tuned into a shop complex]

[Layout of the building with a touch of Korean art]

[Some graffiti scribbling on the walls]

At the time when we got hungry, in Insa-Dong houses some really awesome looking restaurants with authentic Korean local dishes. However be aware that within Seoul, it is expected to have the restaurants to charge quite expensive. On average dishes, you would probably be looking to spend around KW6,000 to KW10,000 per dish.

[Alice in wonderland themed restaurant]

[Outside there are a bunch of roadside restaurants and bars available]

[Standard dish in Korea served with a helping of rice and kimchi]

Once done in the area, I decided to make a trip down to Itaewon-Dong, the nightlife district of Korea. Because Seoul have a very strict law when it comes to city nightlifes, it is quite safe to walk around at night around these areas.

One thing about the clubbing and bar scenes in Seoul is that like the food, it is also as expensive. Visitors are looking to spend almost KW100,000 per night out at least which does make things a little difficult to visit these places. Then again I was just as happy to survey around the streets to see what was going on.

[Itaewon Street stretch]

[Clubbing scenes in Korea]

So the next day, I decided to include a work colleague of mine from Bangkok with my travels around the city. One of the must see places in Seoul (for most tourists at least) would be the Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Set as a heritage by UNESCO, the entire site itself is a majestic site that houses not only the palace but other buildings as well. The entire location is basically a walled up complex for the residence of the royal family and their officers so you can just imagine the sheer size of the area.

[Me in the front entrance of the Palace]

[Gates of Gyeongbokgung]

[Inside the Palace]

We were super lucky to actually come to Seoul on that day because coincidently it was also the National Day for Korea which means that we got to witness their official parade with the medieval Korean time settings! Costume, drums and old procession methods, it was super fun to watch!

[Marching Band about to begin]

[Warriors with their weapons to follow]

[Wanted to help provide the drum beats but forgot the sticks]

[In front of the palace after the procession]

It is interesting to see how things were back then in Korea. The royal family used to confer with their minister in the past within the walls of their own palace and any messengers that were to come were summoned into the palace halls to discuss on terms and news with the royal family.

[Royal Halls]

Around the back of the palace hall are other buildings significant to the royal site itself. As I mentioned earlier, there are other things as well that resides within the complex, therefore the royal family would not have to come too much outside of the walls and everything can be done here.

[Entertainment and party Hall]

[Door leading to the chambers for Imperial Soldiers]

[In front of the Queen's Chambers, which I couldn't help performing my best kungfu move]

Once we were done with the palace grounds, we decided to continue walking towards the Cultural Museum of Seoul, which houses some of Korea's ancient artefacts found over the years. I do understand that some may find this relatively boring but its so much fun to just see how people use to live back in the days in Korea.

[Me and my Thai colleague in front of the Korean Pagoda]

[Found a sundial that consist of all the Chinese zodiac years on it!]

[Naturally I found mine!]

We also found an ancient house that was rebuilt for the purpose of this exhibition. Originally the house was found in a different location but was moved and rebuilt here to be housed together with the other stuff within the museum compound.

[Front lawn of the house]

[Setup of an old Korean house]

One of the best thing that I found here was that they actually manage to built and ENTIRE SMALL TOWN within the compound of the museum. Like I said before not 50 years ago Korea had nothing much to offer as they themselves were lacking in modernisation and was still very much backward in comparison to other towns in Korea. Its amazing in that short period of time they have managed to turn things around and become one of the modern country in Asia.

[Found a train that would take me there]

[Front view of an actual Korean township in 1970]

[Medicine and herbs shop in the past]

[Old barber shop]

[An actual comic book shop, with a working TV playing old cartoons]

[Old School, literally!]

Once we were done with the area, we wanted to find one last place to visit to do some last minute shopping and we found it. The Namdaemun market is your typical street market district area and boy was it full of people. Imagine your typical Petaling Street in KL, with more people in the streets walking and shopping!

[Entrance to the market]

[Look at the amount of people there!]

Its a hectic day for a tourist to spend some time going around places in Seoul but in the end of the day, it was worth the effort. Despite most people would say that Seoul is always overshadowed by its bigger neighbours like Tokyo or Hong Kong but I do believe there are more to things than people perceive with this town.

Quite honestly I enjoyed my stay there and would really look forward to explore more of the town if given the chance and more time to spend walking around the streets of Seoul! :D

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Are Snowflake Desserts Halal?

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 03:27:00 +0000

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Following a very successful campaign on public awareness when it comes dessert shops in Malaysia and their Halal status, many have requested me to investigate more on other products as well on whether they are considered to be halal or not. Previous on my blog (READ HERE!), I have successfully researched on the halal status of Chatime and their products.

Next up, is the ever popular ice dessert franchise Snowflake Desserts!

[Icy Goodness!]

Made popular among the Malaysian crowd for their ice bowl desserts filled with grass jelly toppings and mush taro ball addition, it is a little wonder that the image of the desserts itself is enough to get people going, especially during that hot summer days in KL.

[photo courtesy of Nothing Much Dave]

However of course they are some concerns, with the use of gelatin looking toppings and any other products, would there be any trace of pork/lard based materials in the making of the products itself? Similarly to the problem with Chatime, many Muslim consumers would be reluctant to come because of the doubt of such with the product and sometimes because of it coming from a Chinese based country.

So, to get this cleared I've contacted Asia Snowflake Group Sdn Bhd to inquire more about this issue and the result?

Snowflake is Halal!

Below is my interview with their company representative, Dayna Chan:

TTD: What are the ingredients that are used by Snowflake for all of their products?

Dayna: The basic ingredients used for all the products comprises from vegetable and plant based products only, ranging from natural beans, seeds, yam, sweet potatoes and jellies.

TTD: Would this mean that no animal product is used at all?

Dayna: Our products are made to cater even for vegetarians. No animal products or animal based additives are used to make the desserts

TTD: Is there any certification of Halal recognition done for your products?

Dayna: Our products imported from Taiwan have obtained Halal certification from international bodies that are recognised by JAKIM. At the moment we are compiling the list of the certification and we will update you on this as soon as possible.

Currently for the Pearl's halal certification, it is certified by Taichung Mosque which is one of the bodies recognised by JAKIM (as seen in their list here)

TTD: Why isn't there any certification done by JAKIM on your product at the moment?

Dayna: We recognise this issue to be a very important one for our business. At the moment we have Muslim workers both in operation and production in our company and we are at the midst of applying for JAKIM Halal certification for our products. However this is a very lengthy process and would take some time, in which I hope people would understand.

And there you have it folks, to that extent the products in Snowflake are actually safe to be consumed by Muslims due to their vegetable based ingredients for their products. Of course I do understand that it is up to the individual to decide whether or not this would be a reliable source of information for you but as how I understand, it does give some headway as to the status of the products for Snowflake itself!

As for me, at the moment I have to watch my diet of sugary snacks for my upcoming runs but on my cheat days you'd see me sitting down there enjoying my bowl of Best Seller any given hot day of the week! :"D

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Nurul Nadirah Abdullah : How Many More Have to Suffer?

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:31:00 +0000

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I hate it whenever I get interrupted by something while I am working on a noted blogpost (was suppose to finish the Seoul post but this got my attention first...). Unfortunately its news like this I really, really, really hate to write about...

[Nurul Nadirah Abdullah]

I just got hold of some news in regards of the death of a 5 year old girl who was kidnapped and later found burned to death in Johor earlier today. She went missing after going on her own to the sundry shop nearby her home to buy some instant noodles and later on was reported missing on March 1st and tragically on March 8th, her body was found charred beyond recognition and was only identified via her DNA matching to her mother's.

[At the scene of the crime]

I have said this once, when I wrote on a similar topic in the past (check it out HERE) that we live in a world with people who are bad, but the ones that committed a heinous crime like this deserves lesser rights than that of an animal. With the magnitude of brutality that has to be accomplished for this sort of crime, I don't understand how some people have the audacity of inhumane actions to commit such a thing.

I've question once before that for how long and how many would have to suffer before we would be able to catch and severely punish the animals that did this and stop them once and for all? So many of similar crimes like this have yet to be solved for years and to some extend, so many out there are surely asking why?

[List of missing or murdered children unsolved until today]

For me I refuse to believe that the police force is that incompetent to find some lead of finding these cruel, vicious animalistic criminals as I know for a fact that the Malaysian Police Force have the capability and technology to find criminals like this. I also refuse to believe that these criminals are that damn good until to the point that they would be able to hide without being detected and continuously commit the crimes they commit until today.

My condolences go to the family of Nurul Nadirah and I believe in all my heart she is now placed in a better place, close to His company. Justice need to be done and need to be done as swiftly as it can, before more innocent lives continue to be shed for the benefit of these sick, disgusting animal criminals.

Al-Fatihah

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Brooks Half Marathon 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Teh Tarik Drinker) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:39:00 +0000

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After a month hiatus from running on my side (due to travelling and lack of training during the month), the long awaited Brooks Half Marathon was something that me and my group was really looking forward to. Unfortunately because of some reshuffling within the group, we didn't have the same gang like before apart from Ash who is more than determined to get his running record increased this year.

[Team TehTarikRunners assembles for Brooks!]

The Brooks Half Marathon has always been a keen favorite for a lot of runners here in Malaysia so it wasn't surprising that both me and Ash were registered for this for a while back already. With Bukit Jalil as the running course, we were already expecting this run to be a tough one.

As per usual, the run consists of 3 different events, 21km half marathon as the main event, 10km run which we decided to participate and the 5km fun run. I was tempted to break the "21km virginity" with this course but decided against it in the end.

Joining Ash and I this time is a long friend of mine Saf, who manage to ignite his interest in running after a 5 year hiatus after seeing me running around town in events before. More the merrier for Team TehTarikRunners! :D

[we arrived bright and early, even got to catch the 21km flag off]

[Original plan was to run with Goofy but had to scrap the idea...]

As we did our warm ups, we were also mentally preparing ourselves with what was to come with the running course. Truth be told I was slightly disappointed with the organizers for this run as there were lacking of signs for places to put your luggage as well as lighting was seriously insufficient during the run, especially during the starting point!

Regardless, the course was a grueling one to be exact. Ash managed to drive around the area a couple of days before and we were expecting lots of hills with punishing terrain throughout the way, finishing off with a lap inside the Bukit Jalil Stadium itself.

[Ash making the run look damn easy]

[I saw the camera from far. Wait for it... wait for it...]

[PERFECT!]

[Even met Ms Road Runner, who is never short of her poses and Yim who is never short of his, urm, sarong...]

So as we started, everything went well within the first kilometer. Both Ash and Saf were being two little douchebags by leaving me behind for a bit during the starting point, despite our initial strategy to run together. Regardless managed to catch up with them in the second kilometer.

At kilometer 3, roads were still dark but there were some douchy drivers that were driving friggin dangerously close to the runners, despite areas being designated for runners. I even gave one a friendly "finger gesture" to one after a motobike almost knocked me over. Douche.

Kilometer 5, the sun was coming up and I thought that the worse part of the hill was over. That time we were passing by the stadium so we figured the worse was over.

Once again, we were diddly squat wrong.

At kilometer 6, I literally saw the hilly road staring right at my face and thats when my knees started to give way. I knew this was going to be a long one...

At kilometer 7, I was walking a lot and decided to walk up the hill and start running like a bat out of hell on the downhill and flat roads.

At kilometer 9 I was cursing to myself with that useless strategy because the impact made the pain on my knees worse. So, invert strategy of walking fast downhill and running up every hill I had to encounter while constantly saying to myself "kill the hill, kill the hill, kill the hill..."

The lead up to the finish line was a little surreal to me. Never would I imagine that I would be running inside the Bukit Jalil Stadium and for the first time, it kinda hit to me that I was about to complete me second run for the year.

And thus I did, with an unofficial time of 1 hour 16 minutes and 38 second (according to my ultra modern 10 ringgit stop watch).

[Brooks Run 2012 : COMPLETED!]

[With the rest of Team TehTarikRunners]

[I always wanted to do an Usain Bolt tribute pose]

[In which Team TehTarikRunners followed suit. I smell a trend here? :D]

All in all I would have to say that there were some shortcomings within the run itself but I was ecstatic to complete this one. So with March's run done, next up is April's Energizer Night Run! Gotta train for that one!

check out more posts like this under TehTarikRun

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