MrNiCeKiD's DeAd

The Last Jedi Review

2017-12-15T15:47:00.000+09:00

The Last Jedi is, undoubtedly the best Star Wars movie ever made!

I had this impression after the amazing space battle opening scene; of which was a delight to experience for all fans, even to those with unbelievably high expectations.

The amount of content and the quality of each scene; not just in terms of visual, but also pace, presentation and meaning are just perfect. Balanced.

The Last Jedi's story may be smaller in scale, but each scene was cleverly stitched together and builds up nicely to prepare you for the second half of the movie that was a roller coaster ride of surprises, wow moments and pure joy.

I don't want to spoil anything, but there were a number of scenes that made me picked up my jaw from the floor after watching in delight surprise. The writer made a brilliant and brave approach story-wise, and it was a success.

Amazing performance by Mark Hamill; this guy can act with only his eyes! The accompanying characters were diversely rich and interesting. Some of the cute characters would definitely be a money-making machine for Disney.

And can I also say that this is also the funniest Star Wars movie ever?

Princess Leia left the Resistance in a much smaller and weaker state, but with huge hope for the future. Cannot wait for 9.

Go see this movie, nerds! And be delighted; like I am today :)

Movie Review for April 2017

2017-05-07T16:29:00.004+09:00

I used to watch movies every week and post reviews and personal opinions about it and as boring this may sound, time is indeed a luxury. I watch fewer movies nowadays and apparently have stopped posting movie reviews all together. Well, until today, hopefully.

Live By Night – 6.5

Gone Girl, The Town and Argo are all directed by Ben Affleck and I love them all. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about his 4^th movie Live By Night. The great action sequences and highly detailed recreation of 1926 Boston is absolutely amazing; the visuals of this movie is top notch but it was such a waste when he “failed” to introduce an interesting character and story. Definitely not a bad movie; people who loves American gangster movies might like this but as a movie from Ben Affleck, I expect it to have interesting characters and story. That’s how much I loved Ben Affleck’s previous creations. Very disappointed but still looking forward to his next one!

The Founder – 8.5

This is a movie about the founders of the McDonalds Franchise. Interesting story coupled with an amazing performance by Micheal Keaton makes this movie one entertaining watch. Highly recommended movie but I think the Ray Kroc is a bully. Interesting and inspiring visionary businessmen, yes, but still. What an opportunistic bully.

Hacksaw Ridge – 8.0

Can Hacksaw Ridge (directed by Mel Gibson) stand shoulder to shoulder with Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, Letters from Iwojima, Flags of Our Fathers and other great WW2 movies? Definitely yes. Andrew Garfield proved that he is one of the few young actors out there that can lead a movie on his own. Really emotional and powerful performance. I think this is Mel Gibson’s best movie yet, but I might be bias because I love WW2 movies in general. Highly recommended.

Jackie – 7.0

Natalie Portman was amazing as Jacqueline Kennedy. Probably her best performance after Leon The Professional (?). There was little story to tell but Portman’s believable performance and charisma alone nailed me to my seat, wanting to see more of the grieving First Lady’s internal and external struggle to cope with such shock of suddenly losing everything. Recommended.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 Impressions

2015-02-20T11:23:00.001+09:00

My ZOTAC GeForce GTX 970 has 3.5GB of GDDR5, and I am very pleased with it.

This will be my initial impression after testing this card out for 2 days.

First, I am quite delightedly surprised by its small form factor.

Just look at the size comparison of my past graphic cards!

From the left: Gtx 970, Gtx 760, Gtx 560, Gtx 285. Straight up Nvidia loyalist!

The oldest Gtx 285 has the biggest size but weakest of them all.

As technology progresses and efficiency triumphs, size really does not matter, boys J

Next delightful surprise would be the incredibly silent operation; it is almost non-existent!

The power consumption is even better too with only 145W compared to 170W on the GTX 760.

More performance with less power: that is the technological triumph of the new Maxwell architecture from Nvidia.

My last point would be the only point that matters: This card is rocking my games without breaking any sweat!

I game on 1080 resolution and I can max-out any graphics heavy games out there to date. Haven’t tried this on Crysis 3 yet but I can run Far Cry 4, Assassins Creed Unity, Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes, Metro 2033 Redux and Dragon Age Inquisition all to the max with solid 40 to 60 fps all the way.

Beautifully rich and detailed graphics with buttery smooth gameplay is what I got with this 41000 yen card, and I believe that it is worth every yen I spend :)

By the way, after receiving my order from Amazon and realizing that the last 500mb of this supposedly 4GB card is of a lower speed (some games doesn’t even recognize the last 500mb and only saw 3.5GB of useable ram), I complained to Amazon Japan and they agreed to refund 20% from my purchased price.

So basically, I got this amazing card for just 32800 yen.

Amazon definitely has the best customer service in the world.

And this is one of the main reasons why I am ,and will be, their loyal customer.

Thank you Fukazawa-san!

April the 2nd

2014-04-01T04:01:00.000+09:00

It's already 2014!

My last post was from 2011...

Busy with work and private activities are just lame excuses for abandoning this once favourite hobby but fear not!

The year 2014 asks not but demands change!

And change I will (hopefully).

Blogging is making a comeback!

To commemorate my glorious return to blogging, here is a picture of squashed squid, taken at some fancy Japanese island resort that I don't care too much to remember the name. Went there to not ogle some chicks with low morals but high short skirts, but to enjoy the sea breeze.

4S early adoption

2011-11-05T11:11:00.001+09:00

If its me two years ago I would've written the review for the iPhone 4S on the day that I got it.

But things have changed.

The iPhone 4S is a great phone but I say nothing.

Anyways I'm writing this using just my voice.

Pretty amazing stuff, the phone was able to understand what I said.

Although I have to speak slowly to achieve great results, it's pretty damn cool when it works like wonders.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

First Movie Review Compilation of 2011

2011-04-03T15:20:00.009+09:00

Wow.

This place has been so quiet.

I've been very busy with life that I pretty much don't have the time nor energy to write; I have fret this and it has become a reality.

Nothing life threatening, so lets move on to some movies that I've been watching these couple of months:

The Green Hornet – 7.5
If you like Seth Rogen movie, you are going to like this one. Funny and cool action packed nicely is an entertaining movie. An easy recommendation to everyone who wants easy entertainment.

Inception – 8.8
Too much coolness that my mind almost melted. No use in writing about this movie, just go watch it now. Make sure you’re in a quiet environment so that you could focus. GO WATCH THIS NOW!

Summer Wars – 8.5
No doubt. Mad House still makes the best animation in the world. Summer Wars is an anime movie packed with intricate small details, combining Japanese tradition in a mixture of wacky technology. This is Japanese modern art at its finest, and the simple themes mixed within makes it easier for the mainstream audience too. The Nagano setting makes it nostalgic to me somehow. Absolute must see.

The Social Network – 8.5
A human drama about how Facebook was found. That alone is an interesting enough element to draw you into the stories and stay focused till the end. Highly recommended.

Confession (告白) – 8.0
An absolute must see Japanese movie of the year. The cinematography, music, dialogues, all interwoven tightly with great focus on justice and juvenile crimes. Very thought provoking and a scary look at Japanese education melf-down.

Shutter Island – 8.6
Great story with an unpredictable twist at the end. Loved it. DiCaprio is really lucky to have met with such a talented set of movie making staffs.

The Book Of Eli – 8.2
Academy Award Winner guy with a big knife slicing dudes! Great action movie but the final message in the movie is an ironic.

From Paris With Love – 8.0
Fun, fun, fun! Great action, cool visual and non-stop adrenaline running along with cheap jokes that suit the un-seriousness of the movie. Recommended.

歩いても、歩いても – 8.8.
Subtle, yet strong, powerful and leaves a big impression; and puzzling after-taste that made me think about my own life and how I want my family to be. A must watch if you like Japanese movies.

The Time Travelers Wife – 8.5
Interesting story, great fun to watch during bad weather when you can’t get out of the house. Definitely a recommend.

A Single Men – 8.0
Great movie about not just another lonely homo. Definitely something that stands out from the mainstream. Hard to recommend but I loved it.

Air Doll – 7.5
Weirdly erotic but the feeling of numbness and the state of loneliness is perfectly portrayed by the main character, a ‘love doll’ who suddenly woke up one morning having a soul. Very weird Japanese movie, but good.

The Hurt Locker – 8.2
Heart beats faster every minute watching this. The sense of tension keeps you at the edge of your seat all the way. Great story and atmosphere.

The Infidel – 8.2
Consider this: How can a movie about a Jew hating Muslim guy CANNOT be good when he later finds out that he is actually a Jew himself? With the nose and such. Brilliant comedy. Highly recommended.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox – 8.5
Just fantastic! Simple story, fun dialogues, great characters and visual decisions that truly made a distinctive impression. Stop-photography movie that I could highly recommend! Watch this!

Baraka – 9.0
For someone who is still in the early stages of learning photography, this movie is an inspiration to take those great shots that need not word because the visual impact is enough to tell the story. Highly recommended if you want to learn a thing or two about composition and exposure. Dramatic, and absolutely brilliant. Own this movie!

Love Actually – 8.6
Why haven’t I watched this movie earlier? What a great romantic.

Battle For Haditha – 8.0
A movie depicting the Haditha massacre without taking any sides, and makes you realize that the real victims of war are civilians, and low ranking foot soldiers. A great movie to once again remind us why we should try our best NOT to start another useless war. Highly recommended.

Men From Nowhere – 8.0
Another great Korean thriller starring Won Bin as the bad-ass mystery man. The movie is filled with a lot of great stunt scenes and action cinematography that’s new and cool. Recommended if you like action movies.

Let Me In – 7.5
The girl from Kick-Ass takes the lead in this cool new angle on vampire movies. Good movie.

The Convert (Muallaf)– 6.5
The Convert, or Muallaf, is one movie that tries too hard to achieve a lot of things, lack focus that ends up making it so convoluted and hard to be fully appreciated. Too bad we cannot see more ‘better’ movies from Jasmin Ahmad. Rest in peace.

The Blind Side – 8.0
Another great touching story that has that ‘made me feel good from the inside’ vibe. I thought Sandra Bullock couldn’t act, but I was wrong. Take it or leave it.

Heartbreaker – 7.8
A simple, easily predictable and fun French romantic comedy. Great for a lazy Sunday watching.

The Reader – 8.4
Brilliant, just brilliant. Sad, shocking, emotional and definitely leaves a small traces of memory inside my movie-loving mind. Recommended.

Kick Ass – 7.5
A kick-ass pop-corn movie. A naïve kid tries to be a superhero like in the comics, gets into bigger trouble than he could handle. One funny action movie I could highly recommend.

Ip Man 2 – 8.0
It’s a Kungfu movie haiyaa!!! Great fun to watch as the all the fighting scenes as super fucking cool!!! It has been a long time since I’ve watch a great kungfu movie (well, maybe since Ip Man 1). Recommended!

Edge of Darkness – 8.2
Great thriller story and superb acting makes this Mel Gibson movie something worth to watch. Recommended!

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac – 7.0
Great visual ideas but the story is pretty bland. Hori Makita’s cuteness is the only living line that holds my interest to watch it till the end.

Youth In Revolt – 7.8
If you like Micheal Cera’s comedy, you’d know what to expect. Liked it.

Evangelion You Can (Not) Advance – 7.5
I am not into the Evangelion series but thankfully, I understood this standalone movie. If you’re not familiar with the series (like me), I don’t think you’d gain anything special.

Psychic – 6.0
Korean movie about a guy that can control people through telekinesis. I slept the half way through. Didn’t care about the ending.

Unstoppable – 5.0
Shit movie about unstoppable trains. Fucking lame. HAHA.

Salt – 7.0
Hmm… Borne with pussy?

The Fighter – 7.4
Not just a movie about a boxer climbing the ladder of success but also a family drama that won’t bore.

Iron Man 2 – 6.8
The sequel to Iron Man. Blah.

The Sorcerers Apprentice – 4.5
Another bad Nicholas Cage movie that tries to cater to the kiddy audience.

Predators – 7.0
Predetors!!!! Average Hollywood action movie but just the perfect movie when you had nothing else to watch.

Grown Ups – 5.0
One Adam Sandler comedy that is not funny at all.

How To Train Your Dragon – 6.0
Seen this kind of movie hundreds of times already. Nothing special.

The Sorcerers Apprentice – 5.0
Another movie about magic in modern setting. Crap movie. Boring.

The Other Guys – 7.0
Will Farrel is a funny guy, but he sure needs to do something new. Still a funny movie, but you have seen this movie so many times already.

Red – 6.0
Bad movie. What a waste of big names.

Winters Bone – 7.5
Very real, very immersive. Too bad I was not in the mood for immersive reality movies when I watch this. Probably a great watch if I was in a gloomy mood.

Ong Bak 3 – 7.8
Tony Jaa movie. O yeah!

The Karate Kid – 6.0
Hmm… predictable and boring.

Prince Of Persia The Sands Of Time – 6.0
Not the worst video game movie ever, but it was never near good. Please pass.

Clash of The Titans – 6.5
Turn your ability to think down, and you might like the action scenes.

The Seaside Motel – 6.8
A quirky, pop-up colorful Japanese movie filled with comical characters that pumps life into the story around a secluded motel in the countryside.

Whip It – 6.0
Whip this off the table and into the trash bin please.

The Loser – 7.0
You like dumb action movie that has Hollywood violence? Well The Loser might not be so bad.

Invictus – 7.5
Err… rugby movie yay!

Percy Jackson And The Olympians The Lightning Thief – 6.5
Another modern-fantasy action movie for stupid teenagers.

Couples Retreat – 7.0
Mediocre comedy. No need to watch.

The Lovely Bones – 7.4
Interesting premise at first but got convoluted the second half of the movie. Pretty easy to forget.

Ninja – 5.0
The title of the movie is NINJA, and it’s a Hollywood movie. Figure that out by yourselves.

Ototo – 7.6
One very Japanese movie: slow story, deep details, and real acting.

Attack The Gas Station! – 7.0
Crazy Korean movie every movie enthusiast show check out.

The Forth Kind – 6.0
I am so bored watching this that I felt asleep 30 minutes in. Don’t bother to know how the story goes.

Raging Phoenix – 6.5
Another martial art action movie from Thailand, but this time, it’s the girl who is kicking ass. Story is dumb as hell like always, but the action kept me going.

Alice In Wonderland – 6.0
Bad, bad movie.

About losing weight

2010-10-24T15:33:00.000+09:00

I started my working life with a body weight of around 80kg.

Just a little bit over weighted.

One year and a half passed since then.

Today I'm 64kg.

Last week I was 65kg.

With this pace, I'd probably hit the 50 something mark in a couple of weeks.

I can't wear any of my pants that I bought a year ago; it's just too big.

Had to re-bought every single thing.

I hope this is a healthy progress.

But ladies, no worries.

Although I've become smaller, the size of my penis stays the same.

That is the point that I want to make in this post.

Thank you for reading until the end, you guys have a great day.

;)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

opinions of onions

2010-09-28T22:44:00.004+09:00

Opinion of Malaysians who found out that I work in Japan can be easily divided into 3:

1) You should come back to Malaysia, and give back to the people... something.

2) You should stay in Japan, and gain as much experience as possible.

3) You should grope as many cute Japanese girls as possible when in crowded trains.

Fortunately, I have a brain to think for myself.

Balik Ko Dok

2010-09-05T22:20:00.001+09:00

>Abe Cik tokse balik ko?

Susoh la nok kelik, takdok cuti panje.

Tapi nanti Cik cubo tera mitok cuti.

Next Day.

Boh, sayo nok mitok cuti. Nok kelik Malaysia sebeta. Rayo.

> Aik? Mitok cuti 3 hari jah? Cukup ko? Mitok la banyok sikit.

Eh? Yo lo ko nih Boh?

>Mu nih tok penoh mitok cuti pon sejak masuk dept nih. Nok balik Malaysia tuh, mitok la cuti banyok siket.

O... OK... Sayo tamboh kepada 6 hari, buleh dok?

>Takdok masa aloh. Enjoy Malaysia.

Huh? Yo lo ko aku kijo dale syarikat Jepong nih?

Pasir Mah, kawe balik rayo tahun nih!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

before ramadhan 1

2010-08-08T21:30:00.004+09:00

first look at the iPhone 4

2010-07-19T19:29:00.003+09:00

I now have an iPhone 4.

It has just been one and a half day since I got hold of it, and already I'm trying to write a review about it.

To summarize: Apple’s iPhone 4 is the best smart phone available in Japan, at least during writing, but it is far from perfect.

Moving from iPhone 3G to iPhone 4.

The Softbank dude said that I could transfer all of my iPhone 3G contents easily with iTunes.

Well, like every piece of new technology, even the things that you expect to be simple is going to be difficult and confusing.

Although I consider myself a techie, I found no solution on how to correctly transfer my iPhone 3G data to the new phone. The iTunes has been giving all sort of errors, and after various methods of problem solving failed, I decided to give up, and start fresh.

Sadly, starting fresh is the best solution for a headache-free experience.

After getting this small hiccup out of the way, I started to realize that I now own a device with a lot of potential to it. I started to like it.

The retina display.

The new glass display is absolutely gorgeous, with almost no pixelation at all.

Images appear sharp, colors brilliant, and the touch sensitivity has been improved to lessen miss-selection of digital buttons and cut time to get thing done faster.

Apple has truly made a beautiful display, and I like it a lot. Pictures look better on my iPhone 4 than on my Benq computer display; no exaggeration at all.

The improved camera.

I am very impressed with the new camera; focus and exposure is selected by touching at the spot you want the camera to meter exposure on, and it is as simple as that.

New 5 megapixel main camera with LED light ( surprisingly helpful and very useful ) plus a VGA front camera makes the deal sweet.

This might sound naïve to some, but the new photographic opportunities that the new camera and imaging sensors the iPhone 4 brings is the feature that I found most exciting, and I could see myself taking more pictures using my iPhone 4 than my Nikon D90 from now on.

Don’t worry Nikon D90, you’re still my main camera, but the iPhone 4 fits into my pocket, closer to my penis; meaning I cannot avoid from using it for simple, daily photography.

Always remember this oh my dear D90; I can never get enough of your long, big lens and how good it feels when I grip your body hard while I play with your rigid focus ring and all those perky buttons on your chest.

Mmmmmm…

The new camera takes pictures with decent enough quality, even during low light. The ability to take HD videos on the phone is HUGE, and I look forward to learn more about photography and video with this new gadget.

The iPhone 4 is fast.

The iPhone 4 is fast compared to other smart phones on the market right now, and I could see it go faster with software updates. I look forward for apps that make full use of this additional processing power.

The flaws are true.

The new antenna for the iPhone 4 has problems, and I could easily drop the signal bars by gripping the lower side of the antenna. That is why I bought a cheap 980 yen Elecom silicon case. Problems solved.

In the end, all I could say is that the iPhone 4 is worth the upgrade (it’s free in Japan if you agree with a 2 years contract), and I could see myself being very productive with the new HD video-capable 5 megapixel camera.

Great phone, Apple, but could you fix the always buggy iTunes?

Please!

Fuckers.

how many times do i have to?

2010-07-15T20:58:00.003+09:00

It’s like a never ending cycle.

I don't know how many times I have written posts like the ones that I am going to write tonight.

I am going to complain about how busy i am with work and stuff that i don't have enough time to spend writing stuff that people want to read on this blog.

I am going to bitch about all the little things that do nothing to improve the condition; sometimes it makes it worse because nothing beneficial comes out of 'just small talk'.

I know I won't remember today's post as anything special or something I should consider as an accomplishment in my ever quest to improve my writing.

My mind is numb from work, I am tired and although there are thousands of interesting things that happened in my life in the past weeks, I really don’t see the benefits of sharing it here.

I have to write all this useless stuff, although I could spend the little time I have left reading e-books that teaches me how to be a better person in many aspects of the human society we all try to excel in.

I have come to the point of clear realization that the less time I spend writing about life, the more I’d appreciate all the great things, the little details that make life rich, beautiful and valuable.

Knowing that you won’t be recording a specific beautiful experience makes it more valuable; you’d try your best to suck it all in all its greatness while it is still warm.

While you still can.

No digital memories.

Just being human like how we are supposed to be.

Anyways, today as I was walking to my room, the Filipino prostitute who just got back from his Chinese customer’s room, smiled at me when I walk pass her.

I swear there is semen on her face.

I will not watch porn tonight.

I promise.

Sakit Dada

2010-05-09T11:47:00.005+09:00

'Sakit Dada' is 'Chest Pain' in Bahasa Melayu.

It is early morning, both of my parents are going to work, while I am preparing to go to Kuala Lumpur.

I'm not just going to Kuala Lumpur, but also to KLIA and eventually, Japan again.

That morning would be the last time I would be able to see them.

I do hate goodbyes.

My dad, a government officer, always wore a matching tie pin to go with his tie.

That day, he happens to wore the biggest tie pin with the sharpest tip.

That is why when he hugs me goodbye, it felt like something sharp was stabbing through my chest.

It was painful and I hate it.

Then I hug my mother goodbye.

This one is painful too; my mother has a very strong grip that morning.

I was suffocating.

It was painful and I hate it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

FUCK.

I cannot lie anymore.

The tie pin that my father wore;

it was very tiny and has a round tip.

... but my mother's strong grip was not fake.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Route to Pasir Mas 2010

2010-05-02T09:35:00.001+09:00

It was raining.

Ai-chan from Mezamashi TV said it is going to be a bright blooming morning, but it turns out kawaii Ai-chan is a liar.

Waited for the shuttle bus to take me to Nagoya International Airport.

It was raining, and I was coughing violently.

A Chinese couple was fighting beside of me.

Or maybe they're just having a loving morning chat.

How can I tell?

A Japanese couple talking to their baby in the tummy. The mother was probably 6-7 months in, but she wears a short skirt.

Maybe for easy delivery?

How can I tell?

I coughed violently, and both couples slowly moved away from me.

The girl sitting next to me on the shuttle bus was pretty cute, but I was coughing violently; no time for that shit.

1500 yen for the ride to the airport.

Went up to a soup restaurant to warm up before the flight.

Warm yummies.

The wide-mouthed Cathay Pacific stewardess said I can have the chicken or the beef.

Both are nice, but not what I wanted.

I wanted something to soothe my sore throat and violent coughing.

Passengers sitting in close proximity to me starts wearing masks.

Nagoya -> Hong Kong -> Kuala Lumpur -> Pengkalan Chepa

That is the route I'm taking.

This would be the my first time in Hong Kong.

The layout in the Hong Kong Airport (don't know the official name) was very confusing.

The directional boards directs people to go round and round.

And they set body temperature monitors (where they could easily detect travelers with abnormal body temperatures) on the way to the transit station.

I don't want to be quarantined in Hong Kong.

This is a dangerous place: Jackie Chan is going to make a mess of this place; cars with explosives are going to crash into the airport and Jackie Chan is going to kick a lot of people from his own ethnicity.

Sometimes he smack white and black people too, just for Asian pride.

But thankfully, Jackie Chan is too old for fun chaos, he now sings Chinese Ballads.

He is a fucking legend, no one can outdone him!

Taking inspiration from my idol, I bought a cold Coke, and rub it all over my face.

I did it for 5 minutes in the toilet.

I gave the Coke to this kid who was staring at me the whole time I was preparing for this undercover.

I walk with a healthy pose. I smile with a big healthy smile, controlling my breathing rhythm, not to break a cough in front of the body temperature sensors.

Success in fooling Hong Kong Airport health monitors: Checked.

I don't remember much of what I did during my Hong Kong - Kuala Lumpur flight.

Although Couple Retreat was a fun movie, I slept the whole way to KL.

So did the Japanese salaryman sitting beside of me. He was reading a Japanese magazine covering golf resorts in Malaysia.

Pro golfers does not deserve the high winning moneys.

With something as boring as hitting a ball with a stick with the ultimate purpose to lead it into a small hole.

Still, Happy Golfing in Malaysia.

The air felt warmer as the plane docks into KLIA.

Then I met Afifi and his wife Fariza, waiting to get off that same plane from Hong Kong.

The newly-leds are my old buddies during our Japanese Language Preparation Program days.

Afifi looked healthier than usual (he is usually sick all the time), and Fariza, happy and cute like always (haven't seen her for the past 6 years!)

I am very glad and happy for them.

I wish them a successful ceremony and a happy marriage life.

Afifi have never asked me for internet links of crazy Japanese porn fetishes, different from my other Muslim friends.

So he must be OK.

I guess he gets his fix somewhere else.

気まずい妄想。

(笑)
I ate Nasi Lemak and Milo Panas inside KLIA: RM18.

With that kind of cheap taste, this one is definitely over-priced.

I rode MAS for my KLIA-Pengkalan Chepa flight.

But I did not get peanuts like everyone else.

Maybe because I was coughing violently all the way?

I arrived in Kelantan without a voice. It was hot and I was sweating like George W Bush when he's getting fried in hell.

But it was OK.

My plane did not crash into the oblivious depth of the ocean nor did it explode mid air into a frenzy case of fire, detonation, horror and death.

My health took a deep dive into the ocean of sickness, but I am back in my hometown.

Time to see the doctor.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

the day i lost me some voice

2010-05-01T18:36:00.001+09:00

I am writing this at my home in Pasir Mas. Today is the Akikah ceremony of my brother's first child, and there is a lot of people (mostly relatives) in the house, coming to see the new baby and greet the new parents.

I'm a bit tired now, so I am going to write about the day I lost my voice, just one day before coming back home.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was a bright day, the last day of working before I get an early Golden Week Holiday and went home to Pasir Mas.

I was so excited that my morning boner is stronger and stiffer compared to the usual ones.

I mean I can't wait to work hard again, close as many cases before I go home with minimal job concerns.

I am pumped.

Arrived at the office 30 minutes earlier than I usually did.

The Chief of Department, who usually comes in 30 minutes earlier than everyone else is the only person at desk, so I went to greet him a good morning.

Smiling, I said:

..... !!!

Nothing comes out.

Then after a couple of tries, I managed to ' vomit out ' a very high pitched but in low volume, of a Ohayougozaimasu. ( means good morning in polite/formal Japanese )

I realized that something is really wrong here, but I just don't know what to do.

I went to my desk and did some preparations for some experiments that I plan to do that day.

Time passes by, and I was interrupted by the secretary with the phone:

Ali-San, there is a Mr. Xxx from Company X on line for you.

He said there is a trouble that he wants to complaint about.

Translation: some other people fucked up, but it is your job to clean it up.

Damn how am I able to turn shit into diamonds with this voice of mine?

Well, by screaming like a lonely priest when told that little boys are no longer available to them.

I screamed to my customers.

Then I screamed to my boss.

Then I screamed to vendors who was the source of the fuck-up, I screamed to protect the company.

I don't know why, but somehow the customer who seemed angry at first, turned into a yes-men, agreeing with all my suggestions on how to un-fuck the situation.

Didn't expect this to work well, but I somehow learned a new skill.

My balls grows larger, it is beautiful.

Then I go home, and start packing my bags.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Going to stop writing now, there is a huge women that I don't really recognize, wearing lots of bling2, that's coming towards me to ask me when am I going to get married.

This is one fuck-up I don't know how to handle.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

night before going home

2010-04-27T23:34:00.002+09:00

i'm packing my bags.

i got 10 more hours before my flight.

i know i need to go to sleep, but i'm still not fully prepared.

not my bags.

but my moral and culture compass.

i'm not the same person that people used to remember me with.

mixed emotions; filled with excitement and anxiety.

i'm going to malaysia.

to pasir mas.

i'm going to a foreign place i call home.

recent updates: it's the 18th of April

2010-04-18T02:05:00.004+09:00

it has been a very busy month for me.

as i learned and gained more work-experience, my superiors have been increasing my work load and making me make decisions all by my own.

this learning process takes a lot of time and effort, and i could feel myself improving after each mistake and right decisions that i chose. it took a lot of gut to get up after being thrown violently onto the hard floor, and each fall makes me stronger and wiser.

i just hope that i'm not working way over my capacity.

just a little over is enough.

as i get used to working hard, i realized that i have developed this tendency to enjoy my weekdays like never before.

last week was fucking crazy as hell, i didn't know that i'm capable of doing something so crazy.

man people here sure do know how to party.

of course, i can't just write about what i did last weekend; some kids read my blogs and actually took me for a role model.

anyways, i'll be in malaysia from april 28 to may 5.

can't wait to be re-united with family and friends; i hope people still remembers that i exists.

and oh, i just bought a new semi-double bed from rakuten at a very cheap price.

expecting more crazy shit to be experienced with the help of this one new furniture.

life goes on. i keep making money by trying to reduce damages originating from other people's fuck-ups.

when a big foreign company tried to fish me with money in exchange of taking a position i have no interest in, things sure is not so bad.

i'll work hard, and i'll play harder.

movie review for march 2010

2010-03-14T21:51:00.015+09:00

i might be busy because of work, but i can never skip from watching movies. and writing reviews about it. i'm glad i still could be doing this. so here it goes:

Up In The Air –8.6
George Clooney returns with another interesting movie. The viewer might be fooled with his interesting job as the guy who fires people, but the main theme about loneliness, responsibility and search for happiness slips into the unconscious mind, making people think and reflect it on themselves. Fun and highly enjoyable movie, highly recommended.

Precious Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire – 8.4
Brilliant movie. Like any other straight male, I was disgusted by the ugliness of Precious and her mother; don’t be having your meals when you watch this because the first half of the movie is about showing how ugly these two people are. Then damn these two bring some serious performance especially the mother; so much hate, so much anger, so much frustration and sadness. Straight young males might be put off by the volume of ugly women in this movie, but you can always watch Japanese gravure image DVD right after to stabilize your brain. Great movie and highly recommended.

Sherlock Holmes – 8.3
Guy Ritchie has truly revolutionized Sherlock Holmes into this action-oriented smart-ass with distinctive character thanks to a remarkable performance by Robert Downey Jr. You cannot have a Sherlock Holmes movie without him making almost illogically accurate accusations and be cool about it. This movie has very little of that and opt for a more Hollywood action movie approach; lots of fighting and shit blown off in very cool ways. Great action movie and recommended for sure.

New Moon – 6.0
Although I haven’t read any of the novels, the first movie was not so bad; establishing characters and enticing interest on the story etc. The second movie though, is like any second movie in other movie series: just a set up for the third. No story, terrible dialogue and too much focus on Bella being sappy sad that would irk and bore anyone except teen-girls with hymen intact in their vaginas. Not terrible, but definitely bad.

2012 – 7.5
Shit got destroyed and the human race is fucked! This movie is awesome if you like destruction! Watch this if you don’t want to think and just want to watch things got blown off Hollywood style.

Zombieland – 8.0
A good zombie movie is very hard to come by these days, and Zombieland succeeded by combining humor and violence so well. I love me some exploding zombie brains! Recommended for zombie lovers. Like me!

A Prophet – 8.0
Realistic acting, believable story and originality made watching this 2 and a half hour French movie worth the time. A young Arab was thrown into the gangster underworld and politics when he entered the prison; his stories of reaching up the pyramid of power so interesting and intriguing. Recommended if you like French in your tea.

The Messenger – 7.3
I guess it was pretty easy to fish for emotions from characters whose job is to give the news about the death of a soldier to his/her family. People handle death with craziness and this creates drama; both to the messenger and the one at the receiving end. The Messenger is one slow but effectively moving movie. Not my cup of tea though.

Merantau – 7.0
This latest venture of Indonesian movie industry into martial arts movie making is something that I look forward to very much, and although it cannot rival the big guns of Hong Kong and Tony Jaa, Merantau is a pretty good effort. Some of the moves are not as clean and smart, but still entertaining nonetheless. Hope to see more effort from Iko Uwais!

Planet 51 – 6.5
Delivers pretty much what you expect from a 3D movie such as this: great animation, fun story and some positive messages for the kids. Not the best, but it was not so bad.

The Hangover – 7.8
A surprisingly fun movie to watch. A group of guys woke up in a Las Vegas hotel after a crazy night of bachelor partying, and not knowing what exactly happened. Funny movie, and crazy too. Don't forget to watch the credits. Funny shit.

Sympathy For Lady Vengence – 8.5
Not a direct sequel to the excellent Sympathy For Mr Vengence, but still retains the ‘shock factor’ the former movie excels in. This movie is filled with shocking scenes depicting ordinary people with inordinate amount of wrath for revenge. Calling it a violent Korean movie is an understatement. This movie is violent and it will shock some; me likey. Highly recommended.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – 7.0
The imaginarium of Terry Gilliam would be more precise. The director has very imaginative minds and although the movie lack story and great dialogues, the crazy visuals of Terry Gilliam was fantastic as ever; and it was nice to be lost in it, even for a moment.

Dari Jemapoh Ke Manchestee – 6.0
Bad, bad Malay movie. I couldn’t finish watching it at all.

Tears For You (涙そうそう) – 7.0
Okiwanan-themed movie taking inspiration from the hit song Nadasousou. A decent drama about a simple guy trying to keep his promise to keep his younger sister safe. It has all the basic accense of a typical Japanese drama. Story was very easy to folloe. Nagawasa Masami still has not improved her acting abilities, still stuck in the ‘cute innocent girl’ stereotype.

Anticrist – 6.0
The psychologist’s wife’s a crazy bitch. They have sex in slow motion. I don’t understand the movie at all.

A Serious Man – 7.0
A Serious Man is boring… and I’m not even anti-semite!

This Is It – 7.0
Watch this if you like music. A farewell to the music genius of our generation.

武士の一分 – 7.4
Probably the best Kimura Takuya film out there. Who said he sucked in acting? Kimutaku played a very distinctive, strong character; a loyal samurai who struggles with pride and family when a ‘food testing for the leader’ went bad and stole his precious sights. Recommended for samurai-drama lovers.

Hello Schoolgirl – 6.8
This Korean ‘romantic’ has no interesting story but the female casts were cute enough to keep me awake for the whole movie. Ok I lied, I did slept during the second half but it did not hinder on the experience because there was not so much to begin with.

Carlito’s Way – 7.8
Brian De Palma, Al Pacino and Sean Penn. Classic. Watch this if you like old school mafia movies.

Campaign – 7.5
A look into Japan’s politics through the almost pathetic life of a starting politician. Still couldn’t believe that this is reality.

Sorority Row – 5.0
Sluts got killed in horrible ways by someone they know!

Killer Movie – 4.0
Just another slasher movie.

Sadistic And Masochistic – 4.5
A documentary about one famous Japanese S&M movie director. Don’t now why I wanted to watch this.

before throwing myself onto the futon in exhaustion

2010-03-11T23:28:00.003+09:00

just got out of the ofuro.

today i used the lavander scent to put some variety on my ofuro routine.

felt like my souls have been lifted one inch from my head.

just enough for me to know that i'm still in the world of reality.

bones were floating and i breathe floras from Hokkaido.

* * *

tahniah to my little sister Amirah.

you earned that 9A's in SPM.

you said that you were able to achieve this thanks to prayers from me and other family members.

well, you are wrong.

you did it yourself; with the help of your teachers and study friends.

congratulations again.

pursue that medical career that you always dreamt about.

* * *

today was probably the hardest day at work.

and also the most that i learned from this career.

i learned to have more confidence in a decision that was based on findings from my own work of investigation and experiments.

i learned how to prepare defenses against attacks from smart customers.

although i lost this one battle, i gained something else.

something else that might be better.

i'm starting to love tough customers who knows what they're talking about.

bring it on!

generic weekends

2010-02-21T23:06:00.003+09:00

it was just another generic weekend.

on friday, me and some of my same year (同期) co-workers went to GYUKAKU (牛角), a pretty big yakiniku chain. the place was ok and the food was great.

on the way to GYUKAKU, the girls acted pretty wild in the car, like on some candy drugs or somewhat, it was pretty funny and 'young' thing though.

they're definitely better in releasing stress than me. i only care about 近状迷惑 (neighborhood disturbance).

arrived at 8:30 pm and left at around 1:00am; time do fly fast.

saturday morning i woke up very late. got a hard boner. thankfully i'm pretty healthy.

i did nothing at all that day.

stayed home watching movies and reading some stuff about human evolution, which was pretty interesting. now i'm thinking about buying more books about evolution.

sunday was a lazy one too.

decided to cook for the first time since moved to toyota.

my first dish is a simple tomyumkun.

it was not so bad.

then i went out to Toyota Stadium with my dusty Nikon D90 to shoot some shit.

pretty good place to practice photography.

then got back home, and decided to use the leftover shrimp and cuttlefish to made fried rice.

not so bad.

then i filled the bathtub with hot water and put some relaxing herb in.

it was a great bath; i felt warm to the bones.

now i got to go to sleep because tomorrow's monday.

this IS a generic weekend.

no overtime today

2010-02-18T21:19:00.003+09:00

it felt like a dream.

i don't have to do overtime today!

so i'm going to use the little time i have to talk about things that people like to read.

so i was in the lab, preparing to do some experiments.

some people might hate spending time in the lab because the place smells thick of seriousness and nothing more but work.

but i kinda like spending time in the lab.

because the people stationed in the lab is quite a unique fun bunch.

today i am going to introduce 2.

first one is the outsourced 'hentai ikemen'.

hentai means pervert and ikemen means 'hot guy'.

the hentai ikemen has a reputation of being the most 'ikemen' in our company.

but he is a dirty pervert, indescribable with mere words.

then there is the high school graduate 'kawai panic baka'.

she gets excited with everything, full of curiosity and basically... a little stupid.

but she's lovable because she's a very cute kid.

both were stationed in the lab to help out with experiments and measurements.

i don't know how it started, but me and the hentai ikemen were talking about breasts.

talking about breasts at work might be taboo in some cultures, but japan's just cool like that.

from talking about any breasts, then we started to discuss about kawaii panic baka's breasts.

hentai ikemen: your breasts must be small.
kawaii panic baka: that's an awful thing to say!
me: don't worry. you're just 19 years old. still got time to grow some.

kawaii panic baka: mine's not bad, really. look!
hentai ikemen: ali's breasts are bigger hahaha.
me: hahaha. don't listen to hentai ikemen. you'll be fine.

hentai ikemen: don't forget to drink your daily milk!
kawaii panic baka: i might be small now, but recently my breasts has been growing fast that sometimes it felt like it's going to pop-out of my bra!
me: ............. errr that might be too much information to process LOLs.

this is why lab is fun.

at least i have found a place to release stress.

i love breasts.

January 2010

2010-01-31T22:35:00.000+09:00

It is already the end of January 2010, and this blog of mine has not been given the treatment that it used to get.

I do not know how many times have I repeatedly write about how my busy life as a working person had sucked and steal my time from doing this one activity that I used to like.

I know very well the reputation of the Japanese working culture, and I have no intention to bitch about it.

I chose this.

But as I got used to the serious working life, I started to realize that my life is full of emptiness.

I started to feel bored with my unexciting life; coming back late from work to an empty room that have no life except electronics and furniture; material possessions that used to be my motivation when I was still a student.

It took me all this time to realize that my goals in life have changed, and currently I do not have one detailed purpose.

I am just in for the ride, and this is so not me.

Damn, I cannot see myself breaking from this tendency to write gloomy.

I wish I could write more about fun stuff, and weird Japan.

So unfortunate that work fatigue has cast a black shadow on everything.

What is YOUR motivation?

The Fuss About The Word Allah In Malaysia

2010-01-10T21:47:00.002+09:00

When I first heard about this issue concerning Herald the Malaysian Catholic Weekly, demanding the rights to keep using the word ‘ALLAH’ to refer to their godly deity in their weekly publications, I knew that this will not end very well.

It will be problematic. Very problematic.

Non-Malaysians who have learned a thing or two about the basic history of Ancient Egyptian Empire-inspired religions like the Abrahamic ones would probably say:

“Why would this be a problem? The word ‘Allah’ has been used to refer to a godly deity among the Arabic language speaking people from various religious backgrounds, even before any of the Abrahamic religions ever started! Arab traders travel all around the world, and besides goods, they also trade language, expanding the vocabulary of many other languages where they made business.”

Unfortunately, things are not so simple; it will never be.

In Malaysia, religious blindness has always been a convenient tool for politicians.

The truth is that although Malay Muslims could be considered as quite religious and passionate towards their faith, it is a great irony that the same people are mostly NOT very well informed with their own religion.

The basic principles, its history and how it all started.

Opportunistic politicians know this very well.

People are not interested in meticulous facts about history, about who is right or wrong.

People just want to ‘appear’ to look like they are fighting for something great.

People want to vent anger and stress, pat themselves on the back, feeling good with the illusion that they're doing something good for their god.

Yes, this is problematic.

Because people don't know what they really want.

And people are too lazy to think for themselves.

They need opportunistic politicians to think for them.

When there are no trustworthy politicians in Malaysia…

Yes, this is problematic.

Clearly we need to revise our education policy.

2009 winter holiday gaming plan

2009-12-31T05:18:00.001+09:00

It is the winter holiday season again, and what better way to spend this cold season locked up in front of the big screen playing video games?

This year I got games covered throughout all the systems.

Modern Warfare 2 for the PC.

Grand Theft Auto Episodes From Liberty City for the XBOX 360.

God Of War Collection for the Playstation 3.

Nothing for Nintendo Wii because I don’t own one as I never considered it as a gaming console. Although stories of guys who successfully lured women into their caves with the help of the Wii are quite enticing, I know I’m not that desperate.

Modern Warfare 2’s single campaign was pretty fun; with that ‘epic feel’ going on from start to finish. Lots of explosives and lots of shooting people on their faces with modern weaponry that could fill 10 Bruckheimer movies. The multiplayer was even better, but they got nothing compared to Battlefield Bad Company 2. Cannot wait for that game to come out!

GTA Episodes From Liberty City contained the 2 previously released downloadable additional content (the lost and damned + ballad of gay tony) and both episodes were nothing short of spectacular, although having different ‘feel’ and atmosphere to it. It was also cheap, and probably the best deal in gaming for 2009 for how much content it offers yen to yen.

God Of War Collection ports God Of War I & II into HD, and put it into one bluray disk at a low price; how can that be bad? Although an already old game, a good game is a good game, and the HD fix made it compatible with today’s high definition TVs. Cannot wait for God Of War 3!

With all the time I got, I am not very sure whether I could finish all 3 games during this holiday. Hell, I got tons of more games to finish… and I haven’t even opened the plastic wrappings for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 yet!

And I still haven’t finished playing the first one yet!

Plus, both are really, really old games already!

Time, is something that I don’t have.

What's YOUR gaming plan this holiday season?

James Cameron’s Avatar 3D Review

2009-12-30T23:43:00.005+09:00

I know I’ve written my last movie review for 2009, but I just got back from watching Avatar, and it is impossible to wait for 2010 to do this.

First of all, Avatar is the latest effort from the guy that made Aliens and Terminator; that fact alone is more than enough to raise the hype-bar to an impossible level. He also directed Titanic, so this guy really knows how to make big budgeted blockbuster movies.

Having hype is great for any entertainment media, but it also comes with the risk of disappointing the fans if that hype is not fulfilled; and Avatar has a hype-rate that is almost impossible to achieve.

Although it was more expensive (1800yen plus 300yen for 3D glasses), I choose to watch the 3D version of the movie. I am not really a big fan of 3D movies but I heard the 3D technique in the movie is new and different; so why not?

Ok enough about me, here goes the review.

The movie progresses in a very methodical way, and the story is nothing new actually, taking ideas and themes from Braveheart and Last Samurai. Nevertheless, James Cameron has successfully created a fantasy world so finely detailed and rich with content that it took about 2/3 of this 170 minutes running movie to introduce the world and build connection between the characters and viewers; one very important element if you want your viewers to care about the climax and ending.

Although it was quite long, this anti-war and eco themed movie was nothing short of amazing, taking little time for the viewers to be absorbed into this fantasy world make-believe. To summarize the story, a wheel-chair bound soldier gets a second fighting chance when he gets to take control of a Navi body, the natives of Planet Pandora where humans are trying to conquer its rich resources. The motive of the initiative is to infiltrate the natives from the inside and learn their way for the benefit of the humans. The new found strength and agility that the Navi body gives was a refreshing freedom, but he was left with a difficult decision to choose which side to take, as he falls in love with the people of Pandora and its culture… and this also means that he HAD to fuck the native tribe leader’s only daughter. So as I said, the story was nothing new, but it was really good nonetheless and was never boring because the pacing, atmosphere, acting, music and level of detail put into every element was nothing short but impressive.

Talk about acting, I have never seen a movie that translates human emotion so flawlessly through computer generated images, and for the first time I forgot that I was watching a CGI movie. The technology used to make this movie in term of motion capture is truly years ahead of anything out there.

The 3D feature in the movie was something new too. Other 3D movies out there tend to bring images ‘out’ from the screen but Avatar uses a totally different technique that emphasize on depth and distance between object in focus and out; achieving an effect of ‘being in the movie’ instead of ‘being brought to’. I really don’t know how to explain it.

I don’t want this to be any longer, so here is Avatar in a nut shell: One extremely well made albeit methodically, movie that uses new technology that could change how big-budgeted movie are made from now on. The story was not revolutionary, but the combination of drama, detailed fantasy, stunning images and action scenes could definitely stimulate the senses and leave the viewer wanting more, made this movie one jewel that is hard to miss. The 3D feature adds to the experience tremendously, and I highly recommend the 3D version. Even without 3D, this is simply the best movie of 2009, and its mainstream broad appeal won’t scare even the most strict movie mania.

So people, go watch Avatar. NOW! You will not regret it. Get ready to experience something new from the movie industry. Next I'm going to watch the 2D version to see how different the experience could be. I'm also buying the blu-ray the first thing it's out.

Yes, I have become an Avatar fanboy. Good job Mr Cameron!