BeateniA

Jabberwocky(1977)

2012-01-29T19:06:00.001+08:00

I'm adding another item in my 2012 to-do list which is to watch every movie directed by Terry Gilliam. Considering he has 10 movies I'm gonna spread my viewing over the year. Naturally I'm doing it by chronological order with Jabberwocky as the first.

The Jabberwocky made an appearance in the latest Alice in Wonderland adventure directly by Tim Burton.

Obviously computer-generated Jabberwocky.

Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky only looks like this.

Inspired by Godzilla

The Jabberwocky-Godzilla is actually much more scary. How else can you explain this?

Jabberwocky by Terry Gilliam is in separate universe than Alice in the Wonderland. It is however still a fantasy movie. The movie tells the adventure of Dennis Cooper after the death of his father and due to weird circumstances he emerges as the hero in this movie. Wikipedia is nice enough to not publish the plot. Instead there's themes from the movie.

The movie is nice enough to break the mold and shows king in the dark age live in a crappy condition despite the bureaucracy he creates around him. The king shadowed by his ancestor's success decided to calm its subjects by selecting a knight that will slay the beast that has been terrorizing the countryside. His effort didn't have the support from both the merchants and church. To incite a knight to slay the beast, the King readily offers his daughter and half of his kingdom.

Overall this movie provides a good laugh and its not your run-of-the-mill fantasy action.

I wonder what will happen to the protagonist in end. He is clearly accidentally stumbled into the greatness/spotlight and not wanting it at the same time. Will he ever grow into his new shoes.

Saturday Review: Chuck TV Series

2012-01-28T20:50:00.003+08:00

Information asymmetry happens when a party in a situation have better information than the others. Accordingly before 9/11 tragedy happened authorities in the United States have scattered information of the attack but it was scattered with different authorities. Therefore they can't act accordingly to prevent the attack as noone had the complete picture. So the folks on Chuck TV series decided to use this situation as a byline for Chuck's existence.

The NSA and CIA in the series pilot have decided to integrate their intel into a super computer. A rogue CIA agent downloaded the intel and send it to a computer technician/Stanford dropout by the name Charles 'Chuck' Bartowski. To prove the limitless of human brain capacity all the intel downloaded into Chuck's brain. By having the super computer in his brain, Chuck is now an asset to the CSI & NSA and able to use the Intersect during tricky missions while at the same time avoided being killed.

The heights of Chuck was in Season 2 but despite that the threat of cancellation was there. It was warded off with the help of Subway and the show managed to continue until its 91st episode.

There are several things that made Chuck among the best shows on TV.

Evolution of its characters

Chuck started off as an underachiever/schlub working for $11/hour as a computer repairman in The Buy More (a big box electronic store). Added to his back story were the fact that he was expelled from Stanford University and his college girlfriend dumped him. With the help of the CIA/NSA agents handlers Chuck found confidence, handled greater responsibilities and at the start of Season 5 he was an entrepreneur.

The characters around Chuck also evolved into a better version of themselves. By the end each of them take on greater changes that include moving to a new city or with another person.

The pop culture references and awesome guest stars

Chuck has among the best popular culture references seen on TV. There's an episode where a character crawled through air vents with no shoes and in white singlet like John McClane in Die Hard. This clip is a homage to Princess Leia's transmission in The Star Wars Episode 4.

Chuck also had the best TV parents one could ever get. This is his dad:

His dad Stephen Bartowski was played by Scott Bakula aka Dr Sam Beckett of Quantum Leap.

And his mum:

Linda Hamilton aka Sarah Connor

Other than cool parents, Chuck also have a nice set of guest stars like Michael Clarke Duncan, Nicole Richie, and Steve Austin. For the list of Chuck gueststars, it is here.

Good fight scenes

Yvonne Strahovski has a stunt double in this series and I think her character did the most ass-kicking in the series. More on the stunt double: http://www.v10stunts.com/photos/alisa_yvonnes_stunt_double.htm

Here's one in Thailand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4qb5-BRTtU

A fight with Karolina Kurkova http://youtu.be/6I4GUYfpGIw?t=13s

The one with Nicole Richie http://youtu.be/04hFFchsdn4?t=21s

A fight scene in a car http://youtu.be/NBmoUTEy9QY

Jeffster

There's a cover band in the show by the name of Jeffster. They are so lame and over-the-top. However Jeffster captured the spirit of underdog everywhere that you should at least for 5 minutes believe in your dream and deliver your outcome no matter how bad it is. Who knows you might end up in Germany one day. Here's them performing Fat Bottom Girl in Comic-Con.

Then there are:

Is This Love : http://youtu.be/HNwL-tM0ajk
Mr Roboto: http://youtu.be/JNiIwHB60Mg
Africa: http://youtu.be/0ufiQxhig3s?t=35s
Blaze of Glory: http://youtu.be/lErkYdnr_50
Push It: http://youtu.be/5WGf_Sxrb3Y
Love Hurts: http://youtu.be/tUIEMBt8Nhw
Fortunate Son: http://youtu.be/TA_AdBS-9eI?t=17s

Chuck ended it course today. It never made it to its 100th episode. It served a lesson to underdogs everywhere that with the correct push one can be a better person and with love you can be great.

Friday List: Top 30 Think Tank in Asia

2012-01-27T23:30:00.000+08:00

Institutes	Country	2011 Rank	2010 Rank	2009 Rank
Chinese Academy of Social Science	China	1	1	2
Japan Institute of International Affairs	Japan	2	2	1
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)	Indonesia	3	4	4
Centre for Policy Research	India	4	10	11
Lowly Institute	Australia	5	8	10
China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)	China	6	5	5
Australian Institute for International Affairs	Australia	7	19	-not ranked-
Shanghai Institute for International Studies	China	8	7	8
Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy	Singapore	9	21	7
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)	Singapore	10	20	3
Korea Development Institute	Korea	11	6	12
Asia Forum	Japan	12	-not ranked-	18
National Institute for Defense Studies	Japan	13	13	-not ranked-
Singapore Institute of International Affairs	Singapore	14	-not ranked-	15
Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations	India	15	23	21
Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS), ASLI	Malaysia	16	-not ranked-	-not ranked-
The Energy Research Institute	India	17	-not ranked-	27
Center for Civil Society	India	18	-not ranked-	27
Center for International and Strategic Studies at Peking University	China	19	-not ranked-	-not ranked-
Taiwan Foundation for Democracy	Taiwan	20	17	23
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS)	Singapore	21	15	29
East Asia Institute	Korea	22	12	-not ranked-
Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research	Hong Kong	23	14	6
Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses	India	24	3	9
Center for Economic Research	Uzbekistan	25	-not ranked-	-not ranked-
Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS)	Malaysia	26	22	22
Cathay Institute for Public Affairs	China	27	-not ranked-	24
Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy	China	28	-not ranked-	-not ranked-
Bangladesh Institute for Development Studies	Bangladesh	29	16	30
Institute for International Policy Studies	Japan	30	9	19

Report is release by Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, International Relations Program, University of Pennsylvania.

The report can be found here.

If you wonder how the ranking is derived, it is a highly democratic process (or popularity contest).

I'm thrilled for ISIS to be ranked as Top 30 but I know we still have a very long way to go reach number 1. By the way CASS has more than 3000 researchers.

If you're interested in what ISIS has produced in 2011, you can find it here.

Latest videos from ISIS events can be found here.

Podcasts of ISIS can be found here.

ISIS Facebook

ISIS Twitter

Tech Thursday: Wunderkit by 6Wunderkinder

2012-01-26T21:13:00.001+08:00

I've been invited to beta test Wunderkit and so far I'm liking. I've been using Wunderlist as my task manager for a year now. I'm very happy to beta test products put on the Internet. However before testing a product I do try to keep in my mind the process of creative destruction. Here's the screen shot of the app.

It can be highly productive and focus provide you've got the correct people in your group.

Here's how the app works.

Time spend: 7 minutes

Wordless Wednesday: Gone Away From Me

2012-01-25T16:08:00.001+08:00

This song in on replay the whole morning. Simple words, melody and soothing voice. What more can you ask?

Econ Tuesday: Markets and Politics

2012-01-24T23:00:00.000+08:00

"Markets are political constructs, with potential for allocating power and wealth between different groups depending on the nature of the norms and rules that authorities put in place to govern markets."

H.E.S. Nesadurai

Two implications from the statement above:

Distributional conflicts are part and parcel of a capitalist market economy
The manner in which market rules are written is crucial to governing in the interests of economic security.

From Introduction: Economic Security, Globalization and Governance (2006)

Quantified Self Sunday: Mental P0rn or Minimizing Switching Cost

2012-01-22T23:00:00.000+08:00

Since properly quantifying my daily routine/tasks, I've found out after heavy analytical session I will take a break. Unfortunately the break is highly unproductive considering I will spend more than 15 minutes shifting through tabs, emails, Twitter and Facebook feeds. To make matters worse none of the activities that I've done in that break time registered to my memory and the subsequent heavy stuff I'm doing do not have the same productivity level as before.

Then I've found out about switching cost. http://www.apa.org/research/action/multitask.aspx

The kind of work that I'm doing requires high level of mental awareness and switching from a topic to another topic can be mentally taxing. Therefore I need to reduce my switching cost to improve the next round of reading/writing.

For the last week I have tried using visual stimulus to improve my brain function and my productivity level improves. And I'm calling it..mental porn.

Porn according to Wikipedia is 'the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction. However in my case, 'mental porn' means visual subject that is insignificant but over-viewing it make you unproductive.

So here is the collective of my mental porn.

Archdaily: The World's Most Visited Architecture Website

Rides A Bike

Bookshelf Porn

Feminist Ryan Gosling

*Images above can be found in their respective sites.

Final word: Thank God for Tumblr!

Time spent: 11 minutes

Tech Thursday: The SOPA

2012-01-19T09:13:00.000+08:00

I think this is among the best infograph around on this issue.

Visual Wednesday: Gumption

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000+08:00

Courtesy: http://sawyerhollenshead.com/portfolio/ira-glass-quote/

Monday Wonder: Us Vs. Them

2012-01-16T22:07:00.001+08:00

When you're young, you look at television and think,"There's a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down." But when you get a little older, you realize that's not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That's far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimist! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution! But the networks are really in business to give people what they want. It's the truth. -- Steve Jobs, Wired, February 1996

The young are still the enemies of uniformity, and the Internet, as it extends its reach into all the nooks and crannies of our days, is looking more and more like an enormous conduit of conventionality. What are Facebook and Google but giant institutions. arms of the new establishment? What are smartphones if not high-tech leashes? Today, online databases hold more information about us that could fit on a mile-high stack of punch cards. Some kind of rebellion seems in order.-- Nick Carr, Get on my lawn, kids, 2 June 2011

I believed in the power of many but I know that idea of an individual is mightier than a lot.

...the most spectacularly creative people in many fields are often introverted...They're extroverted enough to exchange and advance ideas, but seem themselves as independent and individualistic. They're not joiners by nature.--Susan Cain, The Rise of New Groupthink, 13January 2012

Visual Wednesday: Pseudo-scientific experiments on Gardenia and Massimo Bread

2012-01-04T19:14:00.001+08:00

I've blogged before on the issue of Massimo and Gardenia bread. However I'm a bit conscious on my bias towards Gardenia bread as I eat it everyday.

So I decided to conduct a series of experiments to determine the better bread.

vs.

(Disclaimer: I bought the Gardenia yesterday while Massimo this afternoon.)

By right this Massimo line is not a direct competitor with the Gardenia line. The Gardenia bread is Wholegrain Fibremeal bread while Massimo is Sandwich Loaf with Wheat Germ.

Other details:

Both breads don't have the addresses of its bakery only their corresponding distributors.For Gardenia it is in Shah Alam while Massimo in Sungai Buloh.

1. The Nutritional Test

The purpose of any food is in its nutritional values that kept humanity going.

	Massimo	Gardenia
Weights	400 gram	400 gram
Price	RM 2.50 (intro price)	RM 3.20
Number of Slices	12	14
Servings per Package	6	7
Serving Size	67 g (2 slices)	57 g (2slices)
Energy per serving	181 kcal	137 kcal
Carbohydrate per serving	32.3 g	22.3 g
Protein per serving	5.6 g	7.0 g
Fat per serving	3.3 g	1.7 g
Cholesterol per serving	0 mg	0 mg
Dietary Fibre	1.7 g	4.0 g
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) per serving	0.5 mg	n.a.
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) per serving	0.3 mg	n.a.
Niacin (Vitamin B3)	4.7 mg	n.a.
Calcium	134 mg	159 mg
Iron	4.0 mg	4.2 mg

Source: Massimo and Gardenia packaging

Winner: Gardenia
Gardenia slices are 10 gram lighter but it managed to pack more nutrition in it.

2. Taste and Texture Test (highly subjective)

A slice of Massimo bread

A slice of Gardenia bread

Based on my taste bud, I've found that the middle part of Massimo is softer than the Gardenia. However the crust is another story.

To compare both crust of the bread, I've decided to fold the ending slice of each bread into two, creating a spine. This is just an indirect way to test the crust 'hardness'. This is the results:

Gardenia

Massimo

In deciding which bread is superior, I've decided to be bias. When I was young, I hated bread crusts so much that I won't even touch the bread if my mother don't cut them out. However your whims after awhile won't be entertained by your parents, hence I have to cut the crusts myself. I am lazy and I've decided to tolerate eating crust since then.

Winner: Gardenia

It took a lot of effort for me to tolerate bread with its crusts. However I won't increase my threshold this time around.

3. The Turkey Sandwich

I decided to run this experiment today when I realised that I have 2 slices of cold cut turkey and 2 leaves of lettuce for lunch. Therefore why not use both bread to make a sandwich. This is the result:

To ensure the test integrity, I've spread a teaspoon of mustard on both slices (by the way, Massimo is on the top and Gardenia is the bottom one).

While I was eating, I squeezed both side of the bread to find out whether the mustard tears any of the bread holding the turkey cold cut. Both passed the test considering I've only use a teaspoon of mustard.

A teaspoon of mustard with Massimo slice

Come to think about it I should put more mustard to really test the structure of the bread. However I won't be risk my lunch getting spoilt.

Winner: None (Experiment fails)

4. Focus Group Test

To improve my findings, I've conducted a simple focus group test with my colleagues. Basically it is a blind test requiring them to rate the crusts and middle part of both breads.

This the only picture I take during the blind test. Clearly I can't multitask both photographing and testing.

The focus group consists of Elina (in-house health guru), Natalie (in-house newspaper columnist) and Zarina (in-house Japanese expert).

The focus group found that:

Massimo bread center is better than Gardenia
Gardenia bread has better crust than Massimo

Winner: It's a tie.

I made a big mistake in this experiment as I should as them to assign score for every piece of bread tasted.

Summary:

1. Nutritional Test: Gardenia

2. Taste and texture test: Gardenia

3. The turkey sandwich test: Fail

4. Focus group test: Tie

As of January 19 2012 it is clear the Gardenia Wholegrain Fibremeal bread is better than Massimo Sandwich Bread with Wheat Germ. The dynamics between the two bread might change in the future. It is certain that the price of Massimo will be raised to RM 3.50 in future (the RM2.50 is just the intro price).

Since I've settled the issue of bread taste here, I like to point out that both Tradewinds Group (Gardenia-shareholder that is connected to Syed Al-Bukhary) and Federal Flour Mills (Massimo-shareholder connected to Robert Kuok) both the same evils. According to the Royal Custom Department, importing wheat/flour to Malaysia requires import licensing or AP (which both Tradewinds through United Malayan Flour and FMM have). ~~At the same time is also prohibition to import wheat flour to Malaysia~~. This is a clear case of industrial policy use to protect companies.

If any Malaysian want to make Gardenia and Massimo bread an issue, they should look closer at firms that control the supply of its input. So even the act of buying bread in small bakeries in a way enriches these capitalists.

Econ Tuesday: Of Bread and Cronies

2012-01-03T23:00:00.000+08:00

Supply and demand. In the case of bread, the dominant position of Gardenia is currently being questioned due to the company-linked with a Malay-crony. The blogsphere simple solution is to use consumer power and shift their demand to Massimo, a new brand that is related to a Chinese-crony.

You can find the news report on this here:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/gardenia-row-points-to-rising-ethnic-tension-as-economy-bites/

An argument on choosing between Gardenia and Massimo don't make sense since both are produced by cronies. http://maddruid.com/?p=9610

I would like to add another dimension to the argument.

The supply of bread in Malaysia can be broken down further. Both Gardenia,High5 and Massimo are among big firms catering to 27 million consumer's demand for bread. They have huge distribution networks, better R&D department and able to respond to demand quickly. At the same time, there also exist chains of bakeries like King's Confectionery, Baker's Cottage and Berry's. The bottom of this pyramid is countless of small bakeries and pastries shops (including the mamak roti).

Assuming the Malaysian are rational in general, they consume bread that yield the highest satisfaction. Considering the huge market dominance of Gardenia, it is rational for it to be the best bread brand.

However the act to boycott a brand and switch to another brand due to political and race reasons is an irrational choice. So I'm suggestion another irrational solution.

Buy breads produced by smaller firms (including bakery chains).

If there is a small bakery nearby, visit them and buy their bread. Trust me they need your money more than Tradewinds Group or Federal Flour Mills (FMM). I've seen too many small bakeries that went under. If your taste don't mix well with the bread being sold, don't walk away and revert back to big brands bread. Work with the them to improve their bread quality.

When everything else fails, bake your own bread.

December Movie List

2012-01-01T23:47:00.001+08:00

Quantifying the quality of movies I've seen in December 2011

The Matrix (1999) - 87%
The Matrix:Reloaded (2003) - 74%
One Day (2011) - 36%
30 Minutes or Less (2011) - 43%
The Matrix: Revolution (2003) -36%
The Muppets (2011) -97%
The Help (2011) -76%
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) - 93%
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) -73%
The Mummy (1999) - 55%
Midnight in Paris (2011) - 93%
We Bought A Zoo (2011) - 63%
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - 95%
Love Actually (2003) - 63%
Office Space (1999) - 79%

Total Tomatoes Score for December 2011: 70.9%

(Since I've started curating my movies consumption, this is the best month)

Friday List: New Year's Resolution

2011-12-30T05:00:00.000+08:00

When I was young I like to count the days that I am alive and not the years. Since the number of years is smaller using days would make me much wiser. But then the days piled on, and for the last 10 years I stopped counting the days and just like everyone else I start relying on the years. On my 10,227th day on Earth I realised this is a big mistake. Despite my accomplishments, the last 10 years happened without sense of urgency and I found myself consuming and producing things that in essence 'do not matter'.

My solution to my quarter-life (second-fifth life crisis) is to quantify more.Thanks to technology, there are tools that help me to live more effective. On the positive note of me realizing next year resolution, I have started to curate my data beginning 6 months ago out of curiosity.

In quantifying the state of my life, I will use 3 parameters; namely i) time spend, ii) resources used, and iii) outcome achieved.

Time Spend - I am using the desktop app by KLOK to measure my usage of time. Currently I'm using the block reserved on writing exercise to write this post. Once I hit the maximum allocated time I have to stop my activity and record 2 important parameters: outcome(s) and interruption(s).
Resources Used - I'm dividing this into 2 categories; i) hard resources and ii) time-related activities. Hard resources recording will be things like expenditure and petrol consumption. Time-related activities on the other hand is collection of movies I've watched, quality of my sleep, collection of books I've read and my workday clock-in and out.
Outcome achieved - It will be in 2 forms; i) hard and ii) unfinished. Hard outcome will be things like an article written or a blog post.

Apart for intensifying the effort to quantify myself, my daily resolutions will be to reinforce my effort on 2011's Resolution, which are;
i) To write down ideas every morning (15 minutes of creativity exercise)
ii) To write at least a proper paragraph of analytical essay (1 hour)
iii) Spite out-spite good: To be able to take information in front of me and spite out something useful from it.
iv) To sit every night and reflect my day (15 minutes every night)

In addition, my weekly Habits to Reinforce in 2012 are;
i) To analyse weekly data collected (every Sunday afternoon)
ii) To read 1 professional/academic article every week (I've started doing this early this year but I never got around to record article read nor its benefits). So 2012 it will have to be more effective as I'm using this framework:

What question(s) will the paper address?
What method(s) is/are used in addressing the question(s)
Did it managed to answer the question(s)
Did the paper expand my professional capacity i) result-wise and ii) methodology-wise
Give feedback to the author(s).

In 2012, I also hope to improve my skills in programming language by acquiring these skills:
i) Able to use Python in Natural Language Processing so I can device a simple program to run through text document and play with information in them.
ii) Able to use Processing to create better data visualization
iii) Able to use R for my statistical analysis needs

I just realised that this must be the most specific New Year's Resolution I have written.
Time spend on this post: 1 hour 9 minutes

Video Wednesday: Grace Hopper on Letterman

2011-12-28T18:00:00.000+08:00

Awesome lady and witty as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper

Saturday Wonder: It's the Voice

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000+08:00

In 2011, the Academy Awards decided to anoint The King's Speech as the best movie. It is about how a man (king) overcame his stammer and learn to find his voice. Here's the scene that basically give purpose to the movie:

2011 also shows that the people find their voice and use it for a good purpose. However as I scan through remarkable pictures that made 2011 a good year, I found these kind of pictures.

Courtesy of http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/12/the_year_in_pictures_part.html

I think it's double standard.

Friday List: 2011 Best of Mix CD

2011-12-23T18:00:00.000+08:00

There isn't big/blockbuster album by any rock royalty released in 2011. The good news is that newer acts have better chance to push their sound.

So my Best of 2011 Mix Tape consists of:

1. The World (Is Going Up In Flames) - Charles Bradley
Considering the social reaction around the world I think this is a fitting song to open this mix tape. A socially conscious song.

2.Words I Never Said - Lupe Fiasco (feat. Skylar Gray)
Now its the time for you to get angry at the society. Do something.

3. Till the World Ends (The Femme Fatale Remix) - Britney Spears feat. Ke$ha & Nicki Minaj
Well the world is burning up and the society is screwed, dancing like no tomorrow in an option. The song probably have the 2nd best hook this year.
4. What the Water Gave Me - Florence + The Machine
If you won't dance your ass of, how about getting into a dark hole and deal with that darkness alone. Ceremonials by Florence + The Machine is one of the best album of the year. I have a very hard time to pick a song for this list.
5. No Church in the Wild - Jay-Z and Kanye West (feat. Frank Ocean)
Probably the best duet combo of the year. Not to mention its faith-affirmation theme.
6. Rolling in The Deep - Adele
Getting angry is also an option. Another excellent song from an excellent album. I never found a 2011 Best of List that don't include this song. Although too much radio time made this song overrated.
7. We Found Love - Rihanna (feat. Calvin Harris)
This song has the best hook this year. The line "We found love in a hopeless place" is repeated 16 times. After you exhaust the options above, maybe finding someone to fall in love with is a good idea.
8. Love and Hard Times - Paul Simon
A gentle reminder that God is kind and we can always hope He won't abandon us. The song has one of the best lines I've heard; "It's easy to be generous when you're on a roll/It's hard to be grateful when you're out of control".
9.This Isn't Everything You Are - Snow Patrol
The latest Snow Patrol album is better than the last one. In every sad situation, there's always the silver lining if you are willing to forgive yourself and move on.

10. Don't Let it Break Your Heart - Coldplay
My favourite tune from the latest Coldplay record. The song might refer to the separation of a couple but the general message is still relevant in any down turn.
11.Man or Muppet - Jason Segel and Walter
I really enjoyed the latest Muppets movie. Although it is sung by puppets, its theme is very dark and adult. The quest to know thyself is even relevant to a Muppet.
12.Walk - Foo Fighters
Find yourself, find your purpose and walk towards it.
13.Pure Imagination - Glee Cast
A cover version from the non-Johnny Depp Willy Wonka movie.
14. Sooner or Later - Mat Kearney
Google uses this for its Zeigest video. An uplifting tune (but it is Mat Kearney's territory)
15.The Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga
I'm really torn between 'You and I' and 'The Edge of Glory'. I choose this song due to appearance of Clarence Clemmons and his saxophone.
16.Gathering Stories - Jonsi
I promised myself to include Jonsi's track in every year best of list. Last year it was 'Sticks and Stones', now its Gathering Stories. The message is simple, write your own story.

17. Tonight You Belong to Me - Eddie Vedder

Another cover version but Eddie Vedder use ukulele to make his point across. Its kind of fun to hear Eddie Vedder voice mix well with the sound of ukulele.

By the way, this is top video list that Youtube users watched in 2011.

Friday Morning Note: On How to Read Research Papers

2011-12-23T09:31:00.001+08:00

My aim is to finish and understand 1 research paper every week. The paper has to be related to my professional line of work. In the past I usually read it, use highlighter to mark important point then chuck the paper in the recycle bin. To improve the efficacy of my readings and the outcome from it, I decided to use the following criterion in ensuring I get the most of every paper I read:

What question(s) will the paper address?
What method(s) is/are used in addressing the question(s)
Did it managed to answer the question(s)
Did the paper expand my professional capacity i) result-wise and ii) methodology-wise
Give feedback to the author(s).

Video Wednesday: Awesome 2011

2011-12-21T15:00:00.000+08:00

2011 will be marked as the year that people rose and decided to get rid of those that created obstacles for progress. Google marks this year with this video:

There are also failures in 2011 like the following:

Friday List: November Movie Tally

2011-12-02T20:13:00.000+08:00

For November I've watched:

1. Conan the Barbarian (2011) -22%

2. Flypaper (2011) -17%

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) -96%

4. The Adventures of Tintin (2011) - 88%

5. Highlander (1986) -67%

6. Tower Heist (2011) -69%

7. Larry Crowne (2011) -34%

Average for November: 56.1%

Verdict:Passed

Video Wednesday: Eddie Vedder + Pearl Jam

2011-11-30T18:07:00.001+08:00

I'm beginning to discover the magic of Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder. I found out that some songs get even better when Eddie sings them.

Friday Morning Photo: KL Traffic

2011-11-25T08:33:00.001+08:00

From Moving Through Kuala Lumpur

Friday List: Milton Glaser's The Designer's Road to Hell

2011-11-11T18:00:00.000+08:00

Glaser's 12 Steps on the Designer's Road to Hell

Designing a package to look bigger on the shelf.
Designing an ad for a slow, boring film to make it seem like a lighthearted comedy.
Designing a crest for a new vineyard to suggest that it has been in business for a long time.
Designing a jacket for a book whose sexual content you find personally repellent.
Designing a medal using steel from the World Trade Center to be sold as profit-making souvenir of September 11
Designing an advertising campaign for a company with a history of known discrimination in minority hiring.
Designing a package aimed at children for a cereal whose contents you know are low in nutritional value and high in sugar.
Designing a line of T-shirts for a manufacturer that employs child labor.
Designing a promotion for a diet product that you know doesn't work.
Designing an ad for a political candidate whose policies you believe would be harmful to the general public.
Designing a brochure piece for an SUV that flips over frequently in emergency conditions and is known to have killed 150 people.
Designing an ad for a product whose frequent use might cause the user's death.

From CAD Monkeys, Dinasour Babies and T-Shaped People

Even more awesomer things from Milton Glaser.

It would be fun if the similar list being done for Presidents/Prime Ministers/Economists.

Video Wednesday: All This and Heaven Too

2011-11-09T20:22:00.000+08:00

I love this song from Florence+The Machine lastest album, Ceremonials.

It is a fight to try to explain a feeling/thought.

Calling it Apple

2011-11-08T23:46:00.002+08:00

Everyone knows how Apple Computer story begins. Steve Jobs was working in an apple orchard before that.

The point is I have been enjoying apples for these few months.

So there's nowhere in the world I can name my company (or my things on public domain as Apple now). Maybe Granny Smith Corp. is available.