Taking a breather

Near my workplace, there's a serene lakeside which I would go once in a while to listen to the seagulls and absorb the beauty of nature. Well, today I went there for a walk and took a few pictures to share with you guys.

2012 trailer

Hehe, more end of the world stuff, watch the trailer below and enjoy this movie which is coming in November.



So, what's your first impression after watching the trailer? For me, I think it uses too many visual effects. Although they are rendered beautifully using superb computer graphics, I do hope that they won't spoil the movie. Anyway, I am gonna watch this movie no matter what. It is an irony that Sony Pictures will create a movie based on one of the hottest news (or hoax) out there that the world is going to end in December 21, 2012... *thinking*

Pomegranate Phone NS08

Wow, I came across this revolutionary phone while I was browsing the Net. Take a look at the video below and marvel at this next-gen smart phone.



Ok, so what do you think? Too good to be true? Nah..sadly.

After some researching, I found out that this Pomegranate phone is actually part of a $300,000 ad campaign put together by Nova Scotia, the small province in southeastern Canada. The website is part of the Nova Scotian government's "Come to Life" ad campaign, which hopes to build interest in the province virally through nontraditional means.

I was pretty sad when I knew this is just a fictional phone, but I know it has lit up the ideas of many phone-makers out there. The function I like the most is the projector function which is super cool in my opinion. The language translation is also super useful, lessening the barriers while communicating with people of other races. On the other hand, the coffee-making, razor, and harmonica is just too flashy I think. Anyway, I know that phones like this will be available in the near future, just don't know when.

The Unresting World

Lately, news of earthquakes has been hitting the globe. First in Phillipines, then in Samoa, and now in Indonesia. 3 earthquakes in the same month. How scary can that be. Even some of my friends in Malaysia felt the tremors from the latest earthquake in Indonesia.

Come to think of it, is it really gonna be the end of the world according to the Mayan culture? The date that this world will end is prophesized on December 21, 2012. That means it will be around 3 years 3 months from now. Well, believers of such an incident must have their minds strengthened after these earthquakes happening.

In my opinion, Mother Nature is sometimes benevolent and sometimes cruel. It all depends on humanity. If we don't take care of our world now, it will be too late. So let us all try our best in helping the world, no matter how tiny our actions is, it will be seen and felt. Before the world ends (or maybe not), let's not have any regrets...

A Day in my Cousin's Apartment

A day off means staying at home or go hang out with my friends. For today, I chose the latter. We have been planning to hang out for some time and today's the day. I set off around 12.30pm, taking the subway to Manhattan to meet up with them. I reached there a bit late (25 minutes) because of bad time management and subway stalls. Upon arrival, I saw two more new members, PJ and Yin Thing (supposedly just meeting up with Sofie and Ing Chian [my cousin]). Well, the more, the merrier and now there are five of us.

Lunch time is taken care of at a dim sum restaurant, which I found to be just so-so. I think the one in Flushing is much better. The restaurant is pretty big but I think it is understaffed so the service is not really good. Later on, we took a car service to my cousin's apartment. The apartment is located in the heart of Wall Street. A good location but the rent is madness to me. $1800 a month, that is like 3.5 times my current rent. The place was not bad, there is also a gym and a lounge where people can hang out. We played cards and drank some red wine, hit some pool and played some foosball. And the main event for that night is a Monopoly game, a simple game but it brings a lot of fun and laughter. We chose a Transformers version of the Monopoly because there are things missing from the original one (yea, board games are also provided in the lounge, and there are a shitload of them).

Anyway, I took some pictures and here you go:

Overall, a pretty interesting day!

Something not to be frowned upon

Sometimes, I feel that how nice it would be if our brain is like a computer. Something that we can control, something that we can modify, or something that we can delete. Painful memories are not supposed to be kept inside the brain. Imagine if we could keep all the happy memories and delete or the sad ones, it will be great.

Saying this, it's not that I am not happy, just a little sad over something which I shouldn't feel sad upon. Emotions and feelings are a big bad wolf at this point, taking over my better judgment. If one and one doesn't make two, there's no point in trying to think of a way to make it true. One and one can only be two, it can never be three or four.

The best that I could do is to turn this into a motivation. It's like turning stone to gold, turning water to ale. There are many things that I need to do at this point and I can't let this be an obstacle. Hopefully, I will be able to overcome this ordeal, or succumb to my inner feelings and die trying...

America's Got Talent Finale

OMG! Finally....finally the winner is revealed and it is none other than Kevin Skinner!!!

Cheers and congratulations to him!! (Wanted him to win more than Barbara Padilla) Wishing all the best to this 'ex-chicken catcher.' Now he's gonna be famous...

September Wind

I walked under the moon's bright light,
As I was taking a stroll one night;
The September wind was harsh and cold,
But I continued walking as if I were bold...

A lot of things were on my mind,
Most of my problems are one of a kind;
Be it the past, the present or the future,
I realized that I am still not mature...

I walked past a sleeping old man,
In front of him was a rusty tin can;
Filled with some coins and one dollar bills,
"A sad sight," that's how I feel...

Even when things go awfully wrong,
I always try to sing a happy song;
Sometimes I will be out of breath,
Sometimes I don't even have time to rest...

As I reached home after the walk,
The September wind is still blowing leaves and stalks;
Before I go to bed and sleep,
I will try my best, not to weep...

A hair cut and a Mooncake

Well, today's my off day again and my routine on this day repeats itself. Woke up in the morning, went for a hair cut (everytime I got a hair cut, it just doesn't seem right), deposit money into my checking account, bought lunch, *free time*, dinner time with Sky, and back home. Maybe I am used to this routine so it never gets boring. Of course, I hope something exciting will happen but life is as dull as a faded chalkboard.

Anyway, one of my auntie roomies gave me a mooncake. It was a kind gesture and I really appreciate it. She gave me a double yolk one (which is my favorite of all) but I haven't eat it yet (maybe for supper tonight). Kind of miss the days when I was young with my siblings. During the mooncake festival, we will light candles outside the porch and carry lanterns around. It was a good adventure taking that lantern and walk one big round along the dark corridors of my auntie's house. Of course, I was afraid of ghosts at that time (so am I now) but I try my best cause I am the eldest >.<''

So for today, I got a hair cut and a mooncake. Not exactly something big to be excited over, but well, at least it's something...

America's Got Talent Semi-Finals

Finally, the top 20 acts for the semifinals have been chosen. They are:

Acrodunk, Kevin Skinner, Grandma Lee, Drew Thomas Magic, Arcadian Broad, Tony and Rory, Paradizo Dance, Texas Tenors, Voices of Glory, Fab Five, Lawrence Beamen, Hairo Torres, Jeffrey Ou, Mario and Jenny, Footworkingz, Recycled Percussions, Eriam Sisters, Drew Stevyns, Barbara Padilla, and Erik and Rickie.

Personally, I think the selection is not too bad except there are too many singers. As usual, singing acts are a favorite among many people. Here, I would like to give my opinion on the judges reaction on Jeffrey Ou's qualification. What is with the exaggerated and shocked expression when he was selected, especially Sharon? Against Bri, I think he got a pretty good chance of winning. Besides, it's not his fault that one of the dancers accidentally kicked the audio cable out, making the last half of the performance inaudible. I am really happy that America voted him back. I personally think he has talent.

Anyway, kinda looking forward to next week's semifinals. It's gonna be an intense one. Will update when the finalists are chosen two weeks from now.