Monday, November 27, 2006

Fire Walk With Me.....



I've been hooked on this old TV series called "Twin Peaks" for the past week or so. It was from sometime in the early '90s. I remember watching part of it when I was back in school but missed most of it. I remember it getting alot of publicity and the show had some real big sponsors at the time.

Thinking back - it was probably one of the big shows back in the day. I think alot of people were asking the question - "Who Killed Laura Palmer?".

I've just finished Season 1 which ends with a cliffhanger. Will get on to Season 2 when the time permits. Quirky characters, lots of plot twists. The music is pretty good as well - check out Mark Snow's "Twin Peaks Theme" or search for Julee Cruise "Falling".

Apparently, Twin Peaks is famous for their damn good coffee and also serve really good pies! Watching this show makes me hungry. Its a small town - lot of the scenes take place in a diner or at the Sherriff's station where they have donuts arranged in stacks. And it doens't help that one of the main characters, FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper eats all the time!

Before that, I was hooked on the manga "Death Note".

Never would I have imagined that I would be reading "manga" and watching a manga-based movie! Still, its actually the story that's got me hooked.



Light Yagami is a brilliant, but bored, high school student who resents the crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground in the year 2003. The Death Note's instructions claim that, if a human's name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the Death Note's authenticity, believing it is just a prank. However, after experimenting with it and killing two criminals, Light is forced to admit the Death Note is real. After meeting with the true owner of the Death Note, a shinigami (Death God) named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the new world" by passing his judgment on criminals.

Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of the International Police Organization and a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly learns that the serial killer, dubbed by the public as "Kira"(derived from the Japanese pronouncation of the English word "Killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a race to prove mental superiority between the two begins.

It's been awhile since I last posted - and its almost the year end.

I've been wanting to get a new phone since April 2006. 7 months down the road - still no new phone. My trusty NOKIA's keypad is starting to fall to pieces with the buttons falling off the due to wear and tear. It's served me well for the past 4 years.

Me not getting a new phone is partly due to my current financial situation and also due to the fact that I was indecisive and didn't know what I wanted to get. I knew what I wanted but couldn't find something to suit my "wants". As we all know, "want" and "need" are different things.

3 out of my 4 phones so far have been NOKIA sets. I've had no complaints with the NOKIA phones I've had so far. I had one SAMSUNG True-I and the experience with that was enough to put me off getting another SAMSUNG until I try something that proves otherwise. The other problem is that NOKIA hasn't made any phones that I found attractive recently. There was one that I've considered and that's the only one that I think looks "decent" enough for me.

This time, I'll be going where I've never gone before. I've finally decided that I would get a SONY ERICSSON. I've toyed with the idea of getting another NOKIA clamshell, but that phone is much older and the functions are a tad out of date. Of course there was the ever-fashionable MOTOROLA RAZR V3i. But we've all heard about how much a pain it is to use.

Honestly though, I don't know if those claims about the User Interface are anything to go by. For me, the interface has always been front/back on the old ERICSSON phones dad used to have or the NOKIAs which had the up/down menu screens. I'm sure its just a matter of time to get used to the current User Interfaces.

So the contenders - in one corner, the NOKIA 6131. And in the other corner, the SONY ERICSSON K800i.


SONY ERICSSON K800i vs the NOKIA 6131

I've collected the catalogues, I've gone through the reviews. And after much thought, my decision is more or less towards the SONY ERICSSON, simply because its a newer phone with what appears to be better features - although both phones are apparently pretty good phones.

Hopefully, I'll have one of these babies before the end of the year.



Attended a wedding earlier this month. I'm not exactly sure but I think its the first of my old primary school friends who've gotten married. I do know that its the first wedding I attended, without chaperones in tow. Congratulations to WL and Grace.

Got the following voucher. Don't think I've ever been to San Francisco Steakhouse before. Why do I get the feeling I'm going to get invitations to go out real soon? ;)



Recent purchases (in no particular order):



Transformers Classics Optimus Prime - took me awhile to find this and got the last one, now, its everywhere!



Transformers Titanium Jetfire - same like Prime, was the last one and now its everywhere. This thing almost caused me to miss my ride to work when I was considering to buy it or not.



Ninja Strike Wolverine - no idea why I got this but I did. Don't understand the concept of Wolverine having to need weapons like a triple-bladed katana or daggers. He's freaking Wolverine for god's sake! He's got indestructible Adamantium claws!



WWE Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle - This one is simply unbeatable, value for money. RM 2.00 per figure! You can't even get a decent meal for that price. At clearance prices, these were simply a steal. Rock Bottom prices! Now, The Rock can lay the smackdown on one of these 2.

I've had a whole bunch of pictures I've saved, wanting to include them in my post, but I kept putting it off, and the pictures kept increasing.

To close this post, just some pictures simply because they're awesome.

A company called Toy Soldier's have come up with this limited edition figure of Bruce Willis' character Lt. AK Waters from the movie "Tears Of The Sun". There will only be 500 of these produced for some Toy Show in Hong Kong.


Toy Soldier NAVY SEAL Rifleman figure



And for comparison, a screenshot of Bruce Willis from the movie.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Welcome to Hell.....

I awakened my laptop from its slumber the moment I stepped into my room - like I always do. When the screen lit up, I was greeted by a picture of a pizza. Aha! Someone's been using my PC. Now I know what the 3 bears felt like when Goldilocks went into their house.

It appears that someone left me visual clues and obviously wanted me to read about it. The browser was opened and it was displaying www.kennysia.com. There must've been something interesting for one of the "bears" to leave it on for me to read.

As I read on, the post was apparently about a pizza chain in New Zealand called "HELL". Interesting name for a pizza-joint no? Reading some more, apparently, the pizza's have funky names as well, named after the 7 deadly sins. I had a look at the website, interesting choice of toppings that they use - blue cheese, honey mustard toppings, amongst others.

Kenny (wah, on a first name basis already) commented, if we would see this chain in Malaysia. Somehow I doubt it, unless they call it "Super" or "Super Pizza" or something. Confused? Well, if you recall, there was a fiasco about renaming a movie called "Hellboy" to "Super Sapiens" for the Malaysian audience.

If you still want to read about Hell's Pizzas - head on down to www.hell.co.nz. Check out Kenny Sia's site for more pictures and menu as well as "reviews" on the food.

Now back to the real world.

The past 2 days seemed to have passed really, really slow. Could be due to the fact that I'm still adjusting. Due to Daylight Savings (or the end of it), working hours are now an hour later. Maybe I just need a week or two to adjust. Then the time will just disappear again.

I've been waiting for at least 3 weeks now and still no sign of my Aragorn. Why?! Why?! Why?! In the meantime, I'm being taunted by people who have it already and are posting photos online. Some seem to be disappointed that it does not looked as good as the prototypes. The face looks slightly "surprised" and the coat looks brand-spanking new. Many people say it looks better in hand then it shows up on photos. I hope I won't be disappointed.


Aragorn - actual product (left), prototype (right)


More gorgeous pictures.

The master himself, Bruce Lee by Medicom.





Finally, Wolverine from X-Men: The Last Stand, also by Medicom