Movie Review : Across The Universe

I've always been a fan of The Beatles. Most of their songs are catchy but if you listen to them they really have a lot to say. I came across this movie while channel surfing and what really caught my attention was the singing and the camera creative angles. It's nice to hear these hit songs sang in a different tune and to match the songs with the movie's plot and expression was brilliant.

A must watch for any Beatles fan. Here's a part from the movie :

R.I.P Michael Jackson

As a kid I stumbled upon a song that was playing on the radio and TV all day long. The name of the song "Bad" and I was wondering who this guy was, at the end of video the name Michael Jackson came up. I was hooked like everyone else to this new kind of pop music, it was different from what my parents usually play or listen to on the radio. I'm pretty sure everyone knows who he is and what he has done for the music industry. Although his personal life was on the spotlight a couple of times. I don't really follow news like that, but his music did inspire me and I'm sure alot of people around the world and his music will live on.

Rest well...MJ.

"Man in the Mirror"


"Smooth Criminal"

I remember watching this video and movie many many times over.

Top Gear Go-Kart Challenge 2009

I was asked by my good friend Alex to take part as a team mate in this event. It was quite a fun event despite some delays. So just before the official start time it rained and that made the track very very wet, we went out after the rain stopped with wet tires. Later on came the qualifying sessions, when it was my turn to qualify I had to go out on a wet track with a kart that can't turn left without under steering, but I managed to finish 5th out of 10 karts. Alex had an opportunity to drive on a dry track and he finished 2nd. After lunch we were ready to head home but we found out that we actually qualified for the finals!

So 20 drivers raced wheel to wheel and they used the qualifying time to place the drivers on the grid, so having qualifying in the wet I was placed last on the grid. I was lucky to get a kart what felt really responsive and turned well. Everyone lined up for the rolling start and once the green flag was waved it was pure adrenaline, I tried some overtaking maneuvers but held back because of the traffic. In lap 2 I managed to overtake some drivers and while doing so I noticed a kart that had spun at the side of the track facing the wrong direction, it was Alex. He was doing quite well and just too bad he made a small mistake. I continued on and at the start of the 3rd lap I managed to overtake a couple of karts who were defending themselves. I then came up to a kart which was driving quite defensively after 2 laps of putting pressure from the rear he clipped the tire wall at the s-curve and his kart went airborne and landed right in the middle of the track and just 4 feet from me, so I had to take evasive action so I don't T-bone him. *Phew* that was a close call indeed. After overtaking another 2 karts I was in a battle with a kart and we exchanged places a couple of times till the end of the race, alas he did beat me just by 1 second.

Overall it was a fun event and it was my first time racing with so many people in a session. Congratulations to the winners who walked away with prizes worth RM5,000! which included 2 Tag Hauer watches. Well, there's always next year :)

10,000 +

When I started this blog I didn't think that people would be interested in what I wrote, because it was personal. But ever since I started I vowed to myself to improve my writing and blogging skill, so I must say "Thank You!" to all my viewers who have been following me all this time. This blog has officially hit 10,000+ visits since 2006, yea it may be a small number, but it's an achievement to me :)

Thank You All!

Toyobaru 086A 2011?

I won't mind owning one of this...

The Toyobaru rumour is nothing new. We have heard about this on again and off again joint venture a number of times but now there is stronger evidence than ever that Toyota is getting back into the affordable sports-coupe game with an all new model. This front-engine/rear-wheel-drive coupe will reincarnate the spirit of the 1983-1987 Corolla Levin/Trueno (AE86), a car that is still popular today, especially among drift enthusiasts. According to our sources, Toyota’s code name for this future sports car is 086A. That it’s so similar to AE86 is no coincidence.

Toyota is partnering with Subaru to bring this project to reality. In fact, most of the engineering seems to be coming from the company known for its all-wheel-drive rally cars. Powering the future coupe will be Subaru’s 2.0-liter flat-4 equipped with a new direct-injection system, tuned to produce an impressive 200 bhp and 145 lb.-ft. of torque. We predict the car will weigh about 1200kg., so expect fairly quick acceleration times, probably around 6.0 seconds to 100kmh. The suspension will consist of MacPherson struts up front and a multilink setup at the rear, with the chassis based on that of the Subaru Impreza and Legacy.

Toyota will mainly be in charge of the car’s styling. Although both Toyota and Subaru versions will be offered, the two models won’t look much different, apart from badging.

The car is scheduled to appear sometime in 2011 or 2012. If this future car truly is a reincarnation of the AE86, Toyota and Subaru will have a big hit on their hands.

Source: Road & Track

I SUPPORT English as a Compulsory subject in SPM!

Taken from thestar.com.my :

Many object to making English a ‘must pass’ SPM subject

By KAREN CHAPMAN

PETALING JAYA: Most of the 500 views received by the Education Ministry as at the end of office hours yesterday are against any move to make English compulsory in order to obtain the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) certificate.

A ministry official said those who contacted the ministry wanted the status quo to remain.

“We started receiving telephone calls from 10am until 5.30pm yesterday,” she said.

From today, she said people could telephone the ministry’s hunting line at 03-7723-7070 with their views from 8am to 5.30pm.

“There are 27 lines and we have enough people manning them,” she said.

People can also e-mail their views to kpkpm@moe.gov.my or send a fax to 03-7710-8880.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said he was surprised to learn that English was not a “must pass” subject for SPM and wanted public feedback on the matter.

The Education Minister said it was a revelation to him as he had always thought that it was a prerequisite since students had to learn English in school.

He said he was also shocked to learn that national schools no longer taught English grammar.

Muhyiddin said students were now merely learning communicative English.

“This means they are picking up the language for communication purposes only,” he said, adding that almost 70% of students who take English passed the subject.

A pass in English has never been compulsory for SPM. Since 2000, a pass in

Bahasa Malaysia was sufficient to get the SPM certificate. Previously, a credit was a must.

Movie Review : Ip Man

I hardly watch Chinese movies. Majority of them have the same type of plot and after a while it gets boring. A couple of months ago I was told about this movie from a friend, "Good show, must watch if possible". To my surprise, I found a copy of this movie at home, in my home town. Seems my younger brother actually bought it, that was weird. Anyhoo, this movie is EXCELLENT! I hardly watch movies 2 times in a row on the same day, even less for a Chinese flick. I saw this movie twice on the same day! Maybe it's because I am a martial arts fan, I've always been mesmerized by what some martial art masters can do. I myself took up Karate in my teenage years, guess I just lacked the discipline to go all the way to the end. What really caught my attention before watching the show is that it is a true semi-biography about Bruce Lee's master! I must say that this is the most enjoyable Chinese movie I've watched for quite a while. Fight scenes were smooth and brutal, the flow of the show kept everyone watching glued to the TV. So go watch it.

Andy's Movie-O-Meter : 9.5/10

Ken Block Gymkhana Videos

Enjoy these videos starring Ken Block and the Subaru Impreza.

GRA Gymkhana Round 1 2009

It's been a while since the last Gymkhana. Now it's back! Love to see everyone in good spirit taking part doing hand brake turns, reverse flicks and all. The first round was held in Sepang F1 circuit in conjunction with the AFOS event. So there were quite a lot of spectators but it was really really HOT! Kinda hate the weather at the circuit area but everyone stood through it all. Course layout was tight! almost half of the competitors got the course wrong on the first run, me included, lol. But as we had more runs everyone improved alot.

I'll post photos soon.

Zee Avi

I stumbled across Zee Avi when I was surfing the net. Lovely voice and music, what really impressed me is that she is actually Malaysian! It's nice to see a local making it big.

Here is a Youtube clip :