HAZE

Woohoo! It is that time of the year again when the blasted haze makes its presence felt the strongest. The Star newspaper reported on Sept 30 that the number of hotspots in Sumatra is now in the region of 332.

The report says that these hotspots are "widespread open burning" and "Indonesia's Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban was quoted as saying that the number of hotspots in the provinces was already on the rise as the country entered the peak season for land-clearing activities."

As you would have noted from the WOOHOOO! -- I was being sarcastic. It is sickening to me that we in Malaysia are constinuously forced to endure the haze year in and year out. And, of course, an apology will be forthcoming from the Indonesian government soon for having caused the haze.

How long more must the newborns and the elderly and our parents and siblings in Malaysia endure the haze. Are we really amused at all that helpless infants and the elderly are inhaling haze to the equivalent of smoking umpteen packets of cigarettes a day? Through no fault of theirs?

Oh, and I have heard people say, "But, the companies behind the burnings are sometimes owned by Malaysians."
My response has always been, "So what?!" It does not matter where the companies/owners come from -- it is where they are committing the "crime" that matters. I am sure that Malaysians are not going to tolerate foreigners coming to our land and burning forests and slowly killing our people with the resulting pollutants. So, why should the Indonesians? Is their system of governance really that weak?

HEALTH

HEALTH...

What is it with the Health Ministry of this country????? Everyone knows that pouring boiling food items into plastic bags (from teh tarik to 'sup kambing' to boiling hot porridge) is a dangerous thing to do and can cause cancer -- AND YET ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IS BEING DONE TO PREVENT THIS TYPE OF FOOD HANDLING. Food sellers have to be directed to move away from using plastic bags and start using proper paper cups (ala Starbucks,perhaaps) etc to reduce the number of cancer cases in the country.
The relevant ministry personnel (yes, YOU ARE MERELY A PUBLIC SERVANT PERSONNEL meant to do service towards the greater public good -- you are not meant to be some delusional VVIP powertripping over your polticial or bureaucratic positions!) must realise that they are meant to implement directives and processses/systems aimed at/for the greater good of present and future generations of Malaysians.

The same also goes for making manufacturers of soft drinks who must lessen the amount of sugar in their products. Everyone keeps saying that "Malaysians love their drinks sweet" -- while the reality is that Malaysians on the street are all for less sugar in their beverages (the request for "kurang manis" and kurang, kurang, kurang manis" are so commonplace nowadays!). C'mon, don't let the corporate greedy types get away with socially and morally reprehensible behaviour in the name of profit!

HEROES - Season 2

HEROES...

I finally managed to see the first episode of the second season of Heroes a few days ago. It still holds a lot of promise, although this second season 'pilot' lacked the punchiness of any single episode of the first season. The characters whom we have all grown to like in the first season are all back after that superbly exciting season finale for the first season.
The acting from Sendhil Ramamurthy (Dr Mohinder in the series) and Greg Grunberg (Matt 'Mindreader' Parkman) were a bit wonky at the beginning, but I am sure these two won't let the success of the first season get to their head and they WILL find their center of gravity in the acting department as the second season progresses.

   
• Heroes

NEWS TIDBITS

NEWS TIDBITS...

1. According to an AFP report carried in The Sun today (Friday, Sept 28), apparently there is a stress relief milk on sale in Japan costing US$43 for a 900ml bottle. Good heavens the price itself is cause for stress, don't you think!?
It was reported that the milk is extracted from cows on a weekly basis at the crack of dawn -- supposedly at a time when there is a lot of melatonin in the milk. Melatonin, the report explains, has stress-busting capabilities. The milk goes on sale next month, apparently.

2. The same paper has a report on famous-for-being-famous Paris Hilton. Apparently, Little Missy Hilton wants to go to Rwanda in Africa to devote her time to worthy causes. Is she going to pull a Simple Life stance at the Rwandan? I bet the rascally lass will! Paris would do anything for a spot of media publicity and I don't think she is genuine about anything in life. So there!

BEE MOVIE

NEW MOVIE TRAILER...

Hahaha! Good heavens! I just saw the trailer for the new movie, Bee Movie. It is hilarious and features Jerry Seinfeld's voice as an irreverent little bumbling bee in this animated movie. Looks like a sure winner to me! Check out the effective trailer at:

   
• Bee Movie

MYANMAR

NOTES ON POLITICS...

Oh dear, something terrible is brewing in Myanmar and the results are disturbing. Trying to follow the events on television can be frustrating though -- especially when stations like CNN keep looping scenes repeatedly to fill in for the duration of a commentary.

This is a tiresome habit that TV networks have adopted nowadays. As if in this day and age there could possibly be a shortage of footage! This act of repeatedly looping scenes actually works to demean the event being covered as viewers tend to get emotions that range from being bored to being just plain fed-up with seeing the same scene being "exploited" in loops by the networks.

For heaven's sake - use shots of the country's map or still photos while trying to fill in the time while a commentary is ongoing, along with video footages, of course, instead of looping scenes in a mind numbingly exploitative fashion (to sensationalise events for ratings' sake)!

BUT OF COURSE all the international TV stations are going to make use of this suggestion and not acknowledge that they got the idea from here! Sigh! So much for intellectual property protection!

ENCHANTED

NEW TRAILER...

Disney has a new movie called Enchanted... and it appears set to sit alongside the first Shrek movie and the classic Disney film, The Emperor's New Groove as a modern day retelling of fairy tales in a lovably irreverent style. (The second and third Shrek movies were a travesty and reflected the filmmakers' greed, if you want my opinion!)
Anyway, back to Enchanted, the actors seem to enjoy playing their roles in the trailer. Catch the trailer at this website:

   
• Enchanted

IRONMAN

NEW TRAILER...

That Robert Downey Jr sure has a lot of character. And that's why Ironman, the trailer for his new film looks like it is going to hit the boxoffice jackpot when it opens next year.
The trailer starts off ordinarily enough... the momentum picks up swiftly and expectations are set high! Looks like a visual delight, if you want my opinion.
The trailer is at this website:

   
• Ironman

DRAGON WARS

NEW TRAILER...

Oooh, just saw the trailer for Dragon Wars. I must say that it is going to appeal to all men (and women) who like computer games and fantasy flicks. Visually, it looks good, although the dragons do look kinda fakey! But who cares, I suppose, so long as the storyline does not suck big time and the actors don't give out performances worst than cardboards.
The trailer is at this website:

   
• Dragon Wars

BEOWULF

NEW TRAILER...

In the world of cinema, Robert Zemeckis is one of my biggest Hollywood heroes. For this reason I've been anticipating his adaptation of Beowulf and I just saw the trailer for Beowulf. It looks like an interesting movie -- but taking animation into the realm of drama? Seriously? Unless, the script is as strong as that of 300, Beowulf could turn out to be a joke though, I fear.

Again, everything rests on a good script. Check out the trailer here and see what you think of it:

   
• Beowulf

SEAN KINGSTON - Beautiful Girl

MUSIC VIDEO...

Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girl is a beautiful song. It is a loser anthem (not in any way meant to insult anyone - but merely to say that it is a song about a guy who is realistic about his slim chances with a girl!), but the neat little hook work wonderfully. And Sean is an unassuming kid -- not some "gangsta" pretender and this works to his advantage. The music video is also cleverly done, mixing retro scenes with modern day scenes of youngsters at a diner and making Sean out to be quite the suave young man that he obviously is!

NEW YORK TIMES

NEW YORK TIMES...

Aaah, it was music to my ears when I found out that the venerable New York Times will make all its content free on the Internet. Now, that is a true mark of progress and an advanced society! I imagine I shall now spend countless hours surfing the NYT website -- and printing tons of stuff to read as I am not one for reading oof the screen, though.

   
• New York Times

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY

MOVIE REVIEW...

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Ving
Rhames, Nick Swardson, Steve Buscemi, Dan Aykroyd

I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry is a simple and straightforward enough title. And as the title implies, it is a gay-themed movie about two men getting married.
AND since it is an Adam Sandler movie, you can bet that this is a comedy! Gay marriages are explored,
probed and laid bare in ways that are imaginably and sometimes unexpectedly funny for laughs.
In reliable Sandler-esque manner, the jokes are simple and straightforward for easy mass consumption.
But, surprisingly, although that should be the case, the film does have wobbly moments.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is not as easy to swallow at times (as you would imagine an Adam
Sandler comedy to be) because Sandler’s co-star in the film, Kevin James, is an unimpressive actor with limited comedic talent.
If a movie needs a good foil for the lead to be successful, then just think of James as mere tin foil - just so much noise and not engaging at all.
Because of this, when James’ character proposes the idea of a gay marriage-of-convenience to Sandler’s character, you are not even half convinced of the scatter-brained reasons the former gives for wanting a
gay marriage.
Phew! Knowing that, we must say that the movie otherwise mercifully does have its share of substantial funny-bone moments when Sandler has screen time, along with a collection of his trusty comedic nutcases.
This film is about carefree bachelor Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) and his recently widowed best friend Larry Valentine (Kevin James) who work as firemen.
When Larry saves Chuck in a building accident (yes, after a fire, of course), Larry “cashes in” the fact that he saved Chuck’s life and asks his best friend to participate in a sham gay marriage to cheat the government.
Of course, the government is on to these phoney gays and to escape being found out that they are not gay
(and risk losing their benefits plus gaining some jail time!), the two panic and up the ante in their gay game plan.
As with any Sandler movie, there is a beginning, middle and end to the gay deal.
In the beginning, the leads mock the gay life. It is all a joke for them. Then, in the middle, when they are caught in a conundrum, Chuck and Larry endorse the gay life and, at the end of it, having learned their cinematic lesson, the duo display heartfelt emphathy with the gay community.
In the process of all these, the theme of gay firemen is given a good ribbing, when the truth about some of Chuck and Larry’s colleagues is revealed.
Then, the classic Las Vegas quickie wedding is given an absolutely hilarious and side-splitting spin by Rob Schneider who plays an Asian Minister who marries off Chuck and Larry.
Faithful to Sandler’s irreverential nature, the dead are given no respect either, as Chuck takes to making fun of Larry’s dearly-departed wife a few times in the movie.
The running joke in the movie, and a good one it is too, is who is considered the “wife” in Chuck and
Larry’s marriage.
Of course, throwing sexual temptation into the path of the very heterosexual Chuck is Alex McDonoug (Jessica Biel), the lawyer the male couple engage to help them escape from the clutches of the truth-seeking government and its agents.
Biel, to her credit, plays Chuck’s unwitting temptress with a mixture of Pamela Anderson’s put-on-naivette and Cameron Diaz’s Something About Mary’s sense of unguarded fun -- thinking Chuck is gay, Alex spends her days doing various ‘girly’ things with Chuck.
Other supporting actors who make the movie watchable include Chuck and Larry’s boss, Captain Tucker (nicelyplayed by Dan Aykroyd); coming out of the closet fireman Duncan (Ving Rhames); and the nutty scam investigator Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buschemi).
For those who follow the entertainment news, a notable television star of yesteryear and a member of a boyband who are both out of the closet in real life make their appearances towards the third quarter of the film.
As for Chuck and Larry, you must be wondering: Do they continue with their farcical gay married life? Fans of Sandler - who is a very very big comedy star in Asia - should catch the film to find out.

ALAN GREENSPAN

ALAN GREENSPAN...

Alan Greenspan is my hero, nevermind that he is an octogenarian, and probably counts Imhotep as one of his peers.
The 81-year old was the Federal Reserve chairman in the US and it was fun observing him in action since he ascended in 1987 till his retirement on January 31 2006.

I think that it is cool that he gas garnered so many nicknames -- like, "serial bubble blower", and his term as Fed chairman being described as "Greenspan Fed".

NORTHERN ROCK

THE LAST WORD...

Northern Rock... NOT SOLID!!!

JANICE DICKINSON

JANICE DICKINSON...

Janice Dickinson is such a hoot. I would only describe her as a self-appointed-and-self-assessed-former-supermodel-based-on-her-own-hindsight-and-the-world-better-agree-with-Her-or-the-Lord(Lordess?!?)-have-mercy-on-us-all kind of woman. Her Janice Dickinson show is such a load of phoneyness that I sometimes am drawn to watching it for the sheer put-on drama and faked emotions. This reality show is made on a colour-by-the-cliches concept and, in a really really weird way, I am happy Janice Dickinson is laughing all the way to the bank. Just don't laugh too loud darling - your dentures might fall out or something.
Check out this interesting video from Janice Dickinson, where she mauls the classic 12 Days of Christmas. Hilarious stuff!

   
• Janice Dickinson on YouTube

LAY LOW

LAY LOW...

There I was having a quiet evening watching my favourite programme Euromaxx and the show had a segment on Lay Low, the Icelandic singer. Naturally I googled her and found her on YouTube.com singing Please Don't Hate Me. What can I say, it is an irresistible number (kind of like the White Stripes during their Elephant phase in 2003 -- although the band has become disgustinglly unlistenable in its newer works).
Lay Low exudes an irresistible charm. She is someone I will definitely keep an ear out for. Although young and new, I would put her on the same esteemed trajectory that I put Amy Winehouse in -- although colourful Mizz Wineshouse has a galaxy-load of character that mere mortals can only dream of. Sigh!

Check out the song, Please Don't Hate Me at the following link:

   
• Lay Low on YouTube

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2...

I have always admired the Disney company for its huge... nay, GIGANTIC outreach when it comes to playing up the hype machinery. But even I must confess that what the Disney company did to pull all the stops to promote High School Musical 2, the sequel to itsphenomenally successful High School Musical (2006), amazed me.
Anyone who has spent any time watching TV for the past few weekends could not haved possibly escaped the relentless promotions that were done for HSM2.
I won’t be surprised to hear that High School Musical 2 was the highest rated show on satellite/cable television in not only Malaysia but also the region this past weekend!
The flawless casting of actors who not only have the looks, but also the talent to sing and dance, is a very signature touch that Disney has always maintained for all its youth-directed productions, especially for its television programming.
Director Kenny Ortega has done a great job -- maintaining the youthful zest of the young cast and tapping their high energy for the demanding and very fast-paced musical numbers.
The show is based on the kids of a high school preparfing for their summer holidays. They break out into a song and dance routine at every opportunity.
Since Disney is synonymous with the good life, all the kids in the school manage to get work in a private club and this is where their friendships are tested and their dancing and singing skills are also put to the test.
The leads are two wholesome high school sweethearts Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens). Throwing a mild (faux) fur-coated spanner into their romance are the brother and sister Sharpay (Ashley Tisdaale) and Ryan Evans (Lucas Grabeel).
In the show, the Evans’ are filthy rich kids who weigh-in on the wrong end of the scale towards being spoilt-brats. Sharpay has a crush on Troy and schemingly wrecks the trust between Troy and Gabriella.
In the process, Sharpay also manages to strain Troy’s friendship with the rest of his highschool friends working at the private club where Sharpay’s parents are big shots.
But this is not Bollywood, so the melodrama can be easily stomached by audiences and the depressingly tiresome-plot twists of Bollywood’s low-end melodramas are expertly avoided.
The saddest that High School Musical 2 gets is when Gabriella belts out some poignant lyrics and makes a classy departure in a big car at night after work, leaving Troy to come to his senses and choose his friends over being blindsided by the glitz and glamour that Sharpay throws in his path.
Trus to the spirit of Disney productions, Troy of course comes to his senses by the time the last musical number pops up on the screen and the kids become friends. Sharpay reforms and all is well in God’s just world.

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND...

Everybody Loves Raymond! I am serious. It is true: everybody does love Raymond. It was always the highest rated show when it aired over television from 1996 to 2005. And it still remains fresh and watchable today.
Sure, we only get to see the reruns now. But anyone who watches the show would agree that the show is a classic and the jokes are still very, very funny today.
This classic sitcom stars Ray Romano as Raymond Barone, a sports writer. He is happily married to Debra (Patricia Heaton). Constantly waltzing into their lives is Raymond’s more-than-a-handful family which comprises his mother Marie (Doris Roberts); brother Robert (Brad Garrett); father Frank (Peter Boyle) and sister-in-law Amy (Monica Horan).
As a mother and mother-in-law, Marie is a juicy piece of work indeed. She is forever scheming and plotting to get the upper hand in her family. Doris Roberts plays Marie to a perfectly pitched and highly stereotypical Italian mother whom Raymond at times rebels against and whom Debra keeps at arms length, in case the old bag spits her priceless mother-in-law
venom into her eyes.
The beauty of Everybody Loves Raymond is the constant tension between speaking their minds against each other (as bickering family members always do) and still maintaining the invisible bond that comes along with blood ties is funny beyond words.
The recent episode had Raymond making a fool of himself as he tries to correct a social faux pas when he unwittingly insults a janitor. The janitor is Raymond’s sons’ playmate and the janitor becomes a hapless, trapped guest in the Barone household when he comes to pick up his son.
Safe to say, as guilt overcomes Raymond, he manages to put both feet into his politically incorrect mouth with a stupendous and alarming alacrity.
To make things worse, Raymond’s elderly parents enter the fray. Marie being the big busybody and hypocrite that she is, gets caught in her own politically incorrect words when her husband Frank rats on her and repeats the rude, stereotypical remarks the old woman had made earlier about the janitor. Frank, needless to say, is another priceless creation in the show thanks to his utter lack of tact and the abandonment of the concept of fatherhood. It’s every-man-for-himself with Frank, even when it involves his two sons Raymond and Robert!
Poor Debra, being caught in such a nutty family of in-laws, she is forced to unleash the occasional barbs that draw laughter. Confronted with a janitor who is increasingly uneasy with the way the Barone clan is unfolding around him on the one hand and the increasing level of political incorrectness that leap out of the mouths of her huband and his family, she snaps and describes her husband and his family as a bunch who deserve to be tagged as “the flying fauz pas!”
Needless to says, sometimes things end unresolved in the show, but the last sound you will hear is your own laughter as the credits roll.