FoOie’s Haven

Yup, the title says it all.

Malaysia Today - The website of the famous/infamous Raja Petra Kamaruddin and all things conspiratorial/blatantly honest/sarcastic about the ridiculous state of Malaysian Politics - just got hacked a few hours ago (it was fine when I was reading it earlier in the morning about Anwar’s sodomy case)

Says it was hacked by gasakdotnet.. which leads to this page:

Whois trace on the domain didn’t return anything conclusive.

The IMG of the poster on the hacked site, was pulled from this political blog:

http://kickdefella.wordpress.com (I’m not gonna link to it)

I wonder which of one of our increasingly Internet savvy politicians (or their wives) had a hand in this.. To my knowledge, this isn’t their first time getting hacked (what to do, with so many powerful enemies around, or their hundreds of thousands of pageviews per day)

Other political sites (non BN/UMNO factions eg. Malaysiakini), it’s time to either jack up your security, or be next on the hit list…

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry, being a part of this country.. hahaha..

A supposed ‘Gilagathering‘ that didn’t quite occur, but ended having literally everyone else showing up there instead…

Was the first time I heard Giant Timeline perform a full set without Elvira as their main singer. They sound fantastic with their blend of contemporary instrumental jazz.

Giant Timeline

L-R : Nic, Andrea & Tanya

L-R : Merryantz & Tsue

L-R : Nish, Tanya & Stella

Altered Frequency

A pretty decent young rock band, the sort of stuff I would have loved listening to if I shaved 5-10 years off my age. Charismatic vocalist with strong stage presence.

L-R : Faz, Daniel & GF (Cassiemarie)

Tokyo Blues

Another instrumental jazz band, although quite emo with their starting slow number. Wasn’t really focusing much on their performance though. Didn’t stay for the last 2 bands either.. lepaked with Tsuie and Mari-N at the cafe next door for some catching up. The rest of you ‘Gilagangers‘ better show up at the next gathering! haha..

Completely forgot to take photos of Chin Li, Ziet, Choon Lam, Farouk, Laura + others that night!

Night Swim

Went for a late swim after work with Jacq, Fei and Anthony at their condo..

Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, See No Evil.. (I’m the Do No Evil behind the camera)

Me and Anthony

Playing with an underwater camera was fun! Now if only I played less and swam more (I can’t swim very well and I need the practice)… So next time anyone wants to go swimming, gimme a call! I’ll bring my camera haha…

Night up at Genting

Spent an evening up at Genting as Jacq had free rooms. There was supposed to be a bigger group, but Fei’s friends didn’t have transport to come up at the last minute, so it ended up with just the 4 of us..

After a bout of massive shopping from the ladies at First World, we went down to Gohtong Jaya for dinner. Approximately one year ago, I was here for the first time with Jacq. Now we’re back here at the same spot with the same dishes..

Fei with the frog soup and deep fried pork lard with onions..

Went back up to chill (literally in the cold) at Starbucks..

FoOie

L-R: Jacq, Ui Hua and Fei

We played taboo, chillax-ed somemore, and came back down at 6 in the morning…

Besides Hulk, which I reviewed here, I’ve been heading to the movies a bit to catch up on some of the bigger blockbusters of the season. Here are my most recent 4..

Made of Honor (2008)

• The movie’s plotline is soooooo overused, there aren’t any surprises left. Guy falls for girl, girl finds someone else then guy realizes his mistakes and tries to win her back. Having a generic plot was the least of the worries though, as the script was poorly written, with a lot of shallow undertones.
• Shallow why? Because everything was so convenient and typical. Michelle Monaghan’s character was just so fickle. She jumps between moods, and doesn’t know what she wants. Patrick Dempsey’s role was more believable though. I don’t even have to warn you how cliche the ending was.
• Movie had some intelligent wit, but could have done very well without the STUPID humor which Americans must so love. Please, PLEASE remove that silly loser basketball dude - he wasn’t funny, he was just lame - laughing at lameasses isn’t my idea of fun in a romantic comedy. And the wtf glow-in-the-dark Thunderbeads.. sigh.. Wrong movie guys!
• Honestly, just an excuse to capitalize on Patrick Dempsey’s soaring popularity. Girls will flock here just to watch McDreamy exude his charisma - and that he does.. Just too bad Michelle Monaghan wasn’t as attractive or charming.
• Since I went in with near zero expectations, it wasn’t really too bad (I can name many worse ones). Oh yeah, the name for this movie made absolutely no sense and was just a lousy play on words. Now gimme a MissDreamy!

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull (2008)

• I’m a HUGE fan of Indiana Jones, having watched and rewatched the first 3 movies countless times, and playing all of the PC adventure games. It was one of those childhood things that shaped my life and made me into the adventure freak I am now, so you can imagine my anticipation while awaiting this 4th instalment..
• Steven Spielberg actually managed to recapture the Indy magic, with plenty of over-the-top fun filled action moments and the playful interaction between the characters. Full credits also goes to Harrison Ford (who doesn’t seem like he’s aged much at all) and Shia LaBeouf for pulling off their roles with plenty of attitude and gusto.
• It’s just too bad the whole plot was the weakest link in the movie. Alien crystal skulls and flying saucers.. puhlease! Mr. Lucas, if you wanted to do a sci-fi film, please stick to your Star Wars. The extremely cliched sci-fi aspect of Indiana Jones 4 insulted my intelligence - the first cardinal rule any good movie should never break.
  Indy : “Where’d they go? Into space?”
  Professor Oxley : “Not into space… into the space between spaces.”
  *ARGGHHH.
• Much much more campy lines screwed it up for me too. Maybe audiences (like me) nowadays expect something a little more smarter than what was used before, but I’m sure even the previous movies weren’t this lame.
• Come on Indy, where’s your whip! Also particularly loved the many references to past characters in Indy’s life.
• Overall, it’s still a great entertaining action romp - but probably also one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

Iron Man (2008)

• Tonnes of praise has been heaped on Iron Man, with many claiming it’s the best superhero movie to date.. I beg to differ though. Batman Begins still beats Iron Man flat anyday for me, but that’s because I prefer darker, grittier, and harsher films than these usual colourful comic adaptations.
• Don’t mind me, Iron Man is still a pretty top notch film, with Robert Downey Jr. doing an amazing job as the billionaire genius Tony Stark. There was simply very little not to like about the movie.
• The supercool suit has the capabilities to defy the laws of physics, but I’ll let that slide.. I thought the way he flew was a little sissyfying though - like a ballerina.
• Was that Gwyneth Paltrow? Shit she was way out of her normal roles by playing the subservient, cute, faithful Pepper Potts - and was pretty dang hot to boot.
• My only real gripe was on the one-dimensional aspect of the villains. As stated earlier, Iron Man is still too ’safe’ - the terrorists didn’t feel like terrorists, I didn’t feel shock over the loss of life, nor much emotion over the drama either. Give me some blood!
• And then all the dropped hints at sequels, or Nick Fury appearing after the credits - well, we are all patiently waiting for more..

The Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian (2008)

• Watched this only because I am a big fantasy fan, and actually went into the hall with very low expectations (I found The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe awful)
• True enough, it was disappointing - but surprisingly better than the first for me.
• All the kids are a little older now, blossoming into well, possible future stars (good looks not withstanding). However, their on screen characters are still terribly immature, and annoying.. *whine whine pout pout*. How the heck does anyone even find them remotely respectable as heroes?
• Much of the plot was childish, but then again, its derived from a children’s book.
• Special effects were pretty spectacular though, especially near the end.
• *SPOILER ALERT* What’s up with Aslan saving the day? It’s like, all hope is lost, and suddenly there’s an unexplained miracle out of the blue. That bloody lion is supposed to be dead! Yeah yeah, I understand the whole Christian allegory, but still - it’s a little too convenient for my tastes (just as it is with all religion).

Got invited to a little friendly gathering at Zouk Velvet Underground to celebrate Aizat’s friend Simay’s birthday. I’m not much of a clubbing guy to begin with, preferring raves, but how could I say no to a chance to loosen up (I needed it) and meet some new people in the process?

*Well I REALLY did let loose that night, no thanks to some awesome house that was played - just my kinda music, even drinking a bit, when I usually don’t/can’t drink and that the dance floor wasn’t cramped to kingdomcome but I unfortunately didn’t really meet many new people that night haha..

L-R : Simay & Jacq

Yumm!

L-R : FoOie, Calvin & Aizat

L-R : FoOie & The 2 Sisters

Aizat tried getting Fei drunk that night, but I tell you, that girl CAN DRINK. Poor Aizat emptied his wallet, and Fei just remained unfazed and not even flushed.. haha..

Taken while driving on the way for some supper..

The intercom actually buzzed asking me for my order! Those bloody jokers at McDs haha..

Retired to Jacq’s place to lepak (5+am), where I dropped like a log..

Fei sent a really sweet SMS after everything though:

“Heys hope you’re homesafe! I know I shouldn’t have kept you up so late but it’s one of those nights to remember, prolly cos I rarely do this. And I appreciate you being part of this! So sleep tight tonight It has been a great night. Nightynight!”

Fei, except for the first 4 words (since I know you are already home safe), I could say the EXACT SAME THINGS back to you. Despite having to wake up in 3 hours time for work, the fun we had was well worth it. Cheers guys!