Oh Sleep! I Need!

Took virtually an entire week off last week and only came back to work on Monday. Well, if ya wondering why i said "virtually", here's the reason - network service migration. Company decided to cut cost and upgrade the network connectivity performance all at one go by globally signing on to the BT (British Telecom) bandwagon. Had to cancel one day from my leave. Still got about 40% of data cleanup and entry to do that i bitched about from my previous post below.

I dunno about the rest, i find the best way for me to relax is to sleep, eat and sleep summore (beside watching movies and killing some terrorists with my PS3). Literally spend my days at home with only a few outings to my cousin's place in Damansara. Took my mum to visit his family as he has just got his early x'mas present - his 2nd son. Congrat Stan J! Hope the baby and S.L - the 2nd time mum, will be healthy.

Funnily enough, drop by Ikea as me mum wanted to shop for some stuff for the house to prepare for the rapidly approaching Chinese New Year - end of January. Feels weird to prepare for it since Christmast is still a week away. Have to confess, i only had the stupendously good Ikea hotdogs every single time i visited Ikano Power Center. Well, since me mum was with me, decided to have lunch at the restaurant in Ikea. Not bad at all, the food in there. Had the vegetarian pasta and the leg of chicken with 2 bottles of mineral water for about 19 bucks.

Had a game of field footie last Saturday in Kajang against a bunch of great guys from St Katherine's Church. Needless to say the MyRAWK boys was as "muhibah" as usual with a team of Malay, Chinese and Indian boys playing together. We won the exciting match 2-3 with the wining goal scored very near to the end of the game. I played as a left back in the first 25 mins before i gave way to the others to play. Was a good work out as them boys from St. Kath's can really run!

That sums up my entire last week. Gotta get back to work sloggin it out on me keyboard again to finnish up me work. Till then. Enjoy the live performance of Coldplay's Chinese Sleep Chant - a hidden song from the new Viva La Vida album.

End of the year, holiday mood is here, but i'm as busy as ever!

Been a hell of a fortnight for me and it's not gonna go any easier anytime soon. When everyone is happily clearing their leave for this year by going on a holiday, i'm freaking stuck staring at my notebook screen for at least 10 hours a day for at least another 2 weeks. I'm trying to finish up the last minute dash to clean up my office's database to prepare for a migration to a new system scheduled for 2010.

That single paragraph literally summed up my life or lack of it for the past 2 weeks. Hence, i ain't got much to work with in terms of coming up with an interesting topic for me blog. The last thing in me head now is to blog as frankly i'm getting tired of looking at the lcd screen of me notebook day-in, day-out. I need a freaking break before i go bonkers and beserk.

Well, since my supported club - Liverpool ain't doing too good and not exactly giving me much joy, it's been a pretty frustrating time for me. Originally planned to got for a week's worth of rest next week and a few more days after x'mas, my plans are basically wrecked unless by some devine intervention, i can miracalously complete my data entry and cleaning up process for the database.

Until that happends, the only fun i'm gonna have is a few games of futsal and this weekend's trip to watch the Liverpool "Legends" play in the Football Master's Malaysia Cup. Well, that's if you can consider the "Spice Boys" as legends. The only legend i'd say is Ian Rush and Nigel Spackman in the team sheet.

Well, time for me to slog it out with my notebook again to complete my work. Till then, enjoy ya holiday trips and have fun, but pls take good care of yourself especially with the recent spat of violence and protest overseas.

-JonC-

First Futsal Tournemant with MyRAWK - The Aftermath!

3 somersaults and 2 carpet burns later, it was finally over. The rag-tag team from MyRAWK has survived the last minute training and our first ever futsal competition. I was playing for the Team B guys (wearing white) and we lost both our preliminary game - one due to our inexperience and naivety (1-3), while the other was because we couldn't cope up with the stamina of a national league level Afican team (0-2).

The other team sent out by MyRAWK, Team A did a lot better than us as they are our main team with better, fitter and younger players. They won against a local team (2-1), draw (1-1) against a top level African team and finally lost out to the another African team (the same one that beat us earlier) in the last 16 knock-out stage with a score of 2-4. They were so close to qualifying for the quarters and was leading most of the match but just lack the extra steam to hold on till the end to prevent the Africans from scoring.

Considering the fact that we had trained for barely one month+ and hardly with a full team, we did pretty well but ultimately the lack of training & fitness did us in. We were jokingly saying how we will be thrashed by those national level teams and Africans but much to our credit, we held together as a team and fought hard to ensure we walked out with our heads held high and kept the scoreline respectable.

All of us kept cheering each other on through out the match and were easily the most boisterous bunch of guys in the futsal center. When we played the African teams, we could see all the local teams and spectator were cheering us on. We were also the only "muhibbah" team in the tournement, we have Malays, Chinese and Indian playing for MyRAWK. It was great to get feed back from a friend that the organisers were very happy with our participation - we were "fun, noisy, boisterous and friendly."

It was sort of a vindication to the bunch of guys that had worked so hard to make MyRAWK what it is today. We do not need to be egoistic and act like a bully to form a group to represent LFC fans. Being friendly and open to anyone and everyone will win eventually win us more respect and goodwill from all football loving fans. Walk On lads!

Team A (red): Mike (captain), Kelvin, Jaz, Randolph, Tony, Rizal, Ben & Allan

Team B (white): Will (captain), Syam, Steven, Bul, Alvin, Nyana, Ming & Jon

-JonC-

The sacrifice i do for futsal.

Been a pretty crazy 2 weeks or so for me - not much in term of work (logistics industry slowing down due to the lackluster American economy causing the usually busy Christmas season to be quiet) but because of futsal. Been training hard for a competition and trying to loose more weight to gain my stamina and pace back.

I've been finding it hard to keep pace with the 2 hours training session twice a week. Well, my recovery power ain't exactly the same as when i was in my 20's and the fact that i just play futsal casually once a week is not helping my cause one lil bit. Been having pretty bad feeling about the competition as i do not like to join any with out proper training (only trained one month prior to it - no where near ideal preparation) and not knowing your opponents. My worst fears are confirmed when i was told there will be teams with African and Middle Eastern players - they are big, fast, skillful and physical.

I am not looking forward to waking up this coming early Saturday morning and drag my arse out of bed to go to Kajang for the competition. Well, everyone's been saying we need to be positive and take it as a team. Well, if you know futsal and the team enough like me, then its easier said then done. Looks like it's the famous "park ya team bus in front of goal" approach for us and hope to gain something by counter attacking to nick a goal or two.

So much for the church organised friendly competition and this thing is getting serious. Well, i will be praying for devine intervention to see us through to at least the knockout stages inorder to not make an arse out of ourselves and the sponsor on our shirts. If there's ever a footballing god, we'll need all your help!

-JonC-

US Presidental Elections: The world, not only US needs Obama!

After 8 years of "cowboy" politics courtesy of one Texan ego-maniac, it's time for a "Change We Need" - the "we" being the whole world and not only the US. I've personally been a keen follower of the Democrats - home to 2 of my biggest political heroes - John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Both are absolute brilliant politicians who was way ahead of their times and unfortunately died way too young. They left behind an uncertain world that needed their strong leadership qualities. I personally believe that if they had lead the US in the 60's, we would be seeing a different world that we're seeing today.

I'm hoping and expecting Obama to win this election. With due respect to McCain who is a good politician and servant to the US over the years - including his time as a POW in Vietnam, i have absolutely no confidence in the people surrounding him, especially Sarah Pallin. I think she's your typical Redneck that talk too much and do even less. The world and US needs a new President who will lead US and ultimately the whole world out of this economic turmoil and endless conflicts. I do not see how the Republicans in their current form and state can do that.

Anyways, checkout the 2-mins short film titled Wazzzup.....2008 that i caught through the Kueeen's (el terrorista's wife) blog below. It truly sums up the current situation in US very well.


I'll be tuning in to CNN throughout the day to check on the results. I sincerely hope this US elections will be as monumental as the one we, Malaysians had in 8th March.

On Top Of The World?

LFC is on top with a 3 points cushion and won against 2 of the top 4 teams. Things are certainly looking rosy right? Well, not exactly. I'd personally say it's still way too early to be thinking about being crowed as the champion. The EPL is notoriously famous for its punishing schedules in the X'mas holiday period when all other leagues in Europe are on their winter break. Imagine at mid season, you have 2 games to play in 3 days and in the cold / snow. This will definitely seperate the men from the boys.

I'd say we're in the perfect position (not certain) to push for no.19 this season as there are ample of signs that we have the full package to finally nail it down - ugly wins, lucky wins, come backs and a seemingly good team spirit & belief. There's also a difference to the way the gaffer is approaching the games this season - he is taking more risk by putting in more offensive subs. Results of this shift in mindset - to win rather than sit back for a draw, are there to see as we're are actually winning matches that we will definitely draw in the past few seasons under him. There is also a lot less rotation this season and it only happens to protect injured or jaded players.

After nearly 5 seasons, has he finally got the team right? Has the constant tinkering stopped? Well, i've got no answer to these questions as only the gaffer himself can answer them. What is clear is, we've finally got the kind of squad depth that he's been talking of since a couple of seasons ago. We definitely have a more settled side with players that look a lot more cohesive and have better understanding of their roles in the team. I'm happy to see we're not the bunch of headless chickens running around anymore like last season when we were constantly shooting ourselves in the foot with the crap footie we were playing.

How far can we go this time round? I wouldn't want to know and predict at this time. The road to no. 19 does look a lot less bumpy but knowing how fast things can go awry with trouble just round the corners, i'll be happy as long as we keep winning matches and see where it will take us. I am not looking to much into the league table and will only look at thing one game at a time. Seen my fair share of disappointments over the years to know its suicidal to over hype our good form and be over confident.

It's still too early with just 9 games played out of 38. Till then, i'll just sit back, enjoy the football and hope i don't pull out all my hair with the dramatic last minute wins by end of the season. Hopefully by then, no.19 is safely back in Anfield and locked up in the trophy room.

To all those who had lost someone you loved, cherished and held dear to your heart.

This song / video is dedicated to everyone who has lost someone close to your heart and especially to my mother and my late father.

Fix You, Coldplay:
When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
COULD IT BE WORSE?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

Health Ministry Warning: Supporting Liverpool Football Club Is Detrimental To You Health!

For all the excitement from the last minute come back wins that LFC have been pulling out of the rabbit's hat, they certainly aren't good for the faint-hearted supporters. I personally think, i'll bloody stop watching footie by the time i hit 50. I lost count how many times i've nearly pulled all my hair out in frustration of the crap we're dishing out only to be led into a period of gut wrenching and cardio working last few minutes of football.

We're on a roll for come back wins and have duly been tagged as the "Come Back Kings" but i'm convinced that the roll won't go on longer. Lady luck is a fickle minded and hard to understand phenomenon, soon she'll leave us in the lurch if we keep on coming back from the brink of death. We need to be wining games from the start and not do it 1o mins + injury time from the end.

I bet the cardiologist and heart specialist in Liverpool and all over the world for that matter, will have an increasing number of visits from Mighty Reds fans with cardio problems. Well, who can blame 'em? If we keep this up, please don't be surprised i'll soon join the queue.

Anyhow, Walk On and let's hope our school boy defending will stop the PES2009 / Fifa09 like free-scoring Chelsea attack, this coming Sunday nite - 9:30pm! Btw, pls take note that the MyRAWK boy will be organising a special event gathering inconjunction with this top-of-the-table clash. Check out My-RAWK.com for more details on the freebies and prizes that will be given away. See ya there!

-JonC-

15 Things You Might Not Know About Me

I got tagged by one of me blogging mates; Kerp after i had a ball of a time reading to his hilarious list. Was rather intrigued by Ms. Senorita's scandalous and naughty list too ;0) So here's my list that might bore you or scare you. Muahahahahahaha! Just to be different, i'm gonna do it backwards.

15 - Was a pretty succesful sprinter when i was in me early teens until a serious knee injury put paid to my running carrier. That was the start of my "sick-note" and injury laden sporting life.

14 - Have never lit a cigarette or "the good stuff" in my entire life but drank me first beer / stout at around 10 - thanks to me god brothers.

13 - Dislike gambling and pretty much most other vices except sex and footie ;0)

12 - Not the only child in the family as i had a younger sister who passed away in an accident when i was about 5 or 6 years old - about 25 years ago.

11 - I look up to John Fitzgerald Kennedy as my hero in life.

10 - Started being anti-establishment by about 9 or 10 thanks to me DAP supporting dad.

9 - I like like watching chick flicks and believe in happy endings. Yes i am hopelessly emo. :0P

8 - Was naive enough to think i would get married and start a family by 28 years old.

7 - Read me first porn mag at about 11 and watch me first porn by 12. Beat that!

6 - I dig chicks with shorter hair. *Hint to any future chicks i might date.

5 - I've only ever dated about 5 women and went steady with about 2 of 'em. Hehehehe, yes i am THAT choosy.

4 - Lost count of how many sexual fantasies i had, unlike you Kerp!

3 - Hate reading except maybe porn or footie mags and war stories or books about military equipments.

2 - Used to wear hand-me-down SCUM t-shirts from a cousin when i was ignorant and younger.

1 - I like boobies too!

*on request of ms. senorita..... maybe i should change no. 1 to.... i like to be teased by scantily clad woman in her lingerie or maybe in a secretary outfit complete with glasses rather than one who is totally naked. Blame the damn Jap AV porn! :0P

4 Bottles Of Johnny Walker: Black Label and 2 Buckets of Carlsberg Later, I Can't Figure Out If I'm 31 or 13.

It was an eventful weekend for me as i celebrated my 31st or was it 13th birthday. All is still a blur to me at the moment, hence the title above. I am still in a daze and having migraine due to lack of sleep and way too much alcohol consumed in the space of 2 days. So much for my intimate dinner and small gathering plans, it's was gonna be a pretty hectic and crazy weekend!

The whole thing started with a 2 hours session of futsal with the MyRAWK and LYN boys in PJ on Saturday evening. But, before that even begun, i had to endure a bad and weird traffic jam on my way towards the futsal place. If getting there was have the "fun," then, am i in for a big surprise! The rest of the boys couldn't make it in time as the traffic was bad enough and the roads were treacherous due to VERY bad visibility because of the heavy down pour. I swear i could see cats and dogs raining from up above! I could hear pipes and metal things getting flung around at the futsal place as there was a construction site next to the parking lot where i parked my car. We started playing at around 4:45 pm instead of the expected time of 3:30 pm - that really fooked up my already hectic schedule that originally gave me only 30 minutes to clean up and head back over to Klang.

Well, if ya wondering what's with the rush - i was supposed to meet up with my colleagues in Neway, Centro Klang at 6pm for karaoke and buffet dinner. I ended up showing up only at about 7:45pm after the footie ended at 6:45 pm. I also had to endure another traffic jam heading back to "Par Sang." Was bloody tired and hungry by then and was in panic mode as i feared i was not going to make it for the buffet only to realise later that the buffet ends only at 11 pm. But anyway, managed to ask one of my colleagues to keep some food for me just in case.

Not long after i arrived, the scary sight of 4 bottles of Black Label suddenly hit me. Shit! I'm in for a torrid night. There we about 15 of us and only about 12 of us that drank. Luckily, i paced myself and did not mix the booze with soft drink but only with plan water. I was not the biggest victim of the night though, as 3 of my other colleagues could hardly walk by the time the havoc was over at around 12:30 am. I was a 'lil light headed up till the near the end, until i was ask to do a chaser with a shot followed by beer. Thank goodness it kicked in only after i reach home - head was spinning but still managed to catch the 1st half of the WC Qualifiers - England vs Kazakhstan before i dozed off on me couch. Woke up next morning only to find out that i've got cake smeared all over me face, hair, shirt and jeans thanks to my colleagues.

The best surprised came when a good friend of mine showed up with a "gift" at my door step around lunch time yesterday - technically i did pay for the darn thing in the first place. It was the Onkyo TX-805 home theater amp that i had traded in my older hi-fi stuff for. I was grinning ear to ear while still in a state of blurness. Hooked up the bad-boy and had a bit of trouble setting it up before i put on Celine Dion's A New Day blu-ray ( yes i know it pretty lame, but you gotta admit her Las Vegas show was awesome!) Only had time to test out the new toy for a bit before i had to rush over to USJ for a friend's open house that was supposed to start at 5 pm.

While i was on my way there, had another big big surprised in the form of a long distance phone call from a dear friend and el-terrorista's wife in NZ (thanks ya! Really appreciate ya call all the way from down under) Met up my Friday night futsal gang there and we chatted and laughed till about 8 pm before 5 of us adjourned to Station1 in Taipan to have a few beers to celebrate my birthday. It was hard trying to down the 2 buckets of beers we ordered as all of us were stuff to the brim with the good food and countless cups of strawberry tea. Well, when guys gather and don't talk about sports, can ya guess whats the main topic was? Hehehehe, it was male bonding time. We finally left around 11:30 pm.

By the time i reached home, i was totally exhausted and extremely tired. Been a hell of a hectic weekend and it's been a while since i did so much running around. The excessive amount of alcohol still intoxicating my head and the tiredness, finally did me in this morning, as i have to call my office for a 1/2 day leave. Still suffering from migraine as i type this entry and so if ya find there's tonnes of typos, ya know the reason why. Irregardless, it was a kick-arse weekend! So thank you and hats off to all of you gals and guys who help made my 31st birthday a blast. I really appreciate all your good wishes and company.

Viva la Vida, Coldplay - Can't get the tune outta me head!

This is the tune that's been stuck to me clueless brain basically the whole freaking week. Not ya average sounding rock song i'd add. Catchy tune bordering on the pop side with great string arrangements. That single drum beat is simple and yet effective. Btw, the video above is the 2nd version directed by Anton Cobijn as homage to Depeche Mode ( remember their Enjoy The Silence video by the same director?).

Well, who needs blaring guitars and furious drum lines when Coldplay can come out with songs like this. ;0) Besides being good "copy cats" in using other people's tune for some of their songs; Fix It (based on Elbow's - Grace Under Pressure) and Talk (melodies from 80's electro band, Kraftwerk - Computer Love Melody), Chris Martin aka Mr Gwyneth Paltrow do have some flashes of a musical genius.

Being an 80's music freak, i can see so much similarity between his singing style to A-Ha's lead singer, Morten Hacket - the falsetto voice and U2's signature "Infinite Guitar" sounds. The band themselves admitted they were inspired by the two mentioned bands. I've been a fan of their music since their debut album - Parachutes, which is still their best album in my books. Favourite tracks from that album was Trouble, Shiver and of course Yellow. Their second album - A Rush Of Blood To The Head was pretty good too with notable tracks like Clock and The Scientist. Their 3rd album - X & Y, sort of see them loose their way a 'lil and too U2 sounding to my liking, but it did spawn 3 big hits for them - Speed of Sound, Fix You and Talk ( the last 2 are my favourite).

Their latest album; Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, still sound like U2 (the producer was Brian Eno, the same guy who produced U2's monumental The Joshua Tree album) but tweaked with more of their own personality. I find the use of the string arrangement to be refreshing and something new compared to their signature piano and guitar sounds. Besides the singles: Violet Hill and Viva la Vida, there's a few more tracks worth checking out like Lovers in Japan and the hidden track - China Sleep Chant.

Just my 2 cents on Coldplay, which might turn out to be too "soft" for some of ya hard rocking dudes. Well, i've never been known to go for those really hard stuff anyway. ;0) AD, just thought i expend on our comments on the band in my previous posting a 'lil through this entry.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Dan Batin

I wish all me Muslim friends a "Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Dan Batin." Those on the way back to their kampung or on the way home to KL please drive safe. Looking forward to hanging out at all ya open houses! Muahahahaha. ;0)

On a more personal note, its been a pretty boring Raya for me with one one single excursion outta me home for my best mate's open house do in USJ on the 1st day of Raya - his house specialty was an awesome Laksa Johor. Otherwise it has been a quiet holiday and best of the lot, a cost saying one too. Watching Champs League footie and sleeping was basically all i did. Hehehehe.

Still in a holiday mood and am blardee lazy to work. Been doing nothing but stare at me notebook; checking up on news and reading up on blogs the whole morning. Got a couple of reports to do but what the heck, still day dreaming about lemang, rendang, ketupat and kuah kacang. Thingking about 'em goodies just made me hungry again!

Geeeez! It's gonna be a loooooooonnnnnnnnggggg day before office hour finnishes at 5:30 pm!

*Editted - Found my salvation to preserve my sanity till the end of the day - Coldplay! Imagine me nodding me head to their music in front of my colleagues with my headphones on.

RPK in Hotel Kamunting.

RPK has been sent over to the dreaded Hotel Kamnunting under the draconian ISA - he is in solitary confinement. When the guilty are running free with just a slap on the hands, it is those who strive to expose the wrong doing and the truth that are punished. What kind of a society is the government trying to potray us Malaysian as? It's a disgrace we call ourselves a developing country - the only thing we're developing into is a chaotic mess run by a bunch of corrupt and moral-less jokers.

Check out the article from themalaysianinsider.com: Long day's journey into the night for RPK and family

Pls click on the link to read. I will not post it here as the article is pretty long but it'll pick the part that struck me the most:

According to Marina, there is a very thick wall inside the camp. On one side of the wall is the block holding the isolated detainees; on the other side, another block holds detainees who are allowed to mingle and watch TV.

The only glimmer of sunshine for the renowned writer before his family visit was hearing shouts from beyond the wall. Apparently, the voices belonged to some members of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) who were also arrested under the ISA last year when they held a protest march in downtown Kuala Lumpur demanding the long-forgotten rights of ethnic Indian citizens.

"He told me he heard them screaming 'Raja, we know you're here. We just saw you on TV with your wife.' That was his only way of keeping updated on what's going on in the world outside," related Marina.

Her husband's greatest worry, she said, was that three months down the road, the public would have forgotten his existence.

"He told me, 'Please tell them not to forget me'," Marina said, before excusing herself to attend a meeting with the lawyers on filing a new application against her husband's detention."

Well, rest be assured RPK, those who oppose the opression against fighters like you who seek for a better and just Malaysia will never be forgotten. Your incarceration will not be in vain. Freedom beckons for you, the Hindraf 5 and the rest unjustly detained in Hotel Kamunting once PR forms the government.

Merseyside Derby ! Another Special Event Brought To You By MyRAWK.

The first Merseyside derby of the season is upon us. We'll playing Neverton in their own backyard - Goodison Park. In conjunction with this, the MyRAWK boys will be organising another special event gathering. This time we're back to our own familiar watering hole - M Bar. The event starts at 6:45pm and first 40 early birds will be entitled to free finger food. As usual, there be some prizes to give away through quizzes and a guess-the-score thingy.

So head on over to join in the fun! ;0)

Teresa Kok - Free At Last!

After a week of ISA detention no thanks to lies, Teresa is released at 1pm today. Thanks goodness for that. Teresa - what don't kill you and break you will only make you stronger. Keep on fighting for the Rakyat. WE know who is working to make Malaysia a better place for all. WE also know who are the culprits working to divide us.

We, The Rakyat Demand A Government By The People, For The People!

When the going get tough, the tough gets going!

Much has been said about 916, and it has passed by with just a couple of press conferences and of course the customary back and forth allegations by both sides. Maybe the biggest news within the period was SAPP's showing of its middle finger to BN and saying " see ya laters - sucka!" to them.

In all honesty, i was not putting on much hope for the take-over to go ahead on the stipulated date. Just had this uncanny feeling the rotten and corrupted-to-the-core goons still in power will not go down so tamely with out a dirty handed fight. Then again, what is new? Scare-mongering tactics is part and parcel of their aging arsenal of political tricks and show-boating. In the age of information technology, i just can't understand why they are still so hell bent on using propaganda that is such a fooking cliche and taboo - we aint no 3 year olds no more.

I truly believe majority of us fellow Malaysian are mature enough to see through our racial, religious and cultural differences. As different as we are, we have 3 basic common goals - equal opportunity (not only for those rich, elite or well connected hiding behind affirmative actions - that includes shameless chinese who use back doors to work with the umnoputras to rob the country'c coffers), justice - no detention without trial, and rule of law - we want a more secure and safe Malaysia free from corruption.

Religion is not as sensitive as scare-mongers made it to be - NO religion in the world will teach the followers to be corrupt, disrespectful to others and be racists bigots. Those who are faithful, irregardless of Muslims, Buddhists / Taoists, Hindus and Christians, are taught to be respectful of each other and how to be a better person. The higher being up above enlightened all of us with simple words of wisdoms to lead us to the right path but that was twisted and wrongly intrepreted by some mare mortals like us, hell bent on using GOD's words for their own gain. This kind of people, to me are worst than the devil. As long as we understand that ultimately, all religion teaches us to be better and more righteous, the non-sense issues brought by those irresponsible people will be irrelevant and will only serve to put egg on their own face.

Knowledge is power - we cannot afford to be caught up in our own shell or cocoon anymore. We have to break all the stereotype associated with the Malays, Chinese, Indian, Kadazans, Ibans and the other races living under the Malaysian sky. It's been 51 years since independence, it's sad to see how close all of us are but at the same time still see how small difference that can be ironed out through talks and more understanding can devide us by so much. Start to mingle around with your fellow Malaysians- spread the muhibbah spirit. Stop being hypocrites by sticking to your own kind and accuse the others of being racists. Open up your mind, your eyes and your heart - we are all the same, we are born in Malaysia and we are the loyal subjects of the Agung. Do NOT let anyone tell you otherwise.

We have to work together to regain back the Malaysia we KNOW - a beautiful country with abundance of resources. I have to use the old cliche - one stick is easy to break, but when you bound a bunch together, it be harder and quite possibly impossible to break them (unless you have super powers). Inorder to achieve this, ALL of us need to do some soul searching and answer this simple but hard question - what do we ultimately want for Malaysia? I bet you majority would have the same answer. So let's wake up and work together not against each other. Change our mindset and mentality. Break the stereotype.

Winds of change have been blowing since 8th March, let's turn it into a cyclone to blow the corrupted and "dirty" from Putrajaya and start a new. Change is coming sooner or later. Till then lets hold on tight and see how long more the jokers can keep on entertaining us Malaysian with their thin veil threads and "sandiwara."

I might sound like a broken record playing the same old tune. But, i'd gladly do it all again as long as Malaysia becomes the great country it is destined to be.

13 Sept - A Great Day for LFC Fans, But A DARK DARK Day For Malaysia

As i heard the news of the ISA arrests while in the midst of helping setup the MyRAWK gathering. I felt a sense of deja vu - Ops Lalang all over again! I was shocked by the arrests: why catch the cat when the rat is scot free? The arrest of the Sin Chew reporter on the pretext of "protection" was utter bullshit and nonsense. If thats the kind of lies the government resorts to, inorder to justify the draconian ISA law, then i am well and truly sadened by the already sad state of the legislation and governence of Malaysia. The whole country is run by incompetant and self-centered fools.

What made me really dumb-folded was the arrest of Teresa Kok, Selangor state-exco member, MP for Seputeh and ADUN for Kinrara. How the fook those allegations of her getting involve in the petition to stop the Azan prayer by a mosque, came about is a bloody scandal in itself. I blame that shit of a government propaganda paper - Utusan and that big shit of a rat TOYOL for the totally unlawful and unnecessary arrest of her. DO YOU HAVE FOOKING PROVE BEFORE YOU ARREST HER YOU DUMBWITS?

MCA is turning into a "running dog" party and the hypocrites called Gerakan is not any better either. You can condemn the arrest of the reporter all you want, in my eyes you're nothing but an extinct dinasaur waiting to turn into fosil. How the fook can you not also condemn the ISA arrest of Teresa and RPK? Are they not fellow Malaysian who cared for how the country is turning into a joke, a circus and heading down the drain? I have lost all respect both parties - i had none in the first place anyway.

I have signed a petition i have found through Tony Pua's blog. Pls sign it as a concerned Malaysian to protest the abuse of power through the ISA arrest of Teresa Kok. STOP ISA NOW!!!

FREE TERESA , ABOLISH ISA! Petition

Now that i've got the frustration out of my system. Would just like to touch abit on the Reds' win against the scums. It was a great result and was happy with our fighting spirit and never give up attitude. We pawned them - enuff said. Was a welcome relieved after hearing all the shit thats been going on earlier in the day. To all those who was at the gathering, thanks and i hope everyone had a blast. Walk on towards no.6 and no.19.

-JonC-

Too Busy Too Blog? You Better Believe It!

Sorry for the lack of update the past week and a half. Been pretty busy with the work involved in helping organise the MyRAWK event for the big showdown against the hated team from Manchester. It is not easy running a whole event with basically 3 or 4 guys who have a day job to attend too as well.

Basically in a nutshell all of you REDs, can head on down to the event to be held at Breakers, Desa Sri Hartamas this Saturday, Sept 13th. The event kicks of at 6:30 pm and the game will kick off at 7:45pm. There will free door gifts, prizes and other stuff to give away through quizzes and a guess the score game. Another incentive for everyone to come on over - CHEAP BOOZE as the game falls within the happy hours.

So head on over and join in the most boisterous bunch of LFC fans you'll find in Malaysia. Be there or be square! Check out the Fantastico banner that i help put up last night infront of Breakers!


*Come support the MyRAWKites or drop by to say hi to me lah!* ;0)

I have a dream!

The great Martin Luther King, Jr. once said :
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Well, i do have a dream similar to that; Malaysia will rise from all the racial and religious nonsense that's been spilled by the politicians. I've heard and seen too much hatred being seeded by the unscrupulous and irresponsible people playing with racial sentiments and religious believes.

I've refrain from making much entries about politics lately due to me getting really sick and tired of the same old non-sense . I've ask when will the politicians grow up way too many times. I've seen too many fellow Malaysian that has given up hope. I've seen too much people talking the talk and not walking the walk. I've seen too many hypocrites. The lists goes on....... but on Tuesday, majority of my fellow Malaysian has shown they're fed up with the status quo.

We are born on the same piece of land, under the same sky and under the same flag, why act as if we're not? Why act as if there's a natural law of hierarchy in every damn thing about this country? We share the same values, the same surrounding, the same resources, so why not instead of going on about who own what, everyone work together to ensure NO one gets left behind? Poverty knows no skin colour. Help those who need help. Excuses are useless to those who need our helping hand. It is our duty as a human and a fellow citizen of the world to help everyone.

Why cover yourselves in a thin veiled cloth of protection when you've already seen that it is not working? The poor aren't getting any richer while those with big guns behind them continue to rape and pillage the country. But, now it's not the time to willow and be sorrow about the all the crap that's has already been done. After 50 years of independence, it is time for us the Rakyat, Malaysian of all races to stand up, to be counted and to say we want our country back. We want a Malaysia by the people, of the people and most importantly for the people.

I will hold on to my dream of a just, safe and prosper Malaysia for everyone. You'll be sure i'll play my part, how about you?

Rejoice my fellow Malaysian, for this August 31st we celebrate our true independence day and the dawn of a new Malaysia! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

I need a long break!

Been feeling tired and pretty run down the past 3 weeks or so. Physically tired is easy to recover from, but mine is more of a case of being mentally tired. Doing too much thinking and brain storming is some how sucking the life of me brains.

Stress from work and more so from the huge undertaking of trying to create the MyRAWK homepage with just another fellow MyRAWKite and IT geek is taxing to the mind and to some extend my body. Continuous sleepless nights for the last 2 months is certainly not helping me physical and mental health. I have only myself to blame as i kept on staying awake till the wee hours of the morning: 2 or 3 am to be more exact, every single day.

The only time i can continously sleep uninterupted is on Sunday (thats if the pesky kids next door don't freaking tear the whole house down next door with their incesive crying, fighting and running). I 've been known to sleep for >12 hours straight and can even skip my breakfast and lunch during that oh-so-good-and-dearly-missed dozing time. A fair number of you have listened to my blur-sounding voice when you called me on Sundays before, hehehehe. Guess any phone call before 2 pm will result in some "ummmmm! ahhhhhhh! yaaaaaaah!" replies.

Well, i've learned that sleeping alone ain't gonna be enuff to sure mental tiredness. You'll need total relaxation to achieve that. Hence, i'm thinking of really taking a long long break away from the hussle and bussle of Klang Valley. Would be good to take a week long vacation to some quiet place like maybe an island to relax - nothing but the sand, sea, blue sky and warm breeze. Would be good though to have a chick in tow. Geeez! Its only 10:30 am in the office and i'm already freaking sleepy, half doozing off and day dreaming. Kekekekeke!

Till the dream holiday trip ( Bora-Bora - if i strike lottery) happens, i shall continue to be a freaking walking zombie in the office and a rather angry looking RED at the MyRAWK footie gatherings!

HTML / Java Scripting: Teaching an old dog new tricks.

Surprisingly for a self confessed web savvy IT geek, i have never bothered to learn html coding and java scripting. I've always concentrate on the hardware side of things after my nightmare of working with programming languages from my college days. Thinking back to the countless numbers of sleepless nights trying to code and debug the programming assignments for my comp science course is enough to send shivers down me spine.

Most will argue that web programming is still much simple compared to application programming. Well, as far as i am concerned any form of coding is a death sentence to me. I like opening boxes of new IT toys; hook 'em up, set 'em up and run 'em, not sitting in front of a PC typing thousands of lines of codes.

The opportunity to drab myself in web programming / designing came about when MyRAWK guys decided to expend our web preference by running our own website and domain. Me being the resident head IT geek, was tasked to lead a team consisting of Alvin (a fellow LFC supporting and Momo Sissoko loving IT geek), Danny (our LFC loving and gracious web host) and Jeremy (web designer, programmer and developer). Things started out with a flier as everyone was eager to get the whole thing up, but as time went by and burdened by workload (hey, we got to earn a living), the web development pace was left crawling.

To cut things short, we left it literally to the last week before the roll out date to actually do the domain registration, domain ip setup and the web programming itself. We got access into the preliminary website that was designed earlier on last Thursday and decided we need to make substantial changes - queue major coding work ahead. Numerous long nights and countless phone calls followed before we were satisfied enough to have a "soft" launch of MyRAWK's new home in cyberspace - www.my-rawk.com. The green light to proceed was given only hours before our dateline.

As i speak, the site development is still on-going and the look of the site will improve daily as we add more contents and features. We're gonna launch something that will allow everyone to interact in a much better way soon. The whole site will be fully functional and standardized by the game against a certain mortal enemy.

This brings me back to my coding experience - i have never touch, let alone bothered to learn html coding and java scripting. I was on a one way collision / crash course to learn to do it in literally a couple of hours. Alvin, sorry mate to have to call and bug you to no end and thanks for doing the hard coding work before i came in to add those more simple contents and features. WYSIWYG editors with click and drag features can only do so much, so i still have to get me feet wet and into the deep end to do some debugging by looking at the pages of codes. Thank goodness after wondering for a few hours i finally managed to catch enough coding lines to understand what was going on.

Irregardless, please do not ask me to help program a website. I'd be happy to give you pointers and tip and some basic designing rules. Coding wise, i'd suggest you to get hold of one of those WYSIWYG html editor that will allow you to cut and paste stuff much like Ms Words and allow you to view the actual look of the web page without the need for you to type a single line of code. For bloggers, stick to blogspot or some other blog sites that has user friendly setup interfaces that allow you to customized the basic look and colour along with giving you plenty of flexibility to upload pictures. They work well and simple enough.

Looks like there will be more coding to be done in the days ahead...... and more things to learn. Who says ya can't teach an old dog new trick? Must be someone not from the information age!

-JonC-

One World, One Dream - You & Me, We're Family

Let's just take a breather and think about the Olympic Spirit. Look at the deeper meaning to the Beijing 2008 Games motto - One World, One Dream, its universal value is so simple and easy to understand. Unfortunately, understanding it is so much more simple than doing the necessary to achieve it.

In light of the shenanigans thats been happening to Malaysia - the political uncertainty and the seemingly unnecessary racial tension, i'd say this to everyone. Take a back seat, look at these simple words and listen to the beautiful and simple theme song to the games.



Lyrics - You & Me

我和你，心连心，同住地球村
(Pinyin: Wǒ Hé Nǐ, Xīn Lián Xīn, Tóng Zhù Dìqiúcūn)
(English translation: You and me, heart to heart, we live in the same Earth's village)

为梦想，千里行，相会在北京
(Pinyin: Wèi Mèngxiǎng, Qiān Lǐ Xíng, Xiānghuì Zài Běijīng)
(English translation: For dreams, we travel a thousand miles, to meet in Beijing)

来吧！朋友，伸出你的手
(Pinyin:Lái Ba, Péngyou, Shēn Chū Nǐ De Shǒu)
(English translation: Come! Friend, reach out with your hands)

我和你，心连心，永远一家人
(Pinyin:Wǒ Hé Nǐ, Xīn Lián Xīn, Yǒngyuǎn Yījiārén)
(English translation: You and me, heart to heart, forever we are one family)

You and me, from one world, we are family
Travel dream, a thousand miles, meeting in Beijing
朋友，来吧, put your hand in mine
(Pinyin:Péngyou, Lái Ba)
(English translation: Friends, Come!)
You and me, from one world, we are family

You and me, from one world, we are family
We are family
Travel dream, a thousand miles, meeting in Beijing
朋友, Friend 来, Meeting in Beijing
(Pinyin:Péngyou, Friend Lái, Meeting in Beijing)
(English translation: Friends, come Friends, meeting in Beijing)

我和你，心连心，同住地球村
(Pinyin: Wǒ Hé Nǐ, Xīn Lián Xīn, Tóng Zhù Dìqiúcūn)
(You and me, heart to heart, we live in the same Earth's village)
You and me, from one world, we are family

为梦想，千里行，相会在北京
(Pinyin: Wèi Mèngxiǎng, Qiān Lǐ Xíng, Xiānghuì Zài Běijīng)
(English translation: For dreams, we travel a thousand miles, to meet in Beijing)
Gather...in Beijing

来吧！朋友，牵住你的手
(Pinyin:Lái Ba, Péngyou, Qiān Zhū Nǐ De Shǒu)
(English translation: Come! Friend, reach out with your hands)

You and me, from one world, we are family

*Lyrics taken from wikipedia*

The art of being a prick!

I've been the "victim" in 2 of my previous relationship from a couple of years back and hated the after taste from it. Seriously think it did something to my head and made me that little bit colder in my future relations, as most of the people around me will a test too.

Last weekend, i had a reversal of roles and played the part of the victimizer. Had to spill the beans to someone who i do not see myself being attached too. The whole thing last for a couple weeks but as with all matters of the heart - somebody will get hurt. I had hoped that the short period time we were together, will meant less hurt, hence i took the decision to end it before it lead on to a bigger emotional mess and uneasiness. I've made it clear from day 1, i will not lie about it when the going gets tough and pretend that everything is rosy and happy.

I was to blame for allowing things to get out of hand in the first place, this i admitted willingly. Had this uncanny feeling, i won't be able to give my all and give the other party what is needed and deserved. That lingering thought made me feel very uneasy and i was bothered to no end. After some soul searching, i laid it all out.

I had to take charge of my life and be that little bit more selfish to move forward. I do not want to be the "nice" guy anymore all the time and act as if i'm happy when its clearly not working.
Wished it could have ended in a better way, but nothing ever turns out right when it comes to ending relationships. No words or apologies will ever be enough to sooth the pain to the other party, but i do hope time will help heal that.

I am relieved, i don't have to deal with the emotional anguish of being in a relationship thats heading no where. But, that doesn't make the act of being THE prick any better. I will take this as a lesson on life and use it to help me grow into a better person.

PS: Thank you to a good friend for listening to me whine about it, and offering me words of wisdom on how to move on.

-JonC-

My History, My Future: From Middle Kingdom to Malaya to Malaysia

The coming Olympic games in Beijing, China has got me thinking about the "motherland" and my ancestors. I'm a 2nd generation Malaysian of Chinese origin from the Han ethnicity (China consists of man other ethnic groups). My grandma and grandpa came over to Malaya from prefecture of Longyan in the province of Fujian. Technically that makes me a Hokkien "kia" but then again, those from the mentioned prefecture classify themselves slightly differently as our spoken dialects do not sound like Hokkien at all and it's called "Longyan Huà." Please don't ask me how the heck it sounds like as i do not speak a word of it as i grew up on a diet of Hokkien and Cantonese dialects. Funny enough, even my late dad can't speak a word of it but he could understand it. As far as i can remember, only 2 of my cousins can actually speak it. Sound confusing eh? Well, i'm 31 and myself is still pretty much blur so i won't blame ya. In order to simplify things, i just say i'm a Hokkien.

My surname is Cheah (Xie 謝), same chinese character as those with Chia, Seah, Hsieh, Tse, Tze. The chinese character when used as verb, means to express gratitude and when used as noun means thank you. "Xie xie" sounds familiar right? ;0) Apparently, the surname was a that of a prominent aristocratic family from the Jin Dynasty.

Both my grandparents came to Malaya to find a brighter future as it was tough back in China then. There was civil war amongst the Kuomintang and Communists Red Army while the people was suffering from famine. My grandma's brother who was studying in university was killed by the communists, so naturally she hates them. They arrived in Malaya like most early immigrants, through Penang and chose to settle in Lumut, Perak - which is where i am from.

As i understand from the stories told by my uncles, aunts and me late father, my granddad was a well respected member of the community in my "kampung". He owned one of the biggest rice and coconut trading companies back then. He was a self-taught man, he had no formal education and was from a poor family. Apparently he was sort of a medicine man as well. My grandma was your typical "superwoman" housewife from back then. She single handedly took care of more than 10 people (8 of them children) in the household. She was a firm but fair mother, and my dad was always boasting about how he was the youngest in the family and was always her favourite. An interesting but freaky fact everyone told me about the family was that every child that had an official straits birth cert would fall ill and pass away. Needless to say, none of my uncles, aunts and also me dad had one.

Being the typical community came first type of person, my granddad went all out to help new arrivals from back "home" to settle into Malaya. Well, i personally call it naivety as it ultimately got him into financial trouble after being the guarantor to numerous dubious business deals for others. Subsequently, the family business went down hill and finally closed shop when none of my uncles could handle it after the passing of both my grandparents about 40 years ago.

As mentioned before, me dad was the youngest and according to him the most spoiled (that is if you consider having to work long hours helping the family collect coconuts and dry em for sale and help sort out rice as fun). Among all my uncles and aunts, my second last uncle and me dad had the best education. They finished their high-school education - my dad was sent to chinese and later english school while my uncle went to a reputable boarding school in Penang. Dad was a quite the looker hence u know where i got my good look from ;o) and was an active athlete. He was drafted into the army reserves for a good year or two and was based in Port Dickson during the Emergency period with Indonesia after the independence. I am at a lost when it come to when did both my parents met but i do know they have been happily married for close to 40 years before my dad's untimely death in a car accident 3 years back. (Still miss you dad, and not a day goes by that mum and i do not miss you.) They gave life a Red in the form of me after close to 7 years of marriage.

Like most of my generation, i consider myself more Malaysian than just Chinese. However, it's still important to know your own roots. I believe in the concept of "no future without history" so i personally find it important to know where i come from and what my ancestors have to go through to get me to where i am. This helps keep me grounded and appreciate what my ancestors went through to give me what i got now, even though it isn't much. It's also the reason why i strive to help Malaysia grow into the kind of great country all of us hope her to be. We've got everything to be one of the most outstanding country in SEA region. We have so much to gain as a united nation working together for the better.

Why dwell on racial segregation politics and puny issues? Why not work towards the best Malaysia can be? What does religion got to do with politics? Why the disparity in income distribution? When can our apathy mentality be changed? Why help have to be based on your political views, skin color or social status? Where do we see ourselves and our children as a nation in the next 50 years?

If none of us are in anyway concern about the above questions, then we as a nation of 50 years in existence is on the verge of collapse. Personally, I will not give up on my beautiful country i call home. I will not give in to those irresponsible people who try to divide me and my friends. I will not take the non-sense the propaganda machines have been feeding to the "rakyat." I will work with my fellow Malaysian towards better governance and education system that will ultimately lead to a better Malaysia for everyone irregardless of race, political view and social status. This is my vow.

-JonC-

Robbie Keane - Welcome Home!

Got the news through me phone last night at Desa Hartamas that Irish marksman, Robbie Keane has signed for us. The transfer fees is reportedly around £19million (possibly rising to £20.3 million through bonus payments). This is absolute great news as i rate him a heck lot higher than the other big target of the gaffer: Gareth Barry. Can't believe it when it was reported he rejected us for Wolves 14 years earlier. Well, now all the stars have aligned and he's back to his true spiritual football home: Anfield.

It's been know we have turned into a 2 man team - Gerrard and Torres and the rest of the team ain't exactly supplying the fire power to kill teams off. Remember how frustrating it was to be unable to win games and kill off the opposition last season in games we should have won? Keane i seriously think will be the perfect partner for Torres as he operates deeper as the 2nd striker and thus will create more space and opportunity for "el nino" to work higher up the pitch. My mouth is watering at the prospect of seeing the both of them at work.

Then that leads us to the question of where will Gerrard operate from. The easy answer would have been to stick him back in the middle since it's his favoured position. But, when / if you put Barry in the equation then that changes the whole complexion of the formation. Gerrard to the right? Barry as a left winger and Gerrard center? I seriously have my doubts on how much do we need Barry in our team. I'd have to admit here, i am a big Alonso fan, even though he's not been the same after his block-busting debut season. In my books, he is still the best passer . Anyhow, i'd rather seem him stay (and the board seems to think so too) but the meeting that supposedly took place with the gaffer didn't exactly turned out well and he is now linked to Fenarbache, and with an even lower price of about £12million (Juve reportedly offered more).

Now, this gets even more interesting. What happens to Kuyt if Gerrard is stuck to the right? What happens to Babel if / when Barry is stuck to the left? And now, with French teenage striker David N'Gog has just signed as well. Chances are Babel will definitely stay as he has got bags of potential. Kuyt for all his hardworking could be sacrificed, again something i won't enjoy witnessing. Already some reports are stating that he might well be the one to go.

Is it just me or are we getting a bit too aggressive with our pursuit of transfer targets through the press? We've already have to apologize to Spurs with the manner of how we went ahead with the pursuit of Keane. Rafa's comment certainly did not sit well with their chairman. No matter what, the fact is it will never be easy to loose one of your most popular player and captain to a rival. At least he ain't going over to the Gunners.

The off season is getting crazier indeed with the season starting in about 3 weeks. Till then, keep checking news reports. Who knows our very own nutty professor / gaffer might spring a few more surprises and rabbits out of his Spanish "El Matador" hat?

PS: Am definitely looking forward to the Keane trademark cart-wheel machine gun goal celebration at the Kop end. ;0)

-JonC-

WhY So SEriOUs?

Heath Ledger - you got it mate. You definitely got it! RIP.

The rest of you, go watch possibly the best villain ever on the silver screen.

-JonC-

Million Dollar Smile?

How much are you willing to spend to get THAT million dollar smile? I just got whack with a 190 bucks dental fee yesterday for some dental work. The cost covers re-filling 2 cavities (darn ori filling came off) and some other extra work to repair my 2 chipped front teeth and realign 'em.

Thanks goodness i can claim about 100 bucks back from me office. If not, i'll be eating rocks until the end of the month! I really curse and swear every time i have go to the dentist. Absolutely hate the noise of the drill, the smell from the drilling and worst of the lot, the amount i get charged for it.

Was it worth it to get me teeth done? Re-filling the cavities was an absolute must but doing something about my chipped front teeth, dunno yet as no chicks have really praise how good my smile is yet. Hehehehe.

-JonC-

Jazzing Away My Monday Blues: Diana Krall sings Nat King Cole Trio

Was fooling around in youtube looking for some Diana Krall jazz song to kill time in me office when i stumbled upon the cool looking video below. Check it out, Frim Fram Sauce youtube style!



What more can i ask for? One of my favourite female jazz vocalist / pianist playing and singing my all time favourite jazz trio - Nat King Cole Trio songs.

She's gonna be in town at KLCC Plenary Hall this coming Oct 2nd for a show. Any takers? I'm seriously thinking of going and getting the RM 188 tickets..... poor man can't afford to get any better seats. Need a date too for the show ;0)

Coming EPL 08/09 Season - My Thoughts

In about a month 3 weeks, the new EPL season will start. The silly summer transfer merry-go-round has made us Reds glow red, not because of the excitement or booze but because of the money constraints imposed by our current dire financial situation and the 2 imbecile on top. That being said, most of the major English clubs have yet to really make any bank-busting transfer as of today. Looks like the after-effects of the global economic slow down thanks to the weakening US Dollar have hit the rest pretty hard too; except a certain club bank-rolled by a certain Russian :0P

Then again the slow-down didn't help lower down the transfer fee for the English players: case in point - Gareth Barry. I still can't fathom how on earth Xabi Alonso will cost less than him. The only selling point to him is he's English and the "6+5" Fifa ruling is not making the situation any better. I believe one of the only reason the gaffer is thinking of going English this off-season is because of that stupid ruling.

I am all for the clearing of dead-woods in the team but the mere thought of us actually having to sell before we can buy is really disheartening. But looking at the current crop of youngsters that we already signed, i still have high hopes of us doing well in the league. We're definitely following the Arsene Wenger route by investing heavily in youth players. Then again, buying potential is a double-edged sword: some will excel and some will fail due to high expectations. I'm personally keeping a close eye on a few of the youngsters - Pacheco, Insua, Lindfield, Nemeth, Plesis, and Spearing. There a few other members from the reserve team thats potentially world-class if they're nurtured properly.

On the club management front, looks like we're set to suffer again under the 2 imbecile thats making us turn into the mockery and joke of the league. All have gone quiet on the DIC takeover, but i am not surprise the sheik is planning his cunning move to wrestle the control of the club. I personally am really disappointed by the short-sightedness of Parry and sadly Moores who sold the club for a few quid more instead of selling to DIC, a much more stable and state funded company.

Most of you guys that know me personally, knew i've joined the "i doubt Rafa" brigade since mid 2 seasons ago. As, i've grown up watching the all conquering team from the 80's era, i'm a true believer in the "pass and move" football philosophy perfected by the great Bill Shankly. I miss those all or nothing attacking football from back then. I do understand the modern game have change significantly, but i did not sign up for drab and boring "effective football." This is well and truly Rafa's make or break season.

Back in the home front, i'm truly feeling the pinch from the fuel price hike. So much so that, i'm really gonna limit my outings to join the MyRAWK gatherings. I've calculated that on average before paying up for the booze, i would need to spend 20 bucks on the traveling expanses alone from my place in Klang. It's gonna be expansive for me to join every gathering so chances are i'll be joining the boys most probably once a month or on big matches only. It ain't gonna be fun shouting and swearing alone at home. :0(

-JonC-

Bloggers' & Broadwalk's nite out - Saturday, 12th July 2008.

This is the gang of bloggers and Broadwalk regulars at Sam's after the dinner last Saturday evening at Fatty Crab.

Ummmmm.... beeeeeeer! Doesn't it just tells you how much i love me beer? Hehehehehe. Pic was taken at Fatty Crab.

A big thanks to AD for organising the meet up and Bernard for the pics! Was great to finally be able to meetup with everyone from Broadwalk and blog-land after so long. Looking forward again to seeing you gals and guys next month.

Live Tonite: The Rise of Anwar or The Fall of Shabery

For the first time since i can remember, there will be a live tv debate among the opposition and the Barang Naik government. The topic will be on the price of fuel - all your how, where, what, why and when questions will hopefully be answered in a measly 1 hour show. Better pray Astro don't try be funny by censoring or delaying the proceedings by going to endless commercial breaks. Would you be surprised if it happened (knowing how the mass media works)?

Remember tonite - Tuesday 15th July, 2008 at 9pm in Astro Awani, TV9 and BernamaTV. See how a minister might possibly be made to quit for failing to defend his beloved government. ;0)

Would have been better if the 2 main top man themselves would show up instead of the Information Minister. Come to think of it wouldn't it be more fun to have the infamous Minister of "Mis"information also? I can never forget how he basically screwed all of us Malaysians over in his Al-Jazeera interview before the elections. Really made us look as if we're still staying up trees with his replies.

Checkout the following video of DSAI challenging the power that be for the debating showdown. Link courtesy of "Becky" Mark.



PS - I think the lady's commentary in tis video sucks. Sounds like she's stoned or something. Hehehehe.

My Handy DIY Re-deco Work - Living Room

Finally more or less 85% done with my re-deco job in me living room. Still got a bit of cleaning up to do to clear my old junks lying under me staircase. Also i might have been overly enthusiastic in Ikea and bought a way too big Lerberg coffee table (made out of steel) that do not match the whole look i am going for.

Here are a few pics of my handy work - all the wall shelves are mounted by me, all the lighting / wiring by me, all the potted plastic plants and also all the other deco items or center pieces using plastics / rubber foam lotus flowers, rock and pebbles is done by none other than me!


All of my stuff are bought from Ikea ( tables/shelves/candles/glass vases/ceramic tray/lights), Living Cabin and Parkson (decorative plastic plants) and *tada* of all places Giant (decorative rocks and pebbles). If ya wondering what the heck are those things in the shelves in the 3rd pic, they are actually my collection of Transformers toys. Hehehehe...... i know i'm still a kid albeit an old one. :0P

For those who are into audio visual stuff, yup the white thingy next to me Sony Bravia LCD TV is me fabled Playstation 3. ;0) I am still missing an a/v amp for my home theater ever since i sold off my old unit. Will get a replacement unit come this end of July in the KLAV show in JW Marriot. Forgot to mention i'm running a 7.1 surround setup. So any takers for a movie night in Klang in me pad?


The last 2 pics are the center pieces i created with rocks, white / black pebbles and those plastic / rubber foam lotuses. Any of you with a outdoor mini water fountain / fish pond / pool can actually get them to spruce it up as they can float! They come in 3 sizes - 10cm, 20cm and 30 cm.

Well, thats pretty much it for my diy re-deco job.

-JonC-

Bolehwood Blockbuster: JonC's guide to making the ultimate thriller / drama / action movie in Bolehland!

Ever wondered how to make the perfect movie to storm the box office in Bolehland? Well, i have the perfect formula:

Get a Mongolian model, an arms broker, a powderful minister and his other half, the military, the police special unit and tie up the whole plot together with a handsome amount of special military only grade of explosives. Get some supporting acts like a blogger to spice up the sub plot. Remember to make the explosion BIG and spectacular like a Merdeka day fireworks display by hiring an overpaid bunch of pyrotechnic experts.

In order to add in a bit of comedy, throw in a drunk lawyer uttering those famous lines - "correct! correct! correct!" and "he looks like me, sounds like me, but is not me!" You can also throw in a senile senior politician that likes to bud into everything under the Bolehland sun into the fray as well for more bumbling comedic relief.

Must also not forget about the sodomy plot to go with it. Nothing spice up a story better than a sex scandal in the political scandal - may it be homo or heterosexual.

Do not forget the customary police interrogation scene with a handful of beatings thrown in for a good measure. Use the most sophisticated special effects methods possible to make the main protagonist look like he got whacked by 300 Spartans.

If any of you budding movie makers out there succeeds in breaking the bank with this, please give me a share of the spoil and credits. ;0) Need more moolah to pump petrol and survive the inflation!

-JonC-

PS - Disclaimer: This is just a fictional take and parody on the political uncertainty / scandal in the country. Any fictionous characters with resemblance to person (s) dead, living or dying is of pure co-incidence.

Euro 08 Final - Spain Vs Germany

Hardly lost any sleep the past week due to being too tired from work to be bothered to watch any footie. Tried to wake up this morning to catch Liverpool's Spanish contingent at work against the Russian but i slept right through till 5 am. Woke up just to watch the damn highlights of the 3 Spanish goals.

Always had a feeling them under-achieving Spanish boys will come good this time around. I actually did not expect the Germans to actually come this far, especially after the "effective" football they've been playing. Their attacking play was woeful compared to them Spanish.

Talking about the Liverpool Spanish boys, the one that really shone was Alonso (are we STUPID in getting rid of one of the best passers of the ball in the current squad?). Torres i think got sucked in by all the hype surrounding his great form for us. Sometimes he look to to have too much pressure on his shoulders. The lack of goals ain't helping either. But the sheer presence of him in the attack actually paves the way for other to shine - especially Villa. He drags defenders out of position as they are so worried about him. Reina and Arbeloa hardly featured except in their final group match.

Nothing much to say about the Germans as only 2 of their players actually excites me - Podolski and Schweinsteiger. Definately won't mind having any one of them down our left wing and terrorising the defenders.

Well, i'll definitely be up for the final this Monday morning. Just hope i don't sleep through the damn alarm again!!!! Viva Espania! Viva La Selección! Viva La Furia Roja!

Another manic monday! Another eventless weekend!

Damn it! I hate Mondays to the core. Being already the lazy arse that i am, mondays are the absolute most fooked up day in my week. Already dead stoned over the weekend by watching Euro footie, i had to wake up with a fooking bad migraine this morning.

Totally no mood to work and sleepy as fook. The only damn thing i can do to keep me awake is by posting in me blog, forums and msn. Thank God today was a quiet day at the office - i can't imagine how i'll go through work if i had piles of shit to do. 1 1/2 hour more to go before i get the heck outta me office and time seems to be moving so darn slow. :0(

Ever since the petrol price shot up, i hardly even go out to hang out anymore. Been a good boy by staying home to watch telly and sleep through the weekend. I did drop by Ikea yesterday to get some CD rack to mount on me living room's wall to organise my dvds, blu-ray discs and cds collection.

I think i'm gonna pickup my other passion - DIY and do a bit of remodeling in my pad to keep me sane, since i basically do not have much of a social life anyway. Have no fooking idea why i suddenly had the urge to reorganise my living hall. Nothing drives a diy enthusiast crazier than the sound of a working electric saw or drill.

Heck, i might even post up pictures of my handy work once i get to finish the re-deco project (as of now, most the ikea stuff are still in their boxes and only the coffee table and shelf unit has been fixed up). I sense more of my hard-earned moolahs heading to Ikea cash registers the next month or so. Stay tuned for the net results!

-JonC-

Elmo Pt II: Aka Kevin Clash

As promised here is the 2nd part of the interview from Rove with the "real" Elmo. Not really what you expect eh?

Price Hike + Lazyness + Bachelor = Cheapskate Dinner

I basically slept through the entire weekend and stayed at home instead of going out. Was not too keen on bursting my extremely tight budget (no thanks to me fooking medical insuarance bill). Unfortunately this time round no more home cooked comfort food for me since me mum went back to me kampung last weekend after staying with me in Klang for over 3 months.

Luckily she left over some ingredients that i could cook with (knowing how my lazy arse won't be bothered get them at the nearby market). Hence below was the net results:


The above dinner was whipped up in roughly about 20 mins, and it consists of instant fried mee, oyster sauce lettuce (with a touch of fried shallots), 1 fresh tomato and a 9" omelette ("Fu Yong " style). If any of you bloke can't even cook a proper pack of instant noodles, i'll personally smack ya in the head with me trusted frying pan!

The instant fried mee was cooked to perfection - al dente! Cook 'em in boiling water for about 2 mins, anything longer will turn them soggy. The lettuce was boiled for about 45 secs before i took 'em out and slapped em with some oyster sauce, a touch of vege oil and topped of with some fried shallots. The sliced tomato was suppose to be added to the omelet but i missed it so i just ate it as it - a fruit.

The pièce de résistance was the 9" omelette "Fu Yong" style! Due to no Chinese "Lap Cheong" sausages, i only had onion in it with soy sauce and pepper to flavour it. If you wondered how on earth it turned out in one piece, just take note of the amount of oil and heat you cook it with. A good non-stick frying pan helps too. And yeah baby! I managed flipped the bugger over too. ;0) A tip if ya wanna take a shot at cooking one; its best you stir fry them onions first until they turn slightly translucent (together with the sausages) before you add in the eggs.

I threw in a few cans of beer to quench the thirst. Net result was a filled to the brim bloke who went on with his weekend by watching the marathon run of "The Simmons' Family Jewels" on Channel V in conjunction with Father's Day.

PS - As dysfunctional as it may look, Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed actually gave life to 2 youngsters that had their heads screwed on better than their own.

He's Red, He's Furry, He's 3 1/2 yrs old and He's From Sesame Street: His name is Elmo

Here's another side of Elmo you've not seen before in an interview in Rove ( a talk show in Aussie). I'll post up the interview with the puppeteer that plays Elmo later in the week.

Damn! i grew up watching Sesame Street and loved most of the furry characters in there. Favorites will always be Grover, Kermit and of course that red haired cute dude - Elmo. Gotta pay homage to Jim Henson, the guy is an absolute genius. I'll say it here - Sesame Street kicks that damn purple dinosaur named Barney's arse! :0P

-JonC-

Anger Management? What? Me?

I am seriously contemplating seeing a shrink to shrink my damn anger. The boredom and frustration at work is really driving me up the wall. Those who know me well would have notice a drastic change in me since 2 or 3 years back - my fuse got a WHOLE lot shorter and my swearing got a WHOLE lot louder and more frequent. I'm a heck lot more serious, sensitive, picky and annoying.

Coincidentally, when my rage and temper went off the chart, i was freaking pissed with my shitty work and pay i got from it. The same monotonous job, the endless cleaning of other people's self inflicted crap, the feeling of getting kicked around like a ball, not getting my idea accepted by the management and dealing with a bunch of stubborn dimwits has well and truly taken its toll and screwed me brain up nicely. To top it all off, and the most ironic thing about it all, is the fact that I'm still working at the same company after 9 years. Half the time i ain't got a clue what the fook made me stay - maybe subconsciously i did not realise i am digging my own grave or i actually enjoy the shitty situation (a scary thought indeed).

(frustration + disappointment + anxiety + worry) x stress [work or non-work related] / lousy social life = pure rage or hatred

The above is my theory on whats happening to my glowing hot brain. AD, before you say anything, i know you'll suggest alcohol to dose of the flames. But science has proven that alcohol burns much faster and hotter when thrown into an inferno!!! ;0P Also, i don't think filling up my drying and hole filled melon with the "happy" juices will save me any bit. I've had my fair share of puking me lungs and brains out during me college years.

Maybe, my love of football will save me but what conspired in Anfield the past season or so did nothing to elevate my inner suffering. Shitty politics and performance all round frustrated me even more. Football is one of my best escape from this angst filled life and when it ain't going according to plan, what else could be worst?

Playing football so far has been my best method to vent my frustrations out and dose off the flame in me head. Pity those who play against me though, cause they don't call me a tank for nothing ;0). Then again, the heavens up above conspired to turn me into a fooking Harry Kewell. I've got an injury list so long, it'll filled up an entire file cabinet.

Albeit all this inner turmoil i found a bunch of unkers, young punks and fellow football and fun loving guys and gals through the net. Really appreciate their company and our crazy method of talking cock and exchanging idea through each others' blog. Hey! What better way to virtually scream all your frustration , crazy thoughts and fears so that it can be heard? It's free and people will respond in the virtual world. What more can you ask for? Thank goodness for the internet and blogging!

Lately, i've found another method to vent my anger, thanks to the pretty huge amount of moolah i paid to Sony for my unit of PlayStation 3. Didn't realise my nearly psychotic mind actually enjoys thrashing the shit out of a game controller using my fingers in some rather violent games. Eureka! What better way to soothe and relax me head than crashing cars and shooting people up in Grand Theft Auto 4? How about playing the role of a trained killer in the form of an SAS operative killing terrorists in Call of Duty 4? And best of the lot, play a footie game and thrash the scums and rent boys with a score of 10-0 with Torres scoring triple hat tricks in PES 2008?

Thanks for reading my pointless rumblings and what nots. Hope you'll have a good laugh about it (on my expense) and help you go through the hazardous monotonous life back in the real world. Maybe you'll see it in a whole new light, and think that hey i'm not alone! There are other weirdos and slightly nuts people out there - case in point being myself. ;0)

AD, so far i am still keeping my promise to talk cock er...... i mean update me blog on a "sustained and timely" basis. Muahahahahahaha!

-JonC-