A quick look at the new Nissan GT-R

After 6 long years of eager anticipation, the new 2008, 2009 Nissan GT-R had finally arrived. This part machine, part beast Godzilla had already gone on sale in Japan this December at around 7 million yen apiece. Here is a quick look at it to educate those ippan-jin who thinks that the GT-R is a rice car. May Haruhi strike down on their pathetic souls.


The stock GT-R comes in six official colors.

Adblock

A custom painted orange GT-R sported in the streets of Japan just 1 month after its release.

Motor Trend Preview on the R35



A test of the stock GT-R





Overall review of the car





Japanese review

Popular GT-R tuners like MINES, MCR, HKS and Top Secret are already working on the car and developed performance parts for it. The GT-R is also going to participate in the 2008 JGTC in the GT500 series. NISMO had already purchased 2 of them for the race.



NISMO GT500 GT-R

Adblock

I shall write a more in depth entry on my personal views with regards to this miracle car and how it compares to other cars together with video clips from Best Motoring, Top Gear and hopefully Fifth Gear once they are released.

First wrecked GT-R in Hong Kong. A black one. What a shame...

Sneaking for supper

Its 0030hrs Singapore time now. Just finished eating some spicy duck soup instant noodles cooked by my younger brother. I was already expecting some lost of freedom. But today seems to be the worst.

I used to stayed up all night till the next morning at nine before tucking into bed in Perth. Sometimes I even forgo sleep altogether. Today, after watching Anger Management on Channel 5, my dad insist on us getting into bed. The time was 0000hrs. Little brother was hungry and decides to cook some noodles.

Shortly after cooking them, my dad got out of bed and snapped at everyone asking us to "Go to Bed!" For Haruhi's sake, I am already 24. My younger siblings scrambled to bed. At this point, my dad was unaware of the noodles.

So in the end, each of us have to take turns sneaking to the balcony to eat our share of noodles on a small pathetic plastic table without lights.

Preposterous!

It was tasty though.

Why did I even bother coming back

Back in Australia, I tried to look on the bright side, thinking of all the little things which will make my return back to Singapore a slightly happier one. Now that I am back in Singapore, it just gets harder and harder.

Firstly, the crowd. They suffocate me. I feel so saturated. The weather here did not help much either. There are people everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE! There must be no less than 5 person within my 10 meter radius at ANY one time! Either they block your path or you block theirs'.

Secondly, one which I knew would happen, is the 'noisiness' of my home. Every single day there are issues for debate and argument amongst the family. Not a moment of peace and privacy. Totally different from my life in Australia.

Thirdly, my siblings starts comparing themselves with me, expecting equal rights and freedom even though they are several years younger; even though they had already enjoyed all the advantages of being a younger sibling. Such comparisons of what's fair and what's not really pisses me off. If the world is fair, I wouldn't even need to listen to all these shit. This would not have happened if I just remained firm and choose to stay on in Australia to pursuit my future despite my parents' expressed reluctance. If I did not come back, they have none to compare with, which means no arguments, I get to have my peace and quiet.

However, sadly, I am not the kind of person who could say 'No' to my parents to pursuit my own selfish ambitions. They sacrificed a lot for me to have the opportunity to study overseas and I am very grateful for that. Coming back is a small thing I can do if that is what makes them happy.

Of course there were several other things which made me regret my weakness and lack of determination to stay on. But I don't want to sound too ranty. Hopefully all these dissatisfactions will end together with this blog entry.

I should be glad that at such times, I still have the support of my special someone. Hmmm... Perhaps thats the reason I choose to come back.

Shimizu Grand

It was nearing the date of my return to Singapore from Australia. My friends and I were cracking our heads in search for places to eat. Daniel came up with the suggestion of us dining in Shimizu Grand, Japanese Buffet Restaurant, which is located at Floreat.

Haruhi blessed us, we actually turned up before the shop opened. It opens at 1800 hrs Wednesdays to Sundays only. And it was already fully booked! It was fully booked every single day they say! We were given a corner table. A corner for those who didn't book but lucky enough to come early. Those who came late will probably regret cause people like us stayed all the way till the shop was about to close. The food is really good, the service is great, the environment is nice.

The $35 price is reasonable for a Japanese buffet. This is one of the best find in Perth I ever had. My friends were all thumbs up about it.

When I said the service was great, I wasn't joking. We actually chatted with all the owners of the restaurant during and even after the meal, for quite some time! Apparently the Chia family were Singaporeans moved to Perth for retirement. Throughout the meal, the owners came along to check that we were properly served. Did I mention that each of us got a pair of Shimizu chopsticks as a souvenir? They are going to add a new out-door concept to the restaurant next year with Korean-typed BBQ. Yummy! Too bad I probably won't get the chance to try it.

My only complain would be the lack of different ingredients for the Teppanyaki. There is only beef. I was hoping to have some Shisamo or maybe a variety of ingredients like those offered at Vienna International Seafood & Teppanyaki Restaurant in Singapore. But I really should not be too fussy about this as Shimizu Grand is definitely the best place to get lots of good Nihon-ryori at an affordable price while enjoying great services. The lady owner told me that the first day of opening there was only 5 tables of customers and she was so afraid. But on the second day, through word of mouth, there was a lot more customers. I told her, if Shimizu Grand keeps this up, there will be nothing to worry about ;)

Without further ado, let me show some photos with captions.

The buffet counter. Everything is nicely placed and very delicious looking.


Some cold dishes before the meal. Japanese seaweed and calamari.


Can't help but to take some sashimi as appetizers. They have this glow in them. Fresh! Mr Chia said the restaurant slices 3 adult salmons on average every night.


Tempura complimentary with every table. There were other Tempuras besides prawns.


Small table filled up easily. Beggars can't be choosers, we were lucky to get a table without booking.


Even the tea, which is the only beverage provided, is not those cheap quality ones.


Chawanmushi anyone?


Teppanyaki beef nicely cooked. Medium done.


Fried rice is really good. Fragrant yet not oily.
Oranges are really sweet!
We were addicted to them and the owners asked the kitchen to cut a dozen more for us.


Some dessert cakes. The ichigo cake is my favorite :P

If I am ever going back to Perth for convocation this coming March 2008, I would definitely want to revisit this place again. YAY!

Last Flight Out

Upon reaching the airport after braving through the storm, traffic jams and road accidents, I was told that I was 5 minutes late. Great! Taking the next available flight back would mean I will have an extra 6 hours or so in Perth. Not to mention I can have another final dinner with my friends whom I will miss. Luckily there was no extra charge. Thank heavens I chose SIA.

This time round, I made sure I reach the airport 2 hours before the flight departs. Lo and behold, they told me that although I had a ticket which entitled me to carry 40 kg, the limit was 32 kg per luggage. Now, how am I suppose to get another luggage for that extra 8 kg? Lucky for me, a friend (Mel) of my friend (Dave) was also returning back to Singapore and she happened to have some space in her luggage. So I transfer most of the packs of Cashew & Macadamia nuts over to her. They weighed 400 g each, costing AUD$10. I bought 10 packs of them for present giving to relatives. They tasted good though. And some of my heavier stuffs, eg. DVD writer, also went over into her bags. Thank you again :)

After checking in, the three of us, me, Dave & Mel, stayed around and chatted for a good 1 hour before going in. I decided to shop for some duty free items in Perth Airport. Bought a Beyond Paradise from Estee Lauder for AUD$88.

Mel taught me some basic knowledge about buying perfume. She said perfumes have to be tested for a whole day before deciding on buying. Perfumes have 3 tones. Soft, Medium and Base tones. The Soft tone is the smell which one smells first upon spraying it onto one's skin. Medium tone lingers longer than Soft tone. The Base tone is the smell which stays the longest, mostly throughout the day. This is the tone which one can only smell after wearing the perfume for more than half a day. Having interacted with the natural smell of the body, the smell of the Base tone will be significantly different to the Soft tone which one smells when first testing out the perfume on one's skin. In addition to the 3 tones, she also taught me that the box of coffee beans by the side of the shelves are used for clearing away the lingering perfume smell in our nose before we start sampling other perfumes. Just give them a sniff in between the testing of different perfumes. And lastly, those paper strips used for sampling the perfumes can be placed in bags so that your bag will smell of your favorite perfume.

We proceed to board the plane after shopping. As the roar of the engine increased together with the speed of the plane, my heart got heavier by the seconds. Coincidentally, my MP3 player, which I was listening prior to take off, was playing Jay Chou's Yi Lu Xiang Bei (On Route Up North). I couldn't help myself from shedding some tears as the plane took off. The Australian terrain below, which I had grown to love, shrinking beneath. Beautiful memories of myself together with my close friends flashed across my mind like a kaleidoscope. Something which I will treasure. It took me awhile to regain my composure. I am returning home. For better or worst, only time will tell.

I just won AUD$500,000

YES! Being a polymath rules! I just won AUD HALF A MILLION DOLLARS from Channel 10 Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader! Thats it! I can stay here for as long as I want. Just stay at home all day long, no work for me. Enjoy my NEET life!

The 500k question was about Myths & Legends. I have got no help from the classmates this time. If I got it right, I walk home with 500k. If I get it wrong, I will have to go home with just 25k. I decided to go for it.

"The mythical creature Griffin, has half a body of an eagle and half a body of ____ ?"

A lion! Too easy. And 500,000 dollars is mine. Yeah... I wish. I was an audience in front of the TV, not the participant. Shame on her thinking that it had a body of a horse. The Griffin, such a majestic creature; defiled by being thought of having a horse for a body.

But throughout the show I got all the answers without using any aids or life-lines. The question about what year did Australian colonies become a Federation had me struggling. But I was pretty sure I can get past it with a life-line. Strangely, the participant was struggling at the simplest questions. Or maybe she just isn't too confident of herself. Maybe its the stress.

Anyhow, congratulations to her for going home with 250,000 dollars. She chose to drop out instead of answering the final question. Man, how I wish I was in there. Well, at least I know that I am smarter than a fifth grader. lol...

Osaraba Australia

In a flash, 3 years had gone by. Now is nearing the day which I have to return for good. My years here in Australia had really been great, if not one of the greatest times in my life so far.

Indeed, lots had happened during this times. Besides painful memories like the one whereby I got into a road accident, there are many more happy ones from all those road trips, picnics, barbecues, outings, gatherings, etc I had with all my friends. Friends whom I had befriended only after reaching Australia. As the saying goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed. When you are outside alone, your friends are the only one you can count on. It is not easy to find good friends. And I am lucky that I have found several of them.

I would like to thank all of them very much. Friends I made from first year all the way till now. And of course majority of them had left before I did. And now is my turn, despite some unwillingness, to leave those who remained here in Australia as well. I wish you people all the best here. Take care and may we meet again.

Yours Truly.

Here are some random pictures. See if you can recognize them.

Adblock

This post is dedicated to:
Zhexun: Beyond words.
Joshua: The best room-mate I ever had.
Albert & Leewen: Got to know you both only a little more than a year. It was great!
Lyn & Gee: First year friends from Orientation. Hope you girls are doing well.
Edmund: Really blessed to know you. Great days in Lakeview.
Yeeshuan: One and only best Padawan, May the force be with you.
Liyana & Susu: Housemates friends, makes one believes in fate.

and to:
Simon: First Australian friend. Good luck.
David: Wished I had known him sooner.
Lester & Ashley: All the best.
Alex, Eugene & Vishant: Good to know you people.
Ben & Clarence: Drive safe :P
Chip & Connie: Feel like I have to add you girls to do justice. LOL.
and anyone that I had forgotten to mention, I beg your pardon.

And especially dedicated to:
Daniel, Dave & Yunyen: Beyond anything describable! You people made my last year a whole lot easier to pass. Many thanks. My best wishes goes out to you 3.

And of course,
Grace: The reason I breathe.

Go back your country lah!

I am pretty sure, by now, most of you would have already come to know about the incident whereby a westerner causing bodily harm to Singaporean girls in the attempt to defend his own Singaporean girlfriend. Stomp.com.sg had got it pretty much covered. Here are some videos taken of the actual scene after the alleged attack.

Youtube Video

Judging from the comments, it is clear that there is a group that supports the notion of the westerner being the wrong-doer, and another which thinks that the victim (ie. the girls), in this case a star blogger and her friends, deserves that kind of treatment.

Well, since I wasn't there and didn't have all the details of how the incident happened, I have no right to point fingers and declare which side was at fault in this whole thing. But here are some hard facts which one can ponder about.

I truly believe that we, as Asians, should not harbor any inferior complex towards westerners. When they are in our country, they should respect our system and people. While I don't condone racism with words such as:

"Go back your country lah!"

being shouted at any Gaijin seen along the streets, but if we need to say such harsh words in cases to protect our rights and hold our heads high, then it should be done.

In any verbal conflict, the first who uses violence is always wrong. The westerner was the first who used actions to cause bodily harm to the other human party. In this instance, he is wrong. Notice I use human party and not girls. The westerner is wrong because he used violence, NOT because he is a westerner. The victims are victims because they had been harmed by another party who uses violence, NOT because they are girls. Some Singaporean girls are even a more pain in the arse than Singaporean guys.

In the Singaporean society, woman are pursuing for equal rights with their man counterparts. Some might even say that they had already achieved that and more. But it would seem that they are not ready to take the consequences of gaining such rights. Equal rights would mean benefits yes. But like all things, there is always pros and cons. In a world of equal rights, there will be no longer "ladies first", etc. Most Singaporean women still expected to be given "preferential" treatment because of their gender even if they deny it. And I am not even going to talk about how the Singapore law sides with women.

I may be saying this, but traditions do die hard. Men are born to protect women, thats what I believe. And in a world of equal rights, I still believe in that to a certain extent. With equal rights, I believe that, men are still born to protect women, BUT women should no longer expect men to protect them. It would be up to the choice of men.

Back on topic, to those standing up for the victims, I agree with you that we should not let westerners push us around especially if they are stepping on our soil. But what if he isn't a westerner but an Asian, yellow or dark skin, would you still be standing on this side? Do think of how some Singaporean girls might be more of a handful then guys. A girl acting more savaged and uncivilized than a guy can sometimes makes one think that she is something else entirely.

For those standing up for the westerner, I hope you are not doing that simply because you do not like the star blogger (ie. victim) personally, cause that would be childish. Keep in mind that the westerner was the one who used violence first. If you stand up for him because you think that exposing this incident or how the crowd had acted brought shame to Singapore, I empathize with your feelings. It is true that the star blogger might be exposing this incident with video and all to gain popularity. And that Gaijins in other countries who had watched the video might feel disgusted at the crowd's behavior. But on the other side of the coin. If it is true that the westerner is trying to have his way thinking that he is superior and thus used force on the said victims, then opening this can of worms is well worthed. Even if it doesn't portray Singapore in a good light, we can still hold our heads high at the end of the day. Shoe-shining them with your heads down looking at their feet is not the way. Respect them and expect the same respect.

Odex website hacked

Well, there I was browsing through xedodefense.org forums like I normally do sometimes and a thread caught my eye.

The people has spoken, ODEX website has been hacked

Apparent as you can see from the text, our dear Odex's website got hacked. For people who have no idea what the Odex saga is, try Google or go back living under your e-rock. It wasn't a very elaborated hack too. A very simple method. This makes one think of what will happen to your credit card number, personal details, etc etc, if you happened to have employed some of Odex's services already. With security measures this 'tight' you might as well get ready for the worst.

One reporter, who frequents the forum, wrote an article about this case. While some anti-odexers were not particularly happy with his so called 'one-sided' views, I shall not dwell into that too much and leave it for you to decide. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. However, as a XD supporter myself, I salute this brave soul for what he did to express his beliefs and convictions. The security expert interviewed, Cheang, seemed to be pretty narrow in his deductions. Quoted: "From the language used in the hacker's note, Mr Cheang believed the perpetrator was someone living here." Here would mean in Singapore. Mr Cheang, there are lots of people like me currently overseas but keeping a very close eye on this saga. Don't underestimate the passion of a SGOtaku. lol.

But what I really wanted to touch on is my own opinion about Odex and its losing battle. Yes, I said losing. Odex will never, can never win this fight ultimately. It might win some battles here and there, but it will lose the war. Why? Despite them claiming to be the knight in shining armor, cracking down on illegal downloaders, freeloaders, and whatever; they are still simply a company. A business company. One that needs to gain profit to stay alive. Therefore, its actions will always be profit driven or beneficial to themselves. So please cut the shit about trying to 'educate' people.

Secondly, even if they manage, somehow miraculously, to curb downloading via BT, there are still lots of ways to get anime. Other ways. I am now part of a small committee in building up the next generation anime streaming. Try Anitube for example. People will still continue to get their load of fansubs.

Thirdly, and most importantly, Odex sucks. Literally. There is really no other word I can use to describe it. It had not gained any respect from us, its only potential clients. It is going down in a spiral. tumbling down the rabbit hole. Time to eat your red pill and hope its all virtual reality. From the initial sub-standard product, to ripping off free fansubber's work, to back stabbing its own potential customer's back with fines and lies, and releasing more products with ripped off work. Round and round the wrong end of the stick. Its a Bottomless Pit. Which will give Odex itself a Megrim. Odex will lose the game in ten turns, or maybe less.

Well regardless of what I say, I think the verdict of Odex's Appeal against the PacNet case will be one crucial point of the battle. Sources say that the verdict will be out on the 28th Nov 07. And for people like us, we can only pray for the best, our best of course.

Criminals

Was watching Discovery Channel at a friend's house the other day and there was this show on 'America's Hardest Prison'. The prison mentioned on the show happened to be Lebanon Prison. It is a closed-security prison. Just one step away from maximum.

However, something disturbs me as I watch on. Now I am sure some of you had watched Fox's 'Prison Break'. Apparently those illegal activities going on in that drama is real and happening, in this case, in Lebanon Prison. There is always a leader running a syndicate.

Personally I feel that these scums, mostly murderers and rapists, had already been given a second chance. Yet they do not know how to treasure and make use of this given opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Everyone deserves a second chance... only when they treasure it.

Part of the reason is, i think, they were given too much freedom. I am not sure whether if the inmates were given special treatment because Discovery Channel was filming them or not. But come on, they can have TV in their room, or anything they wish as long as its not contraband! Its like a hotel in there!

To reform those who casted aside their second chance, they need to be cracked. Hard! How to do that? I think they should be stripped naked, be forced to wear an electric collar, a Chasity belt, chains to restrict movement and given less rights then a stray rabid dog. That means a 2 meter by 2 meter cell with a plastic bucket as lavatory, nothing else. Yes, some may say that this act is against human rights. But are they humans in the first place? Do these people who kill and hurt deserve to have equal rights as those who follow the law all their lives? If these dangerous people were to have any chance of successful reformation, that will be through these cold and harsh methods. Extreme people needs to be dealt with using extreme measures. To make them think that they are no longer treated as humans, that they no longer have any rights. Like a dead animal. Once cracked, they can then be slowly reformed. Like building a new house, you need to demolish the old one first. That is presuming that the old house is beyond the point where renovations can be done. For criminals of petty crimes and criminals that truly wish to be given a second chance, they should be given an opportunity and if they succeeded in changing themselves for the better; I believe their past crimes should be put behind them and they should be viewed anew.

Till now, months after the last episode of Death Note was aired, I am still very much in support of Kira aka Yagami Raito's view. For those who had committed hideous crime, their judgment should be death. The world will then be a safer and better place for all others. Too bad he met his downfall due to his own ego. The night he decided to take up the challenge to kill the fake 'L' who appeared on TV, he had doomed himself. 'L', then, did not commit any crime, Kira's decision to end 'L''s life is purely due to his own ego. He lost at episode 2 of the whole anime. But I will save this for another post another day.

Associating Supercars with Friends

Alright! I am going to develop some characters for an anime which features bishounens, bishoujos, and cars. I know it sounds weird. But I have too much time today to let my imagination run wild. Its going to have a cliche setting of uber rich people who drive expensive cars and study in a prestigious institution meant for the rich and wealthy. And these characters will mostly be based on some friends of mine, 10 of them in fact. Lets see if you recognize yourself if you were one of them here.

Skyfe
The NEET & Otaku of the lot (Neetaku?). Never been to classes so far. Average built, medium height, messy short hair with specs. Usually seen in simple singlet or T-shirt, Bermudas and slippers. Carries himself like a commoner, much to the disapproval by some of his similarly rich counterparts. Doesn't really make friends and mix around with other students except those already in the group. Joined the Kendo club due to his talent welding the blade but never participates in its activities. Plays the piano well and a sucker for Nihon-ryori. Being such a Weeaboo, he drives a titanium gray Nissan GT-R from Japan. Packing a new 3.8L V6 VR39DETT twin turbo engine, together with its sophisticated traction control ATTESSA E-TS all wheel drive system, it is a 500 hp car not to be reckoned with. More importantly, having Polyphony Digital (the guys that bring you Gran Turismo) to design its central control display, it is the ultimate Playstation 3 on wheels.

Cyg
The oldest amongst the group in terms of age. A science student. Medium height and light weight. Spots a crispy flock of rusty orange-brown hair and wears a pair of brown shades outdoors. Usually wears a shirt in his lacy brown leather jacket, ragged designer jeans and cowboy boots. Though looking like a seasoned cowboy, he is pretty friendly, caring and filial. Enjoys outdoor activities and road trips. He is the gambler character of this group. Though already filthily rich, gambling gives him the excitement and satisfaction he needs. He formed a club in school under a pretentious name, hiding the truth that the club is actually a gambling den. However, being a gambler does not affect his benevolent character. A perfect role model for gamblers who believe that gambling will not ruin lives. One habit of his, which the rest of the group is trying to get him to kick, is smoking. However, he had cut down a lot compared to earlier days. And everyone knows a cowboy needs to tame the bull; he drives a dark gray metallic Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 from Italy. It features a 6.5L V12 engine mounted "backwards". Together with 4 wheel drive, it is more than enough to fuel his love for road trip adventures. Ricers that met him along the way will just get smoked by the bull's exhaust, and literally by the cigarette he flung out of those scissors doors as he pulls away from those posers with 640 horses.

Ray
Tallest and lanky, he is usually spotted in his cotton hooded jacket and fitting pants. With short black spiky hair and sharp features, being the most popular amongst the girls is to be expected. Born easy going and carefree, he is the most approachable person within the group. Naturally he knows a lot of people. This may also be due to his love for traveling overseas and tasting gourmets. Excelling in his hobby of basket balling, one might be surprise that he actually comes from the faculty of psychology. To match his outgoing and refreshing personality, he drives a rosso red Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano from Italy. With its Enzo V12 engine pumping out 620 hp, it is the fastest GT car Ferrari has ever made. The 599 also comes along with Ferrari's all new traction control system, called F1-Trac tuned by inputs from Ferrari's famous F1 driver.

Sadesh
Sadesh is the only indian within the group. He is medium built, good looking, the cool and chill out type of person. He normally wears a beanie over his lightly highlighted red hair, spotting hip hop style or trendy clothes. Nothing can bring him more joy then partying, clubing and drinking. And if any of his mates were to get alcohol intoxication, he can administer a remedy as he is a medical student. Entering the school at the same time with the lead, he is the first friend who befriended the lead character. Besides having fun, he is also a good drummer and joins the school band sometimes. However, despite his demeanor, he comes from a family which is very traditional and strict with his upbringing. That did not stop him from pulling up at his favorite pub in his basalt black Porsche Carrera GT from Germany. He claims that he bought the 5.7L V10 engine car with 612 hp because it suits him and he likes the way it looks. More importantly is that it is one of the few remaining supercars with manual transmission around.

Whii
In terms of mature looks, Whii is the most matured and charismatic looking guy within the group. Tall, medium built with long center parted hair, he is normally seen in his black trench coat over his shirt and pants. However, his mature outlook does not hide the fact that he is a gentle person. Being a person who likes to try out and experience new things, he does not yet have a major of studies in school. Been taking electives for all his units. But one thing had captivated his heart and became his passion. Photography. Needless to say, photos taken featuring the group are all taken by him. Being such a gentle man, naturally he drives around in his almond green Auston Martin DBS V12 from England. As the name suggests, it packs a 6L V12 engine producing 510 horsepower. It is a car people buy not because they need it, but because they want it. Along side its driver, it brings out the best of its owner in terms of charismatic aura and gentleman-ness. A car fit for someone like James Bond.

Xhin
Looking at the school choir, you will spot a guy with good voice, medium built with black short hair in fashionable clothes. That is none other than business student, Xhin. Though a choir member, he actually prefers making pastry as his hobby. This funny and fun-loving person is actually the heir of a family that runs the global pastry food industry. Outside of school, he usually attends meetings for the company in his business suit driving a Ibis white Audi R8 from Germany. It is equipped with a 4.2L V8 developing 420 hp. Its suspension utilizes magneto rheological dampers. As Audi owns Lamborghini, 15% of the R8 is actually taken from the Lamborghini Gallardo. From chassis to transmission. Perhaps the most eye catching element of the R8 is its LED stripped head lights. A definite attention hogger at any formal functions.

Edd
Tall, medium built and usually in formal wear, Edd is a commerce student. Despite that, he is already a renowned sales executive running his own business in the global sales industry. He is the character in the show which will take care of everything and anything needed by the group. Whatever it is that you desire, he can get it... for a price. However, being good at sourcing for things did not help his aspiration to be a chef. Hence, he now cooks as a form of pass time. Though complaining about the lack of boot space to put his merchandise, he loves his yellow Pagani Zonda from Italy. It uses a 6L V12 engine sourced from AMG by Mercedes-Benz, outputting 750 horsepower. The lightweight-ness and raw speed is why Edd chose the car over others. The car is simply used for impressing clients. His main interest is in bikes. Lightweight and fast.

IZ
A very devoted Christian, this medium height, light built, bespectacled, light colored hair youth will be the mysterious character in the show. Like all other mysterious characters, he will probably get the least amount of airtime. In fact, he is so mysterious that people do not even know how to pronounce his name. The humble soft spoken guy, with well combed side parted hair, is usually seen in clean and tidy long sleeve shirt along with ironed pants. Besides being really adapt in the IT area even though he is a science student, he is also a very good guitarist. He drives the most humble looking supercar of all. A midnight blue Ford GT from America. The 550 hp 5.4L V8 all aluminum powerplant is fed by a Lysholm screw-type supercharger. The exhaust note is music to the ears as IZ would put it.

Kaos
Being the shortest member of the group did not trouble this bulky and well built person. Wearing designer sports wear most of the time, he is well trained in various martial arts and honed them to perfection. Despite being wealthy, Kaos gets along very well with people outside the group who are not as rich. Friendly and extroverted, it is not hard to believe that he is one of the oldest friend of the lead character. This media arts and design student only uses ketchup as sauce for food and hates garlic and vegetables. To go with his sporty and extroverted nature, he drives an orange Koenigsegg CCX from Sweden. The engine is 4.7 L V8 DOHC with 4 valves per cylinder. Its boosted by 2 centrifugal supercharger producing 806 horsepower.

Nyu
A small built, light weight bishoujo with pinkish long hair. Appearing mainly in white clothing, this girl excels in playing the violin and is a member of the archery and shooting club. Being the only female in the group often means getting more attention and given more leeway which she despises. Confident yet reserved, she is a much admired role model by the girls in school. She seems to have a unique relationship with the lead character; the truth behind it the show may or may not reveal in time. To match her grace and elegance she drives a crystal laurite silver, gull-winged, Mercedes-McLaren SLR 722 from Germany. It sports a 5.4L supercharged, all aluminum, SOHC, V8 engine generating a maximum of 650 horsepower. Like all Mercedes, the SLR dominates by its undeniable presence.

Yup so here you thave it. 10 character designs for my upcoming anime. Some attributes were slightly exaggerated for story development purposes. If you think you are one of those mentioned here, ie. one of my friends, please do not contact me if I wrote something inaccurate or disturbing. lol...

PS: the part about making an anime is bogus.

Alien vs Predator Requiem

Finally, its here. The sequel to the AvP movie many a year ago. And it looks like they have finally got it right this time. Without further ado, let me present you with a short trailer of whats to come.

I have been an avid fan of the Alien aka Xenomorph and Predator aka Yautja (some refer to it as Genesis) franchise since as long as I can remember. I watched all their movies, read most of their books and even scour the net on more information on these creatures to devour on. I can pretty much say with confidence that I know more about them then most others would. And I can pretty much judge if a person truly knows about them by just asking them a few questions or simply listen to what they have to say.

This reminds me of a story, let me side track abit... When I was in Primary 4, my best friend then and I were amongst the top 5 in class. And being the top 5, you can say that we were treated as our teacher's pets. Within this group of 5, there is this guy, a school prefect, a competitor, a rival so to speak. He is those type that like to attract attention to himself by any possible means to impress the teacher. Me and friend? We couldn't care less. We just want to have fun, living in our own world. So, one day, on one occasion, our teacher actually mentioned about the Aliens movie (aka Alien 2). And this prefect guy was like: " I know! I know!" bobbing up and down, hand up in the air waving frantically; happy like bird. This got me and my friend interested. We were already fans then. We want to know what he had to say...

"Its blood got poison one..."

WTF! Me and friend looked at each other sheepishly, eyes half closed; thinking: "Its ACID you idiot!" Anyway that was one small instance on my days in Primary school laughing at noobs and their ideas. So much later on, I volunteered to bring my video tape of the movie for everyone to watch in the AVA room. On that day itself, I forgot that my tape was not rewinded to the beginning of the movie. And the VCR player had problems rewinding the tape (thank god for DVD digest nowadays). So we simply played the tape from where it was. Guess what, it was at the part where the chestburster was bursting its way out of its human host's chest. WOOO... blood everywhere. I can still remember hearing all those girls screaming and boys peeing in their pants. They probably had nightmares sleeping that night.

Ok back on track. And so came the Alien versus Predator saga. I bought the first game. It was great at that time. The eerie feeling was very well presented to the player. Then came AvP2 by Sierra. It was more fun than the first though not as scary. I still remember installing it onto 8 computers in a LAN shop (I know the owner) and start playing with my friends. While other customers were still shooting at one another with their bee-bee guns in that saturating Counter Strike, me and friends were shelling, impaling and slashing at one another. It was not long before we drew this enormous crowd being our 8 computers as more and more people became curious as to what we were up to. Even the owner was too engross in observing our game to notice the big crowd. He probably had the highest number of people in his shop that day. And of course, I manage to convince friends to buy the original game to play with me online for hours on end even after 5 years of the game's release. They probably found it in some dusty corner of the "half-priced" shelf. Then came the expansion for AvP2, Primal Hunt. It wasn't done by Sierra this time. It had potential but was a let down in the end. It lost the feel totally.

Talking about a let down. Nothing is as much a disappointment as the AvP movie. When it was first announced, I was simply delighted to hear it. But horror dawned on me as I watched the movie in the cinema. The whole movie lost its chance to redeem it self when the whole cinema burst into laughter. Yup, you guessed it. It was the part where the female lead actually used the carapace of an alien's head as a shield, and its barbed tail tied onto a pole as a spear. What in the world is this crap? And everything else is wrong. The Predators looked so big and clumsy. They are suppose to be big, tall but graceful like an athlete. Not some lumbering gorilla. And some behavioral characteristics of the Xenomorphs and Yautjas depicted in the movie were simply disturbing. Any true fan will tell you that "They are doing it WRONG!".

Anyhow, when they announced the filming of AvPR, I wasn't expecting much out of it. Didn't harbor much hope for it, lest it disappoints me again. A couple of days ago I saw the trailer and did some research on it. Apparently the directors filming this movie are pretty well known. And they finally did it right by keeping the blood and gore. Yup, its going to be R-rated. Looks like I can safely look forward to this movie's release.

So let me give a break down on some little aspects of the trailer that I find worthy to make a note of.

As I mentioned earlier, expect blood and gore in this one. Here a multi-bladed shuriken was thrown by the predator, impaling a girl to the wall.


The original blue thermal version for the predator is back. Looks good.

I wonder if they will show footage from the predator's point of view without its mask. You see, in Predator 1, the predator actually took off its mask before sparring with Arnold. From the predator's perspective, it seem to have a vision of a dog or bull. Red vision only, lacks contrast and very near sighted. However, in Predator 2 and in the games, it would appear that the predator can see normally like any human being. Or maybe the directors/game makers thought it was impractical to show the audience/players the true vision of the predator without its mask on. This is still something that I am still not too sure about.

Here you can see a much leaner Predator.


The ridge-headed aliens are back, though the extend of the ridge patterns seemed to be less than in Aliens (aka Alien 2).

And lastly, if anyone can recall, there was a chestburster bursting out of the chest of a fallen predator near the ending of AvP. This xenomorph is a Predalien.

Much slender than the game's counterpart. Different in stance and head design as well. If it has an inner jaw, that would be another difference as the one in the game didn't have one.

I would love to think that the directors had finally done it right. And I will know instantly whether if they are as shallow as the director in the first movie if I ever see the Predalien cloaks. Please, don't let me see that. I pray hard. The Predalien shouldn't be able to cloak although its a predator-alien genetic hybrid. Why? Cause the predators use technology to cloak themselves. Machines!!! And to all those noobs out there trying to say that the Predalien should at least have a camouflage ability like a chameleon, please go eat a rock! They can never have that ability. Again why? Cause the xenomorph assimilates some DNA of its host into its own genome during its development inside its host, resulting in it having some attributes similar to its host And I can bet my pair of socks that predators do not have any genes that codes for the ability to camouflage like a chameleon in their DNA! So please. Before you make any e-gnorant comments which tells me that you were living under an e-rock all these while. LURK MOAR!

Well thats about it. I hope I can truly enjoy myself when I watch this movie in the cinema and probably get its DVD-rip, eh i mean DVD for collecting purposes. It will be released in Singapore on the 25th December 07 and 26th December 07 in Australia. See you in the cinemas.

Facebook vs Friendster

Joined the all so popular Facebook today. Apparently it is very well known here in Australia. From fellow Uni course mates to lecturers, everyone has a Facebook account. Out of curiosity, (and of course succumbing to the force of advertising through the never ending emails of your so and so friend has joined Facebook - Join it too!), I decided to create an account to have a look.

Being a member of Friendster for a couple of years, I was pretty upset by the somewhat cluttered homepage greeting me after logging into my Facebook account. Clicking onto a friend to view his profile, I was bombarded by thousands of weird looking widgets in his profile. It took me some seconds to realize what they are and their uses.

After a few minutes mucking around, I was not impressed. Granted, the ability to add applications into your profile is a bonus. But I would say most of them are not really that useful. I installed the Youtube box, Imeem box and a Blog RSS feeder. The rest of those application, I dun see much a point installing them except in trying to make my profile 'look cool' by making it super cluttered and messy...

One major drawback for Facebook is its lack of CSS support. Unlike Friendster, you do not have full control in customizing how you want your profile to look like. Embedding media has to be done through applications which by themselves have their limitations. I wouldn't want to go into details of what a person cannot do without CSS support.

In addition, there seems to be quite a few restrictions in viewing other people's profile as well as making friends compared to Friendster. But maybe thats just me. I tried to change my Network from Singapore to Japan and they say I can't change back within the next 2 months! No idea whats the big issue here...

All in all, Facebook in itself has its good points, perhaps I shouldn't really compare the two as it would appear that Facebook isn't trying to be like a second Friendster. Its in its own league. An apple and an orange. However, if I am just looking for a site to stay in contact with friends, my choice would be Friendster; where I can fully customize my profile as I see fit. But without doubt, Facebook would be nice to have some mindless fun with friends using all those applications. Sadly, I am not someone who seeks this type of fun.

Oh my gosh!

Despite repeated denial from my other half of the brain to NOT write a blog, here I am finding myself writing this first post. Not to mention that I was invited numerous times by a blogger to be his guest blogger and I politely turned down every single time. EEkk...

You see, I like to think a lot. Think of simple stuffs and complicated ones as well. Sometimes I wish to discuss these thoughts to as many people as I possibly could. One would think that writing a blog would be a great way to both achieve that aim, as well as documenting down these revelations. (so I can laugh at myself 30 years down the road... ahhh the wonders of youth)

However, I am a lazy person. I do not wish to commit into something if I can avoid it. I know that if I were to start a blog, then like everything else, I will find myself spending all my time and effort into it. Trying to make it satisfactory to my standards. This is why I fear commitments. As someone with such a wide range of interests, I find very limited time to do everything at once and it frustrates me sometimes. With the limited time I have, I can never be a master in all of them. But its still fun to be able to strike up a conversation with any stranger or to be able to join into any ongoing conversation with some knowledge of the topic at hand.

Sadly, as I grow older, reality sets in. Time have to be channeled to studying something specific so that I can get a degree. So that I can put food on the table. I had some really hard time trying to stop some of my ongoing pursuits of interest. But I still revisit them once in a blue moon.

So here I am with this crapily simple template of a blog. Looks so amateurish. But I think I will keep it that way. So that in the event I have to give up blogging, I wouldn't feel too sad to let it go. And I can probably survive with content alone. No need for eye candy when it comes to Psi-kun's work. Muahahaha...

Well lastly, this is probably the worst time I can choose to start a blog as I should really be studying for my Final Exams coming this Tuesday. Thermodynamics! Governing the physical law of nature.

Banzai.

Hmmm... its 0115hrs now. Perhaps I should sleep first and wake up to prepare for the exam later.