Wednesday 29 April 2009

Idol 8: Top five

There’s only five left, and three more weeks before the final. We’re at the point where the bottom three shouldn’t be about skill, or slipups, or song choice. It’s straight up popularity with the voting audience now.

I didn’t liveblog this eppy, since there are too many breaks now. Hehe.

I thought Kris showed off what an accomplished artist/singer he is. Once again, he played nicely with the arrangement, and showed off some good vocal skills. Not sure about Simon’s negativity.

Allison just proved that she has a soft and very emotional side. Hmm. Paula actually made a decent comment when she said that Allison showed off a tender side. And maybe Simon has a point about her belief in herself, but I’m not sure it makes a difference. She was still good, despite.

Ok, is there gonna be a positive Simon-“brilliant”-effect for Matt? I thought he was alright, but not sure about brilliant.

I felt that Danny showed off more power than Matt. That’s the kind of power and range you needed to show off in Rat Pack week. Loved how he ended the song. Amazing vocals, and very nice control. More confidence and swagger than Allison? Yes, definitely. Better than previous weeks? Maybe. Does it make a difference? In the end, gotta remember what Randy said: this is a singing competition. And man, can he sing!

There is, of course, no one in the competition who has more confidence in their own ability than Adam. He knows he can sing. He knows he’s a consummate performer. It’s just a question of whether America likes his style. Even Jamie Foxx knows how skilled Adam is.

Overall, I think Jamie was a good mentor for this week, and I loved the songs this week. They all managed to carry them well too, putting on their own individual spin to their performances. Can’t imagine who has to leave the show tomorrow.

GeoCities Thrives, Yahoo! Buys, Yahoo! GeoCities Dies (finally)

A bit of news has been getting a fair amount of mention lately. Yahoo! has decided to close GeoCities. I remember signing up in my uni days, and putting up a personal page. I even remember scouring the GeoCities neighbourhoods looking for a nice address. By the time Yahoo! bought it though, I had already lost interest in staking out a position on the net.

And now, after being left behind in relative obscurity due to the meteoric rise of social networking sites and their ilk, the once popular free web-hosting site is being put down. Yahoo!’s not sharing much in the way of details right now, instead telling customers to “wait until the summer”.

The only details really of any interest right now are how to save a copy of your website, or how to migrate it to their paid hosting service. There are no further details to be had. GeoCities is shutting down. For good. They’ve already stopped accepting new registrations. By the end of this year there won’t be any more sites at geocities.com. Interestingly though, if you have a geocities.com email address, that will survive the closure.

I’ve already deleted my (woefully neglected, embarrassingly amateurish) GeoCities site. Now it only exists (partly) in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

Tuesday 28 April 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine opening soon

The latest X-Men movie is opening soon. I need to see this. On the big screen.

That’s it really. Just had to note this. :-)

By the way, better stay til the end of the credits. Definitely don’t want to miss any hidden scenes!

Thursday 23 April 2009

Idol 8: Down to five

So we have our top five. Anoop had to go home, just so Allison could go on a little further. It was amazing that David Archuleta just spoke with them, and said that you don’t have to go all the way to have all sorts of doors open for you. I think that’ll apply to anyone from this group, including, most likely, the two who didn’t get enough votes tonight.

Idol 8: Two going home

First out was Lil. I’m not disappointed with that result. Nothing against her. She can sing, but I just got tired of it after awhile. It was the same thing, again and again.

Safe:
Kris – Yes. No doubt there.
Adam – No surprise, at all.
Danny – Does he lack starpower? Is it the moves, or apparent lack thereof? Is that what Simon means by awkward? He definitely has the voice.
Matt – Hmm. I did like him – certain weeks.

Anoop goes to the other side. That’s iffy. I really think he’s showed how he’s been getting better and better.

Allison joins Anoop. Sigh. I really liked her, cos she brings a nice originality. A rock spin to her songs.

Let it not be said that Australians don’t respect Muslims’ needs

Yesterday, while liveblogging American Idol, I linked to the official Tourism Australia site. They’ve rolled out an ad campaign that’s featured quite heavily on Astro at the moment (it’s a nice spot too).

One thing that immediately struck me when I visited their website was an item on the front page. Right there, under the Special Features column, there’s a download link for their Muslim Visitors’ Directory to Australia, which is described as “your handy pocket-size directory listing restaurants that caters to the dining requirements of Muslim visitors, as well as locations to mosques”. Now, I haven’t downloaded the directory, so I don’t know how helpful or comprehensive it is, but it’s amazing just to find it there on the front page in the first place.

How many other tourism sites for non-Muslim countries have something similar? I think it’s a great move, and is a huge sign of respect to the sensitivities of Muslims. Most places would leave it to the Muslim traveler to find out where to find places of worship, and halal eateries. Maybe there would be special tourist agencies to cater to that market. Or maybe you’d have to rely on your own embassy to aid you with that information. But to have it right there on the country’s official tourism site is just very convenient.

Now, despite the conventional wisdom about greater Middle Eastern/Muslim tourist arrivals in the area, I don’t think it’s necessarily about grabbing that market. Granted, it probably plays some role, but delving into the tourist arrival statistics (available here) shows that it’s not really that huge a market share.

If you consider only arrivals from the Middle East, 2007 figures for total inbound market value (tourist dollar spend) show a ~2.2% market share. Projections for 2009 show this increasing to 3.0%. If you add in figures from Indonesia and Malaysia (not all, obviously), this can double, but it’s still less than 10% of the total. So it’s not entirely a numbers game. Being in the neighbourhood of the largest Muslim nation in the world probably plays a part though, so it’s a smart move, no matter the motivation.

Kudos to Tourism Australia.

Wednesday 22 April 2009

Idol 8: Top seven – Pt 6

Definitely back from the last break now. Only one left to go.

You know, maybe that Walkabout spot is just getting a bit too much exposure. I’d like them to mix it up a bit. There’s gotta be more to Australia, so why not showcase it?

Anoop – Starts off showing off his vocal range already. That’s good. Ended a bit rough, but still was good. I’ll agree with Kara, loved how he switched up and hit a variety of notes.

So there we have it. Which two are going home tomorrow? Wow. That’s gonna be interesting. My favourites of the night were Kris and Danny, and that’s the only easy part. Not gonna try predicting who gets kicked off.

Idol 8: Top seven – Pt 5

Back from the last (?) break.

Matt – How appropriate to pick “Staying Alive”. Perfect for the puns. Hmm. Undecided on whether that was actually a good choice tho. Even after the judges’ comments, I’m not sure.

Oh wait. They’re milking this show for all it’s worth. Why not? One more break then.

Idol 8: Top seven – Pt 4

Back from the third break.

Adam – Definitely looking sharp, if that helps (and it might). Well, that certainly was brave and original. It’s true, he does show off his range, by doing something different each week. And I’ll give it to him this week: he showed emotion. At least he’s always original, you gotta give him that.

This should be the last break.

Idol 8: Top seven – Pt 3

Back from the second break.

Incidentally, anyone have the urge to go Walkabout?

Danny – Oh yeah. Nice and high energy. Hit the right notes, and did work it out. Paula: “I’ll still see you in the finals!” Yeah, sure hope so.

Allison – She’s really rocking it. I liked how she started it, and worked it up to the quick pace. “Hot stuff”, all right.

Another break.

Idol 8: Top seven – Pt 2

Back from the first break.

Kris – Ooh. Acoustic. Nice. Low-key. Love the arrangement. This guy has consistently improved week by week. The judges got it right, it was fantastically original.

Another break so soon? Sigh.

Idol 8: Top seven (again)

Well, the stakes are higher this time around. Two are guaranteed to go home tomorrow. Let’s see who brings their A game today.

Lil – Ok, high energy. The judges were disappointed, but that’s not really a surprise. Gonna have to agree with Simon: I didn’t see the originality. Still think there’s gonna be a sizable “sympathy” vote for her tho. They love to vote for the underdog, and who else is the underdog in this group? They’ve been telling her week after week that they think she’s in trouble, and yet she survives for another week. We’ll see.

First commercial break.

The mental calisthenics of avoiding paying taxes

It’s tax season. Responsible citizens everywhere are getting headaches figuring out how to file their tax returns. It’s an onerous task, what with all the different regulations and exceptions in the different tax codes. That’s why they have professionals to assist the regular Joe figure it all out. There’s a whole industry out there related to taxes, and it’s not just for firms, but individuals too.

As we grow older we come to the realization that “nothing is certain but death and taxes”, but it’s only the latter that vexes us on a predictable annual schedule.

But maybe we should focus on how I opened this post. Responsible citizens are the ones braving the tedium of filing their tax returns and actually paying their taxes. Yes, not everyone is a responsible citizen. I’m sure we all know those who couldn’t be bothered, thinking that it’s a low priority offense and no one gets hurt in the process. Or maybe they think that it’s too much of a hassle. Or maybe they object to the principle of the matter. Or maybe there’s a political angle to it.

And that’s where things start to get ridiculous. Not paying taxes because you don’t support the current government? What nonsense! Would you propose to forgo all public services in the meantime? And how should we identify you if you did? Will you proudly showcase your political affiliation on your sleeve, so that you may be excluded from receiving public services that others support with their taxes?

Or did you think there are some things provided free of charge? Those doctors in the government hospitals aren’t doing their duty purely out of the goodness of their hearts. They still need to bring paychecks home. How do they get paid? Out of the government’s coffers, of course. And where do the funds come from? Why, 43% of the Federal Government’s budget is financed through income tax. (Look it up yourself. Try using the government websites, maintained using public funds by the way.)

Don’t go to government hospitals, you say? Or send your kids to public schools?

Fine then. Don’t expect the police to help you when you’re a victim of crime then. Or the fire department to put out the fire burning down your mansion. They’ll help your neighbour who pays taxes though, while you stand outside moaning. Maybe you can hire private contractors to put out the fire. After all, you don’t trust the current government to use your tax dollars (ringgit, whatever) responsibly. So you’re on your own. Just the way you like it.

How about the next argument? We’re taxed too heavily! It’s a burden! Too much of our money is going to the government, and being wasted on all those wasteful and unnecessary and wrong “study trips”!

I’ve got news for you too. Let’s look at KPMG’s survey. They’re a reputable enough consultancy firm, so you don’t have to judge based on my credentials. For 2008, the highest tax rate on personal income in Malaysia was 28%. That’s a marginal tax rate, by the way, so it’s not 28% of your total income. But 28% on the upper portion of your taxable income. The global average was 28.8%. But let’s look closer to home, shall we? Let’s focus on ASEAN countries. There’s data on 6 of them (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). The average was 32%, with the lowest in Singapore (20% - no surprise there really), and the highest in Vietnam (40%). So we’re lower than the average.

Then there’s the level at which that highest marginal tax rate kicks in (there’s no such thing as a flat tax). For Malaysia it was RM250,000. Converting all the other ASEAN countries’ currencies to RM (at prevailing rates), we find that the average was RM272,716.07. The Singaporeans are lucky, cos you’d you have to be pretty damn rich (RM771,328) before you get hit by their highest tax rate. The Vietnamese, however, are doubly unlucky. If you make less than half a Malaysian (at RM100,302), you’re already hit by that highest rate, which was already the highest in the region.

Think we have it bad? Think again.

My take on all this hand-wringing? It’s just a lazy mentality. “I want it free!” Bah! Suck it up, I say. Do your duty. Pay your taxes.

Thursday 16 April 2009

Idol 8: They used the save to keep it at seven!

Wow. Well, I’m actually a bit surprised. Idol history tonight. You know what this means though, right? Two people are going home next week. That could be nail-biting.

Overall, it was a good evening. The opening number was my fave so far. And the two artists (Jennifer Hudson and Miley Cirus – yes, I know!) were actually good.

So next week is disco week, huh? Hehe. That should be fun.

Idol 8: Top seven bottom three

Do we need the judge’s save tonight?

[Wait a minute.]

Yes! Ok, no we may not need it after all. :-)

Wednesday 15 April 2009

Was that an Idol challenger I heard?

Sorry, Randy, I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that assessment of Kris. I thought that was actually pretty good. One of the highlights of the night, for me at least.

At the end of the night, I’m undecided about the bottom three. Hmm. Will there be a need for the judge’s save tomorrow?

American Idol Season 8 is now a race for second place

I mean, seriously, can there be any doubt that Adam Lambert won’t win the competition? The voice control, the stage presence, the theatrics. He’s on a whole ’nother level. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the others at this stage too. Shoutouts to Danny, Allison, Kris, Anoop, and Matt. Sorry, Lil, you don’t really excite me at this point. But Adam’s in a league of his own. I suppose there’s stilll the odd chance that it’s not to Americans’ tastes, but it sure is looking less likely from where I’m sitting.

A’isyah’s school trip to the zoo

A’isyah on her school trip day
A’isyah’s going on her first school trip today. She’s been excited about this visit to the zoo since last week, when we found out about it. Good thing her cold/runny nose cleared up in time (thanks Actifed!), so it wouldn’t be too much of a bother today. I still packed some tissues in her bag, just in case. At the last minute I gave her a cap to wear, but the skies were overcast this morning, so she’ll probably not need the protection from the hot sun.

This isn’t her first visit to the National Zoo, so I’m sure she’ll have a good time. She just loves looking at animals, and I always enjoy taking her to places with animals. I think it’s important for kids to get a chance to know the natural world and the many different lifeforms around us. The many charms of nature are probably a universal fascination for children, so it’s just up to the adults to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to satisfy that curiosity.

A’isyah's first visit to the zoo
On A’isyah’s first visit last year just after her third birthday, I think we got tired before she did. Hehe.

I’ve just found out a little bit more about Zoo Negara; for example, 2009 is Visit Zoo Negara Year. No matter what critics may say about our National Zoo, it plays an important role, so I sure hope more of us support the Malaysian Zoological Society and visit the zoo.

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Decided on those blog aggregators

Well, seems I’ve made up my mind on which blog aggregator to visit regularly. I find myself drawn to blogged.my and Negaraku, with an occasional visit to SARAwho. Those sites are responsive and offer a good choice of blogs to discover, with interesting posts that I’d actually click through to read.

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Opinion and truth

When does one’s opinion become the truth?

What if someone believed “something”? What if some other people (second parties) confirmed the first party’s belief in that “something”? Can we consider it truth? Verifiable? What if that “something” concerned another party’s motives? What if there is perceived motive to deceive the first party? Should we bother to consider the assertions of the third party? To another group, the fourth party, what is the truth? Would that not rely on their allegiances, if any, to the other parties?

For how do you verify motives, when they deal with the subject of emotions?

Look to their actions then.

Monday 6 April 2009

Change isn’t easy

Sometimes you can’t avoid it. Sometimes you don’t want to avoid it. That doesn’t mean it’s gonna be easy. It just prepares you for change.

And yet, you can’t always be fully ready for the change, when it comes.

Sometimes change happens to you, and sometimes you are the instigator. Both roles are still just as affected.

Is there a point in assigning blame? Maybe. If only to avoid it in future, if at all possible.

I remain, cryptically, awaiting change. Because some of it has already happened. And more is around the corner.

Friday 3 April 2009

Considering alternative blog aggregators

An anonymous commenter on my previous post pointed me out to several alternative blog aggregator sites. I’d already discovered one of them, and heard about another of them, but two were completely new to me. So I decided to try them all out and compare them. My first impressions below.


blogged.my


The site loads up fast for me, including the different ways of viewing the site. They do have one interesting feature in the “most popular” section, akin to a mini digg section. Here you can view the top ten pings in the last 24 hours, week, month, or year. Their pings are listed as short blurbs. It’s paginated, so you can view previous pings as well. You can navigate by browsing tags, the most popular pings, and even by popular tags via the tag cloud at the bottom. They also have a search box on the sidebar near the top.


SARAwho


I found out about this one at the same time that I discovered blogged.my. It’s supposed to be for Southeast Asian blogs, even though it seems to be pretty much dominated by the Malaysians right now. I’m not sure if that’s a function of the prolific writings of Malaysian bloggers, or the level of outreach for the site. Judging from the number of updates, I’d guess it’s due to the latter reason.

SARAwho has a few feeds on the right sidebar, and you can view the pings from the last 4 hours, 8 hours (default view), 16 hours, 1 day, or 1 week.


Beras Padu


I’d heard of Beras Padu before, from other blog posts, but I’ve never visited the site. This is laid out in similar style to SARAwho, although I’m not sure which site copied which. There are certainly more malay bloggers pinging here, and overall it gets a lot of pings.

The site loads up pretty quickly. Beras Padu has a “reader community” and the right sidebar has links to selected blog posts. You can view the pings from the last 12 hours (default view), 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week. There’s even an RSS feed for Beras Padu, although you’ll have to click through to the owner’s site to grab the link.


Planet Malaysia


This one is new to me. Planet Malaysia started as a small portal for Malaysian bloggers, and it seems to have grown in time.

The site takes awhile to load up for me, probably because it doesn’t just list links to other blogs. I’m not sure how their members ping the site, since the site has more than just links to blogs. The individual entries seem to be in custom formats, with text, formatting, and pics. The way it’s done, you may never need to click through to the original blog.

The site isn’t paginated, and there’s no way to filter posts. On the right sidebar you’ll find links to archives, a blog roll, and links to recent posts.


Negaraku


Another new one for me. They have a Facebook Group, and member profiles. Their banner, however, doesn’t display correctly on this system and looks quite bad.

The site loads up pretty quickly. Arranged at the top are Category links. The posts seem to be “rated” for buzz, and you can view those popular posts. The right sidebar has links to the popular posts of the day, the previous day, the week, the month, and the year. They also have a tag cloud. The post listings have short blurbs, and some even come with full-size photos. The site is paginated, so you can browse the pings in batches.


I don’t think there’s a clear “winner” in this list. They’ll all appeal to different people of course. For myself, I haven’t decided yet which one(s) I’ll visit regularly.