I knew I had it coming. The first (and supposedly last) time I went to Berjaya Times Square (BTS) when it first opened, I swore I wouldn’t go there again. Well, I had to break my promise last weekend. On my first visit, I was stunned. Other than Debenhams (which is pretty small, and too overpriced for me), the whole place was so Ah-Beng, man. I was as if Sungei Wang Plaza transplanted itself and moved there. Hundreds and hundreds of shops selling Hong Kong fashion rejects, ladies shoes, DVD/VCD pirates, it was just too much for me. Even Sungei Wang had its redeeming qualities, BTS had none. There was…

Well, it isn’t really a horror story, but it won’t be something the manager of credit card sales would want to read. Here’s what happened actually. I’ve been a card customer of this international bank, which I shall not name (but some of my pals call it Sillybank… oops, did I say too much?) for many, many years. I must emphasize here that I’ve mostly been a one-credit-card guy, no matter how many sales people approach me at shopping centres thrusting free cards in my face. (That’s another rant for an upcoming blog). OK, so about 6 months ago this bank sends me this additional card with 3 years free…

Here’s a list of magazines I read on a regular basis. Please note, I don’t buy all the mags here, most of them I read at the library or mooch off my philanthropic friends. If I did buy all of ‘em, I’ll probably be living off biscuits everyday. Empire: It’s a British international movie mag. I used to read every single word of this rag (including the spine quote) but I’ve gone off it a bit since they changed the format and streamlined it (puh-leez…). ‘Too commercialized, now’, I would say, with a hint of arrogance.FourFourTwo: A must read. I love Sam Allardyce’s coaching tips and David Platt’s tactical analysis.…

And so another chapter closes in Malaysia’s social history. The murder case of 29-year old Canny Ong has finally concluded. The accused, an aircraft cabin cleaner, has been sentenced to caning, 20 years jail and death. The media has carried this case with their usual fanfare, sometimes not without the sensationalism. While life and death are mere phases in the great passage of the spiritual form, I cannot help but stop to reflect each I read about a murder case in the Malaysia. Somehow, for a brief moment in time, we are reminded of our own mortality, of how our nation has descended into such levels of moral depravity, of…

Circulation nos. obtained in the press today (no. in brackets show previous survey):The Star – 1,109,000 (1,045,000)Malay Mail – 132,000 (137,000)New Straits Times – 322,000 (323,000)The Sun – 173,000 (165,000)Sunday Star – 987,000 (1,003,000)New Sunday Times – 303,000, (282,000)Sunday Mail – 153,000 (134,000)Harian Metro – 1,218,000 (1,275,000)Berita Harian – 1,473,000 (1,491,000)Utusan Malaysia – 1,510,000 (1,010,000)Kwong Wah – 271,000 (261,000)China Press – 741,000 (730,000)Sin Chew Jit Poh – 1,109,000 (1,099,000)Guang Ming Daily – 381,000 (347,000)Tamil Nesan – 144,000 (140,000)Tamil Namban – 247,000 (242,000) Some observations: totaling up the weekday papers for all languages (excluding the Sun), we get 4.725 million rags sold daily. Assuming the population of Malaysia is 30 million,…

In line with the reality shows craze on TV these days (as opposed to fake or make-believe TV that we’ve been watching all this while), I’m compiling a list of things that might feature if Malaysia were to make our own show. For ease of thought, I’ve broken down the listing into 3 groups: Do Physical/Frustrating challenge: Like Amazing Race’s Roadblock. Designed to test the contestants physical & mental strength to the limit. Eat Disgusting Stuff: Like on Fear Factor and MTV’s I Bet You Will every week. Do Scary Thing: Like on Fear Factor also. Fight crocodile, stay underwater, play with scorpions, the usual thing. OK, this is what…

My daughter loves to watch the cartoon ‘Bob the Builder’ on cable TV. Its quite entertaining, kinda reminds me of the stop motion claymation of the old days, although this one probably uses far more advanced techniques. If you’re not familiar with this show, it’s about a construction guy called Bob with his blue cat, talking machinery (cement mixer, forklift, excavator, you get the picture) and a young girl named Wendy. Each episode usually features the gang facing a ‘construction’ problem and how they work together to solve it. Together with the talking and moving machinery. Having worked in the construction line for many years, I would like to point…

BOUTIQUE OWNER FOUND MURDERED PETALING JAYA: The 26-year-old co-owner of a children’s boutique was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in her shoplot at a newly opened shopping complex in Mutiara Damansara here.Goh Lee Fang, 26, who had multiple stab wounds on her body, was found by one of her partners at 1.15pm yesterday sprawled in a pool of blood at the back office of the Ovo – The Difference boutique, located on the first floor of the Curve. _______What is our nation coming to? A woman is murdered in cold-blood, in what is perceived to the up-market, high society area of PJ. And the Curve is hardly even a…

I haven’t bought a CD for awhile. Due to some cost-cutting measures when I was getting married, I had to stop this luxury. And till today, I buy like max 1 a year. My pal Dave the Slayer still buys RM300 worth of tapes and CDs a month (Including Ker-rang and Metal Hammer magazines). I think he is personally supporting 50% of the revenue of that music store at Campbell Plaza. Headbangers around the city will know that middle age lady store owner very well. The last CD I got was 2 years ago, Our Favorite Things by Tony Bennett, Charlotte Church, Placido Domingo & Vanessa Williams. Very disappointing. At…

Here’s a movie you must watch : “Dodgeball – the True Underdog Story”. Now, before you go on to tell me that the reviewers gave it a bad rating, saying that it’s a formulaic, juvenile, run-of-the-mill movie, I’ll say this. It’s funny. I won’t go into a fanboy play-by-play review here, there’s many places on for the Net where you can get it. And besides, I don’t want to give out any spoilers to ruin it for you, just my intellectual views. Why? Firstly, it’s funny. I know I’ve said that before. I have a tendency to repeat myself, sometimes. I have a tendency to repeat myself, sometimes. Secondly, it…