Pawn Shop Stories

You know what a pawn shop is, right? Whenever you’re short on cash, you bring something valuable to the shop, the old man at the counter assesses its street value, lends you some money, keeps the item as collateral. If within a period of time you don’t come back to redeem the item, he keeps the item.

At least that’s how they used to work here. In some other countries, pawn shops, instead of dying out like a sunset industry, have mushroomed by becoming second hand item traders and antique restorers.

I’ve been watching a series called Pawn Stars (cool name, eh?) about a family run business in Las Vegas, Nevada. Its a reality show that follows the day to day dealings of a pawn shop. The cool thing is that they people coming in to sell rare and strange stuff, and they’ll get an expert in to appraise it, meanwhile telling a bit about the history of the item.

Cool show, its now showing on the History Channel. And that guy Chumlee is funny.

Back To The Future [1985]

As a serious movie buff, I’ve watched plenty of them. And if there’s one that come close to the perfect movie in my mind, it would probably be the 1985 teenage scifi comedy, Back to the Future.

I watched it in the cinema as a kid, and a couple of time on video and reruns on TV2, and just last night thanks to axxo. After 25 years, its still funny, exciting, and the dialogue still fresh.

For those who don’t know about this 80′s classic, Michael J. Fox plays Marty McFly, 17 year old teenager who goes back 30 years in a time machine Doc Brown builds out of a Delorean. Back in 1955, he bumps into his dad, and accidentally prevents his parents from meeting, thereby jeopardizing his future existence. He then seeks out the younger version of his good friend Doc Brown. After some convincing the eccentric doc, they set out to send Marty back to the present (1985) by harnessing the power from lightning striking the town clocktower. In the meantime, Marty’s mother had become infatuated with him, fueling a hilarious Oedipal-complex situation.

Marty and the doc succeed, and when he returns to the future, he realizes a lot of things have changed in his family due tohis intervention of the past 30 years before.

Of course looking back now its easy to spot all the plot holes (we’re talking about time travel here), but the whole premise is deliciously appealing to me – if we could go back in time to see how our parents lives were, and how things would be different had some small little change took place. Or, in a more extreme premise, what would I tell myself 20 years ago that I know now that would change my life?

Worst Yau Ja Guai (油條) EVAR

I love yau ja guai (油條). But since it isn’t healthy, if I were to eat it, it has to be REALLY good.

The only place I buy it from around here is from that guy Leslie, his stall is in front of Lim Mee Yoke (formerly Chow Yang) in the mornings. The other stall is the pasar malam near my house (which isn’t as good as Leslie’s, but what the heck its convenient).

So today, first time in Empire Shopping Gallery (meh. I’ll be going back to Subang Parade) we passed by this stall called I Love Yoo! (really, the name should have tipped me off) at the lower ground floor selling yau ja guai and the usual accompanying stuff. So since I was craving for it, I tried it.

WORST. EVAR.

It tasted HORRIBLE, and inside it was FLOWING with oil. Didn’t even finish it. You guys have been warned.

Android or iPhone?

Been looking at some smartphones these few weeks.

Initially it was at Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S and HTC Desire. But the iPhone-using friends have also been mounting a credible persuasion…

My main purpose is the free apps (besides the usual call and camera functions, etc) – i need to use them frequently, I’m a I-need-to-know-that-NOW kind of guy. And some cool free games to keep my kids when we’re waiting for our food.

So… any suggestions?

‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ by Ernest Hemingway

When I tell people I read a lot, they often ask me “What’s your favourite book?”. Rather than tackle that question, I’d always answer, “Well, the LAST good book I read was…”

And the last good book I read was Hemingway’s ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ (why, yes, there IS also a Metallica song with the same name).

The book is about the events in a 3-day period during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Robert Jordan is an American volunteer who joins the republican guerilla army as an explosives expert tasked to blow up a bridge. Jordan journeys behind enemy lines with a small band of guerilla fighters. Over the few days, he gets to know his comrades and why they fight, and ultimately realize that they will not survive this mission.

While the plot is simple, Hemingways skillfully tackles the issues of death, suicide, courage and inevitably, the brutality of war.

I have to admit, this wasn’t an easy book to read (I tried and gave up some years back before reading it recently) but it is fulfilling to finish it. Everytime i watch scenes of war on the TV news, I am always reminded of the characters in this book and why they fought and were willing to die for their cause.

As with all my favourite books, it has a good ending (not necessarily happy, though). I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read it.