Online Coupons Overload

Unless you have been off the internet for the past 1 year, you must have heard or seen about this recent online coupon or discount craze. I’m talking about those group discount websites like Groupon and WeBuy and the dozens of similar websites.

Discount coupons have been around for decades – in the 80′s some of my friends’ mothers would cut out coupons from newspapers and magazines that offer discounted items or free samples. When the internet started, a few companies started it, but it never really caught on in the US until Groupon and Living Social popularized it in the scale we have today. Sometime in the mid of 2010, it really started to catch on in here in Malaysia. There have been a few of these sites (with a more or less the same concept) since as early as 2008 but they mostly failed to take off.

So anyway, I’ve somehow never got round to joining any of these sites until recently. I dunno, my idea is that the less you see these deals (however cheap they may be) the less you’ll spend in the long run. But out of curiousity, i did a survey of some of the sites, and finally signed up with Groupon Malaysia and MilkaDeal. Most of the others don’t seem to stand out, after awhile you tend to see the same deals repeated ad nauseam – Car polishing/waxing, spa treatment, facial treatment, dancing classes, etc.

And i bought my first coupon yesterday. It’s food, what else?

Billy Graham in Quotes by Franklin Graham

There’s probably no evangelist better known through the decades than Billy Graham. I’ve always been interest in his writings and his life story (i’ve read a recent biography and many of his books from the 70′s and 80′s).

This books presents the life and thoughts of the man in a different, collecting thousands of Billy Graham’s quotes in one book, culled from his writings and speeches. The book is organized in different categories, ranging from the tradition to the contemporary. Some of the categories are specific (like ‘Young People’ and ‘Worry’) some are a little too general (like ‘Life’ or ‘Addiction’).

In his ministry Billy Graham has probably preached a few thousand sermons, so there are probably inumerable quotes to choose from. What i found was that some context some of to the quotes would have been a great help. Each quote has a reference, but it is not possible to know the context of the quote unless we have the source in its entirety.

But this marks as a fantastic reference and resource for Christians. Billy Graham preaches the word of God, and he is unwavering and honest throughout this book. I think i will be coming back to these books in years to come for comfort and inspiration.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Borders Bordering Bankruptcy

Borders, as some of you may know, is closing down. First the Borders UK, now Borders in the US.

Here are some statistics, taken from this article:

40
Number of years Borders has been in existence. It was once the second largest bookstore chain in the country, behind Barnes & Noble.

1,329Number of stores Borders operated in 2005

405
Number of Borders stores still in operation

717
Number of Barnes & Noble stores still in operation

200
Number of Borders stores that were closed earlier this year, after the company filed for bankruptcy protection

$1.28 billion
Assets Borders listed in its bankruptcy petition

$1.29 billion
Liabilities Borders listed in its bankruptcy petition

11,000
Approximate number of Borders employees who stand to lose their jobs if the remaining stores close

I personally don’t shop retail at bookstores. These days i mostly buy online from BookDepository (for a limited time, STILL the most awesome online bookstore in the world) and bookstore that is having a sale. And yes, sometimes at BookXcess.

But i spend a lot of time in bookshops, browsing books. And as far as the big bookstores in the Klang Valley (MPH, Kinokuniya, Times & Borders) I like Borders the best. And here’s a few reasons why.

They pioneered the comfortable seating concept in Malaysia. To be fair MPH does this also, but Borders were the first to openly embrace the concept here. And they are still the only store do so now. Sure, the kiasu Malaysian loves to sit and read magazines for free (and sometimes sleep), but I applaud Borders for sticking true to their customer charter.

They have the best selection of graphic novels and manga. By and large many manga readers give their own lot a bad name by reading for free and damaging the merchandise, but still Borders faithfully stocks them. And undoubtedly in terms of DC and Marvel graphic novels, this is the best place to shop. Only Kinokuniya is on par. MPH? Pfffft.

They generally still have the best selection overall. In terms of subject matter, they have a wide range. Kinokuniya may have the biggest and best selection, but outside KLCC, they have NO other branches. Can’t find a rare overseas print? Borders will order it for you FOC. MPH being a local store, can’t do this. In terms of selection, Times bookstore is almost laughable (sorry, but its true).

But having said that, they do thave their problems. For one, would it kill them to have a website for Malaysia? Even MPH has an online searchable database.

For a guy that visits Borders almost once a week, i can tell business is becoming increasingly tough and challenging for them. I sure hope Berjaya can keep it afloat.

Arsenal Live in Malaysia

So 2 months ago I jokingly asked Pat via e-mail, “hey wanna go watch Arsenal B play Malaysia?”

He replied “Sure!” and I was like, “er, okay…”

So we went to the game yesterday, and I certainly had no regrets. We left Puchong at about 7pm and traffic was surprisingly smooth all the way except at the IOI Mall flyover. We parked right on the TPM flyover and walked a short distance to the stadium. Traffic control was very good, and the atmosphere at the stadium was carnival like with Ella’s “Standing In the Eyes of the World” blasting from the speakers.

Security was okay, I got a light pat down from a RELA member. But i notice they didn’t pat down the Caucasian girl beside me… In the stadium we got pretty good seats, near the corner flag. I heard this morning there were 60k supporters in the stadium.

(First sight of the pitch. It’s surprisingly well lit!)

Everyone was pumped and started cheering wildly at anything and everything on the field. Even the Gunnersaurus mascot.

Sorry for the pathetic photos, i had to use my Galaxy S. And all i could do was drool at the guy beside me with his Canon 550D with zoom lens.

(Crowd goes wild when the Gunners run out to warm up.)

A chant of “NASRI! NASRI!” goes on when Samir Nasri appeared, which was really nice. But i doubt we can really do much to keep him at the club this or next season.

And they’re off! I must say, watching the match live, time goes a lot faster than on TV. Malaysia played quite well in the first half, with Kunalan testing Vermaelen a few times on the left wing. But towards the end of the 1st half and the entire 2nd half, I guess Malaysia lost focus and couldn’t get possession. Not easy playing against the one of the best passing team in the world.

Towards the end of the match, the biggest cheer of the night was when Wenger brought on the biggest stars – van Persie, Sagna, Arshavin and Nasri.

So in all, it was a great atmosphere. Traffic out of the area was manageable, was home by 11.30pm and found out that my very own NEIGHBOUR was also at the match!

Old Bookstores

Was watching ‘Before Sunset’ the other day. If you’re trying to preserve your fading memories of one and only Paris vacation (like i’m trying to do), that would be the movie to watch. That is, if you don’t count National Lampoon’s European Vacation, which I ALSO watched (that’s how sad I’ve become).

In the opening scene of that movie, Ethan Hawke is giving a press conference in Shakespeare and Company, that iconic English bookstore in Paris (which, sadly, I did not have a chance to visit). But even so, that bookstore captured the essence of what an old bookstore should look like – big, dark and musty, teak shelves, old books and quiet like a graveyard. I know we are almost too used Malaysian MPH/Kinokuniya’s style of modern, bright and spacious stores (and screaming kids running around), which is all well and good if you want to pick up Joey Yap’s latest almanac or something by Tom Clancy.

But its those old bookstores that i like. Just like the ones in Charing Cross in London. And like the old Skoob Books in Brickfields. Sadly, though I’ve only been to the old Skoob Books once. Ah yes, i remember the occasion. I wanted to get a book for my then girlfriend’s birthday, so i went down with David (i didn’t know the place and he did) by the minibus no.12 (SS2 to Bukit Bintang via Brickfields for 50sen). Browsing the books I found an old copy of Agatha Christie’s An Affair At Styles (what a nostalgic book!) which i bought for RM12.

Upstairs, where they had the reading area, I found an old chocolate truffle cookbook which i bought for my girlfriend. We ended off the morning by having lunch at the YMCA (Come on, everybody! “Its fun to stay at the Y… M….CA!”)

Sad to say, I have never returned to the bookstore since they moved.

When i was small, my hometown didn’t have any bookstores except those selling textbooks. Every December we’d go around to Pustaka Hussein or Ban Heng or Eng Bee to find those workbooks that our school made us buy to keep us distracted from getting smarter.

But once in awhile, if we were in Melaka, my dad would take me to Anthonian or Lim Brothers.

Those were the days.

(there’s an excellent pictorial essay of the old Lim Brothers here)