brrr... it's another cold morning

here i am watching another jean reno movie called '22 Bullets' or 'L'Immortel' ... happily it's all guns-a-blazing, blood and gore kinda movie. orait wat!

talking about movies... (too bad the 'image' button is missing from blogger today)

i was just reading about the hollywood remake of Let the Right One In, which was a brilliant Swedish movie released in 2008 - this is the kind of movie which deserved an immediate second viewing (and a third, and a fourth...) just to clear up some of the nuances which we don't pick up on the first round.

Brilliant is an understatement here... we even went to the bookstores to get the book but it was all out. Too obscure i suppose, or there are more fans of the movie out there than we expect.

It's the kind of movie that's full of ambiguities, and the ending will leave more questions than the movie ever answers. Simply good stuff.

NOW with the US version, which was shot in Sweden i believe, i am sure they're gonna mess it up even it if was a frame-by-frame remake. Called 'Let Me In' and starring the phenomenal Chloe Moretz (dont we all love her in Kick-Ass), i am sure it will have its merits, but... being a dumbed-down hollywood version for the masses, it will disappoint fans of the original.

the surprises, the twists, the blurred and complex relationships present in the swedish version, just won't sit well with the moral majority...

well we shall wait and see to come up with the final verdict.

a tip - sweden makes some fine movies...

on a cold rainy night...

all quiet on the home front, apart from the sound of rain together with the gurgling of the aquarium. which desperately needs a clean-up and a makeover. i think the residents are getting seriously depressed and wouldn't mind some fresh water and new playmates.

problem is, the parrotfish is seriously mentally deranged and has killed every other thing in the aquarium apart from the sucker-fish or commonly called the bandaraya fish. This is due to how they came about...

Parrotfish or Blood Parrot (the fresh-water variety), according to some quarters, are controversial and discouraged because they don't exist in nature and is a human-engineered, cross-bred species. Due to this unnatural state of being, they have plenty defects, physical AND mental... therefore they pose a great danger to the eco-system if ever let out into the wild, as it may lead to all sorts of evolutionary mix-ups. not to mention their mood problems har har ( read more here )

on the plus side, it's what we call a 'pet' fish, which means it will come over when signalled heheheh and possibly allowed to be pet. i don't remember trying this... it does have a smile though, like a dolphin's :) but ...but.. i mustn't forget that it wiped out most of its friends in the tank... no Finding Nemo kinda scenario here har har.

I'm just waiting for it to die (and i seriously mean it) so i can populate it will all manner of little cute fishies or maybe even convert it to a salt-water tank and attempt to rear some false anemone clownfish (scuba diving has given me great reason to find out about marine life like never before, and fish ID is one of the essential things to know).

oh cruel me, keeping live animals in captivity...

i wish...

then again, speaking of Perhentian, I think i'm WAYYYYY overdue for a stint under the waves.

Happenings in Perhentian that i've come across lately :

- Fund-raising for orphans on the island. We contributed our bit for those kids laa of course.

- Perhentian clean-up on 24-26 September. This would be so good if not for the dreams of a raya trip. It would be great to have fun and have a noble objective at the same time - picking up Crown-of-thorns and rubbish.

Hmm.. which makes me thing... where did the rubbish come from in the first place. I've seen how us Malaysians disregard rubbish bins, and our tourist spots are no exception, and I would think that having once-a-year campaigns would come to nought if there is no education programs and awareness campaigns to show that dirty and polluted areas equals less people equals less money.

so there is the contradictions and conflicts of 'eco-tourism' - how to make money and have the inherently-pollution-generating humans at the same time.

a fine example would be the smokers. everything they do goes into the oceans, and this is the smokers who are also so-called eco-protectors - the divers, the DMs, the instructors, the boat drivers. The very ones whose livelihood depends on eco-tourism, they themselves are screwing it all by chucking their cigarette butts, wrappers, boxes, foil, into the sea and slowly poisoning the oceans with the toxins found in cigarettes.

so, dear divers and operators, take note.. the cumulative effects of those little butts might cause permanent harm to the oceans we love.

The beautiful mind

it's amazing how our minds make memories and link them to places, things, events, and all that.

just like today, i'm checking out my favourite piratebay site, and i saw this link for the movie When In Rome. Ignore the IMDB ratings on this one, it's a cute little movie starring Josh Duhamel (always a fan since Las Vegas the TV series), and it's typical boy-meets-girl-then-fights-then-reconciles-andhappyeverafter kinda movie. Typical girly stuff ok.

Whenever i think of this movie, however, it brings me back to the last Perhentian trip, watching it in the Matahari Chalet restaurant while having dinner. Memories of those few days in the hot blazing sun, the shimmering white sands, the diving, the hours spent frolicking in the sea snorkelling about and checking out the wildlife... About trying to find shade and having iced drinks to cool down. Of just doing nothing.

It's amazing how our mind makes memories.

Mondays

.. are ALSO made of nothingness!

birds a-chirping, water features flowing ... plants a-growing.

i'm doing this post to see how fast it gets updated in Google search engine, to prove a point to the web-hosting company that i use for this site

i'll cerita more later on depending whether things get solved or not.

sundays are made of...

nothing much, really.


Vuze is (almost) back to normal after a little bit of tweaking and settings adjustment. Or did TM finish their maintenance work and the internet is back to normal. Keeping my fingers crossed on this one.


Was testing out this software called VSO Image Resizer, it's quite good for batch-resizing of photos (so much easier now to upload pics) and putting watermarks.


Here's the results for today: I chose our 2008 Mount Kinabalu trip photos because it was a really memorable hike up SEA's tallest mountain. And something I do not wish to do again unless I really really really have something to prove.

Sunrise over the mountain. Unfortunately we didn't take this photo as we were still struggling to reach the top

Lovely clouds of the Southern Hemisphere

More views from somewhere near the top, as the vegetation becomes sparse

Made it!

The wonderful view from Mount Kinabalu

Reminder of the torture I faced here. More than 8km trekking uphill, taking about 13 hours when others usually do it in 7 or 8. In the end it was all worth it... even the week or so of having to limp around and do down stairs backwards!

Sabah in December 2009 - Part 2

After we got the diving out of the way, then the question will be - what else is there to do? Hmm...

Of course we will balik kampung to Beaufort, to rest and relax.


This time the whole gang decided to go to Kuala Penyu for a picnic and frolic by the sea. It's about 45 minutes away from Beaufort (but i bet i can do better breaking the speed limits!)


Kuala Penyu is the gateway to the famed Pulau Tiga, where Survivor Season 1 was shot. I'm no fan of reality shows so i can't tell you if it was good or bad :p  .


Our party made our way to the beach there (if you can call it that), where there is a jetty with people fishing and hanging out.

The view is pretty good, and it's nice to walk up and down the jetty, admiring the coastline and the skyline which usually boasts some amazing cloud patterns.

Makan time! Surprisingly a lot of food came along with us, and it was fun...

After all the food, it is main-daun time!

In deep concentration playing cards... the lil' one is learning early

Back at home in Beaufort, anytime is a good time for a barbeque seafood dinner!

This city boy had to go check out the chicken coop for fun

Eggs waiting to hatch I think. Mama Chicken is nowhere to be found, luckily, or she might give me a peck or two

Next was a day trip to Labuan. Sad to say, there was nothing much going on there, and i think people just go there for the duty-free booze and ciggies, and perhaps even the chocolates.

It's a laid-back kinda place to live in, i suppose, which has its perks, like not having any traffic jams!

Labuan is also a place to dive ship-wrecks, but sadly, it was a Sunday and all the shops were closed...

Getting there means going to Menumbok (half-hour or so drive from Beaufort) for a two-hour ferry to Labuan. It's a slow ferry so it's more like a cruise, especially if we sit outside on the upper deck to catch the sun and breeze.

View from the Menumbok jetty - simply picturesque!

Getting on board the ferry in the blazing hot sun for the return journey

This is i believe the Christmas party at Chris' relatives' house in Papar - plenty food, booze and karaoke into the night!

And that's the highlights of this Sabah trip... 

Sabah in December Part 1 - Feeding the addiction

So after having earned my Open Water certification, it was going to be a three-month wait before I hit the seas again. It's helluva long wait ok for those who's been hit by the diving bug. For those who've experienced it, there's a symptom I call the 'Scuba Dream' - it's a very vivid dream of going diving, the sort of experience we don't want to wake up from.

December 2009, and it is the year-end trip to Sabah for Chris and I. It's always lovely to 'balik kampung', and now there's the added incentive of going diving at the Taman Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Taman TAR) marine park. Just a 10-minute boat ride from KK, these islands ( Mamutik, Sapi, Gaya, Suulug, Manukan, et al ) provide a quick getaway for some fun in the sun, and now, provide the very convenient opportunity to do some diving near the city centre.

I must say the visibility isn't great, the marine life nothing to shout about, but it's still good enough to enable me to practice my skills and satisfy the craving for blowing bubbles...

I did get the chance to see turtles, stingrays, and all the fishies in the ocean. But what sets Tmn TAR apart is the macro life. Gobies, shrimp, feather stars, and all those little things that scutter about between the rocks and on the sand.

On the boat heading to the dive site near Pulau Sapi, damn excited to hit the sea after such a long time away.

All dressed up and ready to go. The divemaster, Judan, and I ready to do the back-roll entry in.

While in Sabah, plenty of time to do composite pictures like this    : )

No underwater camera yet so no shots below the waves.

And that was a very good day indeed.

With the diving all done on day one of the trip, we shall put up more pics and stories of my always-enjoyable trip to the Land below the Wind...

Presenting on the big screen...

It was movie night so off we went to catch Salt with Angelina Jolie - wow she really kicks ass in this movie.  It's fast and furious action all the way in this one. Leave brains at door.

Only thing that irritates me is it leaves the door open for more sequels to come. Like a Bourne series for this decade i suppose.

Makes me wanna watch Kick-Ass again. That takes my vote for Action Movie of the Year - the 12-year old Chloe Moretz just steals the show and does twice (and perhaps even thrice) the damage that Angelina does in Salt. You gotta watch it to believe it! WHAM BANG !!! NO THANK U MA'AM.... or little MISS Hit-girl in Kick-Ass...

Back to the idiot box now.

We learn to blow bubbles

After the tragedy we faced last year, I suppose we've recovered. Sufficiently. I don't think our lives will ever be the same again, and this will define how we live our lives out in the near future, at least.

On a brighter note, I did go and achieve one life-long dream - SCUBA DIVING ! This happened in August 2009, and it was GREAT fun!

 Redang is truly a beautiful place with lovely white beaches, clear water like glass, and totally relaxed - recommended for your island getaway!

Leisure Divers at Redang Reef Resort. Great place to go snorkelling right off the rocks to the left. Also, at night, one of the attractions is the bio-luminescent blue-green algae on the sands of the beach here - really unique!

Dive course - read the manuals and watch the DVD - yawnnnn.. i'm sure i nodded off once or twice during the presentation!

First time out learning all the pros and cons - the start of an adventure!

That's me in full gear. Heavy, this stuff.

And after all the 'hard' work - certified diver! This is the Project Aware version - made a contribution for marine conservation, read more about them from the link there. Hope my AUD30 went to good use.

And so, that was the month of August, 2009... have gone to other places to dive after that, will put up more pics later. 

Happy day to you all!