First of all, forgive me (yes, all 3 of you) for not updating my blog for a very long time. There are no more movie reviews simply because it has been a while since I saw a movie. At the time of writing I have yet to watch the current all time highest grossing movie, Avatar. But I have the intention to do so. In 3D. That is if I would. I don't know already. Had a surprise of surprise advanced birthday celebration on the last 31st of January. Thanks for those who has made it possible. It means sooo much to me. That's the best gift I can ever get.

Now, onto the topic.

There are a lot of hobby to pick up. Being a boy there are even more hobbies to choose from from stamp collecting, reading books, err.... well you get the idea. I am born in the 90's. The year where pop music, mohawks and Y2K jokes are famous for. Back then video games weren't as big of a market as it is today. Back then it was a niche thing. Only a certain number of people knows what it is and even a smaller amount of people can afford to have one. Games arcade was at large back then but it had a bad reputation as a place where kids would skip school, gamble and all sorts of negative things. This made video games as a hobby a difficult thing back then because it was the same as being addicted to gambling and such. Console games are available but here in Malaysia it very hard to come by and its usually expensive. Mine was the time for Sega Saturn and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) but my hobby only started on the next generation of Playstation and Nintendo 64. I've no idea what Nintendo 64 is until later where I have more access to information about video games from sources such as magazines and later internet. Playstation was dominant. I always see these things around the shops in the capital and grew an interest towards it. Having to play it in my friends house, I asked for my very own and got my first console ever after scoring 5A's in the UPSR. I was also into a hobbies magazine known as Gempak for about 100 issues before stopping from buying it since when I bought it, the section I'm looking forward to the most is the video games section. So, I thought, rather than wasting my time buying the magazine, why not look for something more directly about video games. That didn't happen until later in my life when I decided to buy GameAxis which was also a temporary poison. Back to my Playstation, I spent countless time playing all sorts of games on it, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, Nascar Rumble, WWF Smackdown 2, Final Fantasy VIII and all sorts of games before it was stolen a few years later in which I teared its lost. It was the closest thing I have in my life back then. A few years later, I got a Playstation 2 (which is 2nd hand by the way since a new unit is expensive and still is today). I spent my time playing even more games. In my free time, I like to surf the internet. Guess what sites do I go? No, not porn sites. I went to even more video games site and looked for even more video games related news and videos. It's like I'm doing my own thesis considering the amount of information I take up all the time. And I still do it up to this day.

 











Now the question is, why? I have been telling the backstory of my hobby for the earlier parts of this post. But why? Good question. Why? I'm not sure. But what I can say is, video games has helped made me to a man I am today. I used to have very average English language capabilities before I discovered video games. And after I discovered it, my English has started to improve gradually day by day. How is this possible you ask? Well, video games back in my earlier years, has very little to no voice overs. It was all text and writings if you want to know the story or anything, you have no choice but to read. Of course I will stumble upon word I have no idea what it means. Because I don't want language to be the barrier of my hobby, I took the initiative to look up what it means. This indirectly helped me learned new words and sentence structures. Video games from the adventure, action and racing genres always test your reflex. In other words, playing video games can improve my reflex towards things. I became more aware of the situation around and learning to act fast with what comes up next. Strategy games like Final Fantasy and sneaking games like Metal Gear Solid on the other hand, sharpen up my ability to quickly strategize and make quick decisions of the situation. This also helps me with my leadership skills. Thanks to these video games that had helped me with these values, it had made me a good enough person to be the leader of many groups and organizations at school that actually does work. I don't want to be arrogant but I think it is safe to say I didn't do the worst job. Video games has also nurtured my interests towards technologies. I should say that it is the contributing factor on why I chose to further my studies in computers. I am just fascinated by these technologies.


Video games was, still is, and will always be my favourite past time. It's the kind of hobby that is not only topical but helps hone all sorts of quality in a man. Qualities that I think is important and helps us as a person. Video games are no more a nerd's hobby to me. More people are exposed to it than ever before. And to be honest, I have lots to say. But this could take forever and I am sooo lazy to type. This is my hobby. This is my passion. This is me.

[Article extracted from a blogger guy named Magenta. Stop by his blogs sometimes. He has some rather quality posts.]

Pernah jumpa buku bestseller ini?

Buku ini bertajuk 'Everything Men Know about Women' dan mengandungi 128 mukasurat kosong.

Dalam semua-semua majalah atau buku yang aku pernah baca dan pengalaman yang aku pernah lalui atau cerita yang aku pernah dengar, dua perkara ini yang paling banyak membantu aku memahami perbezaan antara lelaki dan perempuan:

1. Kenapa lelaki tak akan mendengar jika perempuan mengubah topik.

Perempuan ada lima ton suara. Lelaki hanya mengecam 2 daripada 5 ton itu. Jadi kalau seorang perempuan menukar topik dan ton suaranya ketika sedang bercakap, lelaki itu takkan ada clue perempuan itu sedang bercakap tentang apa.

2. Otak lelaki dan perempuan berfungsi dengan cara berlainan when it comes to love and sex.

Otak lelaki memproses cinta dan seks dalam dua kawasan otak yang berlainan, manakala otak perempuan hanya ada satu kawasan untuk kedua-duanya. Jadi, secara saintifik, lelaki boleh meniduri perempuan lain dan masih mencintai kamu, tetapi perempuan tak boleh membuat perkara yang sama tanpa emotional attachment.

Aku rasa banyak masalah hubungan timbul dari fakta ini. Lelaki biasanya mahukan seks dan perempuan tak mahu, tetapi perempuan itu masih lead him on.

Bagi lelaki seks itu sesuatu yang fizikal. Bagi perempuan ianya lebih kepada emosi.

Bagi perempuan, ia lebih kepada mahu merasakan dirinya dimahukan dan cukup seksi. Sebab itu sudah mencukupi bagi seorang perempuan jika lelaki itu selalu memberitahu perempuan itu sangat hot dan selalu memujuk wanita itu untuk have sex. Lelaki pula selalunya mahu go all the way.

Aku rasa kebanyakan perempuan tahu juga tentang perkara ini. Sebab itu ada perempuan tak kisah membuat oral seks, lantas memberi harapan palsu dan lead on lelaki mereka gila-gila sampai lelaki itu tak tahan dan merayu-rayu, lepastu berkata,

"Sayang, I’m not ready yet."

takpun tiba-tiba,

"I penat lah/ sakit kepala lah. Kita sambung esok je lah."

Tak baik dowh. Tak baik lead on laki macamtu semata-mata nak rasa berkuasa dapat memanipulasi nafsu lelaki. Mentang-mentanglah kita ada banyak nafsu dan nafsu mereka hanya ada satu dan tertumpu atas perkara itu.

Aku juga tak suka lelaki yang memanipulasi wanita untuk mendapatkan seks. Aku tak suka lelaki yang mendera mental wanita dengan menggunakan reverse psychology dan membuatkan perempuan itu rasa tak cukup seksi kalau tak buat seks dengan dia. Tak pun lelaki yang mengambil kesempatan atas wanita yang dikaburi emosi dan mengugut bahawa kalau tak buat seks dengan dia, akan ditinggalkan.

Bukan salah lelaki dicipta untuk menjadi visual dan terlalu dahagakan yang fizikal. Bukan salah perempuan dicipta kadang-kadang terlebih emosi dan selalu perlu tahu mereka mencukupi.

You don’t have to do what you don’t want to do. And don’t start something you can’t finish.

Sambungan…

3. Kebanyakan lelaki tak boleh multitask dan perempuan boleh.

Aku perasan lelaki biasanya tak boleh membuat lebih daripada satu perkara pada suatu masa. Perempuan pula boleh membuat 3 perkara pada masa yang sama. Dan aku rasa semua orang pernah dengar pasal contoh perempuan yang tak dapat divert attention teman lelakinya yang sedang menonton perlawanan bola sepak.

Aku rasa ramai perempuan tersalah anggap bahawa ini sebab boyfriend mereka lebih berminat tentang bola sepak daripada mereka. Tapi aku rasanya penjelasannya lebih mudah. Point nombor dua aku mengatakan lelaki ada bahagian otak yang berlainan untuk perkara yang berbeza. Aku rasa begitu juga dengan perkara-perkara lain.

Perempuan pula lebih mementingkan details dan connectivity. Mereka suka mengaitkan segala perkara dengan each other.

Kiranya macam otak lelaki ini umpama almari yang ada 10 laci, otak perempuan adalah almari dengan 1 laci besar yang tersusun.

Sebab ini juga perempuan suka mengungkit dan cepat terasa. Kalau sesuatu couple itu bergaduh dan si lelaki mahu bermanja-manja pada malam itu, kemungkinan yang perempuan masih akan marah kerana teringatkan kejadian siang itu.

Yang lelaki sudah melupakan hal itu kerana fikirannya sudah switch off kejadian siang tadi setelah pergi kerja atau jumpa kawan-kawannya. Kiranya mereka sudah tutup laci siang tadi.

Perempuan juga lebih banyak bertutur manakala lelaki lebih bersifat monosyllabic. Perempuan secara umumnya akan maintain eye contact yang lebih lama daripada lelaki, membuatkan lelaki berasa seperti mereka sedang diperhatikan di bawah miskroskop. Perempuan pula akan berasa bahawa seperti tak berapa diendahkan kerana lelaki akan jarang memandang mereka ketika mereka sedang bercakap.

4. Perempuan Suka Buat Benda Beramai-ramai.

Aku rasa kebanyakan perempuan memang suka travel in packs. Kalau pergi tandas pun kena pergi sama-sama. Kita pun dah expect perempuan macamtu. Lepastu wujud pula stereotaip lelaki perlu masa untuk bersendirian dan tak suka dikongkong. Memang kalau lelaki makan di restoran sorang-sorang, orang tak hairan. Tetapi kalau perempuan berbuat begitu, mesti akan dapat pity looks. Dan pada pemerhatian aku, perempuan ini suka berpuak-puak, manakala lelaki boleh get along dengan semua lelaki yang lain, cuma tinggal rapat tak rapat saja. Tapi kalau aku perhatikan betul-betul, memang ada tanda-tanda kalau seseorang lelaki tak suka lelaki yang lain, cuma lebih subtle. Dengan perempuan lebih terang- senyuman terpaksa, ayat-ayat sinis, jelingan tajam dan suara yang tinggi. Rrrrriaww!! (bunyi kucing mencakar).

Of course, semua ini tak apply pada semua lelaki dan perempuan. Sebab aku sendiri tak suka buat benda beramai-ramai (rimas) dan tak pandai multitask. Aku juga sangat aware tentang kewujudan perempuan seperti Samantha dalam Sex and the City (aku suka watak dia sebenarnya) dan lelaki yang terlebih banyak bercakap (so unbecoming for a man!- pada pendapat aku lah). Cuma point nombor 1,2 dan 3 kononnya sudah dibuktikan secara saintifik. Jadi aku rasa, hubungan yang berjaya mesti terdiri daripada pasangan yang pandai berkomunikasi.

[Reference: http://magenta-made.blogspot.com/2008/10/apa-yang-lelaki-tahu-tentang-perempuan.html]

Again, my mom got some free tickets to watch this movie. If not, I don't think I'm going to watch it because I'm not keen to really watching it at the first place. It's not that I don't like Roland Emmerich's work, it's just not my cup of tea. Anyway, my movie starts at 10.30am which happens to be the first show of the day. So I had to wake up early to go to 1 Utama which is pretty far from my house in Kajang. Prior to leaving the house, I saw a review on the movie so I had my expectations set for me. Actually it's the same expectations that I had even before I saw the review. I also knew that the movie was 2 and a half hours so I prepared myself for that stretch of time without being able to go to the loo.

So for those of you not in the know, the movie is based on the Mayan myth that the world is going to end on the 21st of December 2012. That date was speculated because it happened to be the last date on the Mayan calendar. Whether it's true or not, nobody knows except our God almighty. And just a fact to slip in here, the Muslim believes that End of Days will happen on a Friday, and the 21st of December 2012 IS a Friday. The movie starts with some scientists in the year 2009 predicting a massive solar explosion that will disrupt the gravitational balance of the Earth, causing drastic movements of the tectonic plate hence utter catastrophe. In simple English, its a bad thing to us. But of course, who would believe them. As the year goes by, the theory gets more true and the superpowers of the world gets ready for it. Fast forward to the year 2012 and the catastrophe strikes and chaos is everywhere. The story is not very heavy on story although its 2 hours and 30 minutes, but for the story it has, it touches all of the moralities that we expect to see during a mass chaos. Directed by Roland Emmerich, which is the guy who also did the American version of Godzilla, or known by the Japanese just by the name of Zilla. He also did Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. See the similarities? Yes, he likes destroying stuffs. Therefore expect to see top notch world destruction effects in this movie.

In my opinion, the movie was a big ride. Huge effects and there's lots of em. All of the famous places in the world gets destroyed except for the holy land in Arab because the director was smart enough not to anger the Muslim community who takes serious respect to our religion. But the places which got destroyed really got destroyed good. The usual suspense you would come to expect from this kind of movie is also present. Overall, a good movie although I think 2 and a half hours was pretty long. Go with your friends, this is a friend flick for the destruction parts. Owh it's actually a family flick too. Some family values slipped inside it. And a pinch of humanity lessons. Nothing really groundbreaking although there literally are (pun intended). For a feast of top notch Hollywood visual effects, have at it. If you're a fan of Roland Emmerich, you would instantly be familiar with this work of his.

End of the world is rated 7 out of 10

I really, really don't like to blog about emotions, people, society and all of this trivial life stuff. Don't know exactly why.

Maybe and just maybe I don't like to use my free time online to make myself more stressed at life. That's why you don't see me blog a lot about people, only sometimes so that I can have a wide audience.

But as always, each men (and women) to their own.

Now before I proceed, I have to be honest that I do have a couple of reviews for movie that I haven't done but God knows I am so lazy to type them. The movies are Gamer featuring Gerard Butler and a local film, Papadom featuring Afdlin Shauki. Long review short, Gamer sucks, 5/10 and Papadom is pretty good, 8.5/10. Now, onto the pressing matters.

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Before continuing to read on this post of mind, keep in mind that these are merely an opinion and you are open to an intellectual argument with me on the mentioned topic. Also keep in mind that I have nothing against one or the other since nowadays it seems that it's all a matter of choice and preference.

Hook ups
Hook ups are when you agree to be in relationship with each other, but it's in a trial period. Just like a lot of shareware out there where you are given a specific amount of time to try it out, extend the trial period if you did something in particular but all in all, will expire within a certain amount of time. People get involved in hook ups because they can skip one major feature of a relationship; devotion. While in hook ups, they're allowed to date other people and they are not limited to spend time specifically garnering the temporary relationship. Hook ups also give reason for both sides to have reasons to end it early say if a problem appears. It seems to be a very popular choice among youths nowadays since devotion is a very heavy thing to handle and needs a lot of time to have it. Hook ups also allow these people to be able to experience a lot of different people and the multiple hook ups that they have gives them the upper hand of knowing what various problem that can occur once they seriously want to start being in a relationship.
This culture is practiced widely in the western world and is now catching up quickly with easterners. Hook ups are also practiced mainly by youths since they say that they have a long life ahead of them and want to utilize the time to try hook ups and experience multiple person while they still have the time.

Relationships
Relationships are long, devotion-driven connection between 2 people that will stay that way until marriage or death do them apart. People in relationships are stuck with the person of their choice for the rest of their romantic lives. Relationships don't have an expiry date and it is usually bound by a promise to stay with each other. Relationships are the less popular choice of today's youth since devotion is a difficult thing to practice and also they don't have the chance to be with any other person anymore. Any free time for both of them will usually be utilized with bonding and ways to strengthen their connection. Relationships are less popular too because the major arguments and disagreements usually happens in relationships and they have no choice but to look for solution(s) regardless of the difficulty of the situation. Relationships obviously are much, much harder to maintain and having to put up with the same person everyday is a tasking thing. The plus side of it however, in relationships, love exists and with much effort the love will be more than you can handle, which is a good thing by the way. There will be also time where anniversary celebration is held and to achieve that milestone and feel a kind of happiness that is truly a gift from God. In relationships, you too will have a much better idea and perception of the person. In simpler words, relationships are something you go into because you love a single person and want to improve everything together.

If you ask me,
I would prefer a relationship over hook up on any given day. Yes it's difficult, yes it requires a lot of patience, yes it require a lot of guts, but the satisfaction and the feeling of happiness and security that result from it is far more beneficial and leaves a greater and longer term impact to your life. True, I'm 19 and might still be too young for it but to me it is best for us to learn when were young instead of using the free time to experiment. And I never know how long is my future, so I don't want to waste it experimenting. It's not exciting compared to hook ups, I know, but the rewarding feeling that came from it is worth all the effort.

Don't make a promise you can't keep.

If you are to spend your life rebelling, when are you going to fail and learn life as it is?

We are humans. We are not perfect. So wasting time trying to be perfect is just not human.

We are humans. We should learn to fail sometimes.