Petrol Price Up 78 Sen

Last night, I was puzzled being caught in a bad traffic jam at a usually rather smooth-flowing stretch. Vehicles were all queuing up for gas before the gas hike at midnight. All the months of speculation about the increase is finally over. Below was a typical scene at most, if not all, petrol stations. Some stations had to display the "Sold Out" sign long before midnight while others had oil tankers refilling the station tanks at the same time vehicles were refuelling their gas tank.


The Government announced yesterday an increase in petrol and diesel prices, stating that it can no longer continue to subsidise fuel. Petrol price is up by 78 sen while diesel is up by RM1.00. And prices will be reviewed monthly based on the global oil price.

More...Petrol price up by 78 sen

I saw on TV, elsewhere - in India - oil price was also increased at midnight yesterday.

Drastic times need drastic measures. Time to get a bicycle!

Ballet, anyone?

Here's something funny, if you haven't seen it already. Revisit it anytime you need a laugh. It cracks me up everytime. Enjoy!! (Remember not to leave your mouth open too long though. You might get lockjaw!!)

A Holiday Makes It All Worthwhile

There is something about the sea and the beach that holiday-makers make their way to them every chance they get. Schools are having a break now and holiday destinations are fully-booked, some of them booked months ahead or even a year ahead, especially those time-sharing venues.

With views and fun activities like those in the pictures above, no wonder Sea Pines rentals are so popular. Come to think of it, it is pleasures like these that make up for all the toil the rest of the year. Happy Holiday!!

David Cook - American Idol, Season 7

Last Month saw the grand finale of the last season (Season 7) of the American Idol. Did you catch it? Are you a fan?

When American Idol first started, it was a high-profile show and everyone was following it and talking about it. But after a few seasons, the interest level sort of petered off. I gave up after two seasons and watched whenever it happened to be on but I sure am glad to have caught the last season, albeit just the last remaining rounds. And the contestant I rooted for became the American Idol. Yay! David Cook rocks!!

As I missed the earlier rounds, naturally I was interested to see how he did, so I went through almost all the videos on YouTube last night and picked out some of his better performances and loaded them here. IMO, he deserves the win. He won by a margin of 12 million votes! He is more versatile, more daring and creative and simply has what it take to be an Idol.

I love his version of Billy Jean - so radically different from MJ's. Caught me off-guard that this number could be done so differently and yet come up so beautiful, soothing even. He did a great job too on Hello, Eleanor Rigby, Day Tripper, Free's All Right Now. He could take on anything and everything, and give it a new rock twist, a new life. Imagine DC singing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera. Awesome rendition. Serene and romantic.

Certain numbers sound better in the studio, others better on stage. I wonder if they'd be compiling the whole lot into an album.

Give the list below a listen and see if you agree that David Cook deserves the win. Enjoy!

David Cook - American Idol Season 7 Audition (Livin' On A Prayer)


Day Tripper


Eleanor Rigby - Performance


Eleanor Rigby - Studio Version


Dolly Parton's "Little Sparrow"


Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby"


Hello


Music of the Night - Phantom of the Opera


Billie Jean


Free's "All Right Now"

A Traveller's Woes

I am sure it is a universal problem when it comes to missing things at the airport. Malaysia is no exception. The latest I heard happened just last week. This is a new one.

A visiting colleague from the US upon reaching down to his pants-pocket for his Blackberry discovered the battery-pack cover missing from it. However, he wasn't sure though as to whether it was the result of an attempted theft or did the cover drop off by itself.

A trip to Low Yat Plaza the following day did not prove fruitful as he was not able to find a replacement cover. He probably would have better luck if it was for upgrading laptop memory. However, he assured me that he would probably have better lucky finding the Blackberry cover in Shanghai, his next stop.

Let's Go Shopping

IKEA must be a godsend for some of us. You can get practically everything for the home there - from mundane cutlery to bedroom sets to plants to children's toys to audio racks, to other hundreds, maybe thousands of other items.

DIY enthusiasts would savour the challenge and satisfaction of putting pieces together, new home-owners would be able to adequately furnish their love-nests, and avid window-shoppers would get an enjoyable eyeful of pretty things and new ideas. Now, what would we do without this treat?!

Yves Saint Laurent dies

Designer wear. Do you own any, have a full closet of them or simply detest it, believing haute couture is simply overrated.

No matter how we feel about it, fashion plays a huge role in our lives, inherent, actually. Everything we have on our back is basically fashion. Yes, the basic street fashion is fashion.

Clothes, like flowers, (colourful) are captivating which makes people-watching for the clothes they wear, an interesting pastime and fashion designers adulated. Mere mortals they may be but their creations live on. Take for instance, Versace, Gianni Versace that is, he may have died more than a decade ago, on July 15, 1997,to be exact (killed by Andrew Cunanan), but his clothes live on making him immortal in a sense.

Sadly, as we speak, the world of haute couture has lost yet another icon, Yves Saint Laurent, who died on Sunday evening in Paris, after a long illness. He was 71.

Yves Saint Laurent, considered by many as the greatest fashion designer of the 20th Century, changed the face of the fashion industry when he became chief designer of the House of Dior at 21.

He designed clothes that reflected women's changing role in society, making them more confident personally, sexually and in the work-place. He changed forever what women wear, introducing trouser suits, safari jackets and sweaters.

In the words of the editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, she said Saint Laurent had helped democratise fashion:

"Before that people had small salons for rich people.

"Saint Laurent brought it to the people.

"He was young and groovy. Pop stars were hanging out with him and younger generations related to him."

Watch a Saint Laurent fashion show.


If you are a fashion designer or someone in the business of clothes or simply have something to say about clothes, here's something you might want to participate in. Send in your tribute, on the form on the BBC.com site. This is what you need to do:

Did you know the designs of Yves Saint Laurent? Are you a designer who was inspired by him or did you work with him? Have you ever worn one of his creations? What contribution do you think he made to the fashion industry? Send us your tributes using the form below.

May he rest in peace.


Source: bbc.com

Sex and the City

Sex and the City, I remember this HBO tv series kept a lot of women indoors glued to their tv sets. I was one of them. This multiple Emmy Award and Golden Globe award–winning popular American cable television program ran for a good six whole seasons from 1998 to 2004.



I love this series for a number of reasons. I love that it was filmed on location in and around New York City, Manhattan to be exact. I have always been fascinated by New York City so it was a treat to be able to see parts of the city in the show.

Next, I love the fashion. Who wouldn't?! Some of the clothes may be outrageous in form and colour and their high-heels ankle sprain-defying but they are fun and refreshing.



The witty dialogue, result of good writing, makes the show interesting and funny. The show became well known and lauded for its frank dialogue about women and sex.

The women discuss their sexual desires and fantasies, and their travails in life and love. The show often depicts frank discussions about romance and sexuality, particularly in the context of being a single woman in her mid-thirties. Women can identify with the show which accounts for its popularity. This observation was also shared by a visitor to my blog in a post I wrote about the show way back in Dec 2004 - the post that launched my blog, in a way. She said:

"The series is just so relatable. Everyone has a Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte in their lives...sometimes not always in one person, but there are attributes in each of those women that are specific enough to make you think, "Wow, I'm making a connection with those characters!" but general enough to make everyone capable of relating."



According to Wikipedia, fans of Sex and the City say that the show is a realistic portrayal of the sexual behavior and lifestyles of many urban Americans though the characters have been criticized for being shallow, superficial, and self-absorbed. I have to admit though that a good part of their lifestyle is not applicable here in our Eastern society. Still, it widens our horizons. I hope the Sex and the City: The Movie will be as entertaining as the series.





Some additional notes:

1. Over its course of six seasons, "Sex and the City" was nominated for over 50 Emmy Awards, winning seven times.

2. Because of the 9/11 attacks, shots of the World Trade Center Towers were replaced by the Empire State Building during the opening sequence of season four.

3. The film originally was slated for production near the end of the broadcast series run in 2004, but the movie deal fell through at that time. Multiple press reports at the time indicated a personal dispute between Parker and Cattrall, as well as Cattrall's refusal to sign a contract for the film at a pay scale considerably less than Parker's

4. The movie was released ten years after the series first aired and four years after the series ended.

Picture source: Msn.com
Text source: Wikipedia