200th Birthday of Charles Dickens

Today, Feb 7, marks the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870). Google pays tribute and celebrates the occasion with this Google doodle..

Image source: Wikipedia

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic novels and characters.

Most of us would probably know him as the author of such classic works including A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, and The Pickwick Papers, his first novel.

There are museums and festivals celebrating Dickens' life and works in many of the towns with which he was associated with.

There is even a Dickens World themed attraction, covering 71,500 square feet (6,643 m2), and including a cinema and restaurants, opened in Chatham on 25 May 2007. It stands on a small part of the site of the former naval dockyard where Dickens's father had once worked in the Navy Pay Office.

This year, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are to lead celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.

Events to be held across the country include a wreath-laying ceremony at Dickens' grave in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, and at his birthplace in Portsmouth, Hampshire. More..

You can find more information about Charles Dickens on Wikipedia. Also check out A walking tour of Dickens’ London - bbc.com

A Visit to Dickens World

Chinese New Year decorations at Sunway Pyramid

Every year mall decorations during festivals attract a good crowd. This year is no different. The recent Chinese New Year celebration (which ended yesterday after 15 glorious days of merry-making and reunions) saw malls and shopping complexes in the city crowded with shoppers and visitors taking in the festive spirit and busy snapping pictures of the seasonal decorations.

One of the better Chinese New Year decorations this year must be the one at Sunway Pyramid. For starters, their dragon is pretty cool, lively, and gold. Anyone who has been mall-hopping would agree that the decor at Sunway Pyramid was one of the better ones in Kuala Lumpur.

Some of you who have seen the decor in person, could have wondered as to the person or team behind this wonderful, very Oriental creation. If you have, well, wonder no more. The Star in their theme on Cool Jobs has an insightful video of the person and team behind it. Take a look..



Shabri Osman who is the Creative Manager at Sunway Pyramid sure has a cool job.

Did you say you are looking for Pastry/Baker Chef Jobs? The Sunway Group of Companies also runs a chain of Sunway hotels in the country.

Safety First with Valuables at Home

Some people I know prefer to keep their important documents and other precious items at home rather than in a safe deposit box at the bank.

I read the other day about amsec safes. With safes like these, homeowners would feel a lot more confident and have greater peace of mind. With all that unexpected flooding happening nowadays, it is always wise to be safe than sorry by investing in a safer place for one's valuables. Don't you think?

Cold, cold winter in Europe

Oh dear! Look at that all that snow, and to think that a friend and his family will be going to visit Manchester and Old Trafford (stadium of Manchester United football club) this month.

I saw on tv various places in Europe heavily covered in snow and the thick winter clothing each person on the street was snugly wrapped in, certainly no place for any equestrian clothing though the latter looks smart (chic even) on the magazine I was leafing through the other day. It was so cold in Europe that Heathrow Airport has cancelled 30% of flights and had to re-time schedules for all airlines including MAS flights.


Image source: The Star

Thaipusam is on Tuesday, Feb 7

You may also want to check out Thaipusam 2013

As a matter of habit or interest, photography enthusiasts do travel with their photography gear when they go on ordinary work assignments (including overseas), on assignments nowhere related to photography.

A number of visiting colleagues (one from as far away as Mexico) have with them their canon camcorders and other brands as well as other related photography paraphernalia on their visit to Malaysia. They are all set to go up to Batu Caves to witness and take pictures and videos for friends and family back home, one of Malaysia's tourist attractions, Thaipusam.

The 272 steps leading up to Batu Caves. Huge statue of Lord Murugan at the foot of the hill.

In Malaysia, there are at least three places where Hindu worshippers converge at. In Kuala Lumpur, the crowd will be at the Batu Caves temple; in Penang it will be at the temple at Penang Waterfalls and in Ipoh, the temple at Gunung Cheroh.

Anyone who has been to one of these temples during Thaipusm especially the one at Batu Caves, would have experienced a lifetime experience of the energy of Thaipusam.

New Korean talent at K-Pop Star reality show

Here is another young Korean talent who is fast gaining popularity and whose audition video is going viral online on You Tube.

The 15-year-old Park Ji-Min, a Korean reality-show contestant on “K-Pop Star,” an American Idol-like singing competition, even had Ashton Kutcher tweeting: this is AMAZING!!!! and WSJ asking Is Park Ji-Min the Next Susan Boyle?



Park Ji-Min sings Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”



Choi Sung-bong is the other Korean talent who got the world watching. In the final, Choi lost out to popping dancer, Joo Min-jung who won the grand prize of 300 million won and an automobile.

John Terry removed as England captain

John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy, the English FA said on Friday.

The 31-year-old Chelsea centre back is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty on Wednesday to a charge of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match at Loftus Road in October.
More.. The Star..John Terry stripped of England captaincy

He will also be ruled out when Man United visits and probably next weekend’s match at Everton too with a knee injury.


Malaysia would do well to take a lesson from the English FA - remove people who are bent on stirring racial disharmony in the country. Oops! We'd then be left without so many sh*t-stirrers and more fresh air.. I wish!

Sexy and I Know It - in Hakka

Now, here's another local video that has gone viral on You Tube.

A Sabah-made Chinese New Year video greeting in Hakka (a Chinese dialect) is the latest clip to have gone viral with close to 300,000 views within 10 days. It's now at more than 330,000 and counting.



Directed by photographer-cum-artistic dance assistant, Skyler Liew, the music video was filmed at various locations around the city a day before Chinese New Year. The 3.35-minute video posted on YouTube was shot using a Pentax DSLR camera featuring a group of nine people including a 13-year-old boy, donning white singlets, blue jeans, black boots and sunglasses, dancing to a parody of the American electro pop duo LMFAO's song and video, Sexy and I Know It. The main singer in the clip is 21-year-old Helmsly Chong Jin Fu.

A cool video, ada standard. Give it a view, at the very least, you'll get a glimpse of how Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) looks like.


Source: The Star..Hakka CNY clip ala LMFAO goes viral online