Thursday, August 31, 2006

HK Bus Uncle



While surfing I came across this phenomenon that hit the HK Internet world early this year. Basically a grumpy middle-aged man was having a verbal tiff with a youngster in a HK bus, but the event was captured on someone's mobile phone, distributed on the web and the next thing you knew, the video became a HIT not just in HK but the rest of the world!

That's the power of the Web!

The video became known as "HK Bus Uncle ????" and some of the sentences spoken in the vid made into the mainstream HK lingua and used by teenagers. The famous one-liners:

? ? ? ? ! ? ? ? ? !
I got pressue, you also got pressure

? ? ? !
Not resolved!

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Report from InMediaHK
What is the most popular movie in Hong Kong?
It is not
M:i:3 (which is likely not to be shown in mainland China) and it is not The Da Vinci Code (which is severely criticized by the Catholic Church). No, it is a stealth video clip entitled "????, Bus Uncle".

The incident occurred on the top deck of a Number 68X Kowloon bus on April 29. A young man observed that the middle-aged person in front of him was talking too loud on the mobile telephone. So he tapped the man's shoulder and asked him to keep the volume down. This led to a vigorous response, including a string of obscenities.

The entire proceedings were recorded by another passenger named John using a mobile camera phone. The film was uploaded on YouTube and then seen by the whole wide world. As of May 19, 1.2 million people have watched the video clip!

(Update: 1.9 million as of May 26; ETTV cited a 5.9 million figure on May 27, which probably combines all the editions).
---------------------------------

The vid is so popular it even has it's own Wiki page!! Besides having it's own sub-titled version (in order to reach the wider English-speaking market) it has spawned numerous music videos, spoofs and (believe it or not!) merchandises!!

THE ORIGINAL VIDEO
http://www.ambatch.com/video/1210

SUPPOSEDLY PART 2
http://www.ambatch.com/video/1212
- this was supposed to happen after Part 1 above but one of the "lead actors" in the original video clip said this is a fake

ON HK TV NEWS
http://www.ambatch.com/video/1213
- the vid being talked about in HK TV News!
- catch some of the creative music videos remaked using this vid clip!!

ON TALK SHOW
http://www.ambatch.com/video/1214
http://www.ambatch.com/video/1215
- the young lead actor of the vid featured in HK Talk Show

MUSIC VIDEO REMIX
http://www.ambatch.com/video/1216
- a remix with Sammi Cheng's music video!

MERCHANDISE
Yes, you can now wear the famous one-liners. Even your dog can get it's own "I have pressure" tee! gosh....






But the best spoof I liked is this one on the recent HK triad movie "Election"!! hahaha....



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Wings on Merdeka



Today our nation celebrated her independence. Almost 50 years ago, Malaya was formed. As usual crowds gathered on the usual suspect places - Bintang, KLCC, Bangsar, Times Square - for the customary fireworks at the dot of 12.

Me? Was still in the office when I decided to leave around late 11ish. As my office is near KLCC as I walked out of the lobby, I can see thronges of ppl all heading towards KLCC for the countdown.

Was feeling hungry and Yan decided to remain at home to avoid the "jam" though in reality, there was no jam along Jln Ampang but I suspect there might be one from the Tun Razak road.

Anyway since I'm all on my own and my stomach was yelling for my attention, decided to drop by Wings Cafe in Times Walk for a bite.


Been here once with Yan earlier this year and we quite like the food. Took the grilled fish fillet and it was yummy. As good as those served by Remember Me cafe.

There was the usual live singer, belting out good numbers like Bee Gee's "First of May", another familiar Malay song which I can't place the name, and a couple of Chinese songs. Really nice to just sit down, enjoy a meal and listen to some proper singing (and not those karaoke singers you get when you attend wedding dinners).

Meal costs RM26+ for a main course and hot chocolate. Not cheap but then it's becoz they added some surcharge for Merdeka Eve, otherwise I think it would have been a better value at RM20+

"when you are happy, when you feel sad,
there's always a piece of music
to share your joy, to smooth your sorrow.

when life is hard on you
and you feel tired
let music lift your spirit up.

listen to the music
listen to your heart
lift your spirit up

let music fly
."

Taken from their website www.wingsmusicafe.com. They just opened a new outlet in Seri Kembangan. Nice place.... will surely be back for more food. And music.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Dun u luv stress balls?

While browsing thru Petrosains on Sunday, I came across this innovative stress balls! This is how the stress ball looks like. It looks normal rite?



However it's unlike any normal stress ball in that if you squeeze it a little too hard..... it goes like this



hehe.... apparently the goohie stuff coming out is an indication of your stress level!

This must be like "super-stress" I think

Classic Tigger not coming to Msia



The seller just emailed me saying he's not sending this outside USA. sigh. So no hope of owning this classic-looking Tigger.

We had one of this last year but the one we had has fading tiger-lines but Yan likes it as she said the way he sits is very seng-mok. So I was hoping to get another one.

Anyway since the seller is not ready to ship outside USA, nothing much we can do.

Gund Tigger



Won another Gund Tigger from eBay, adding on to my growing collection of Tigger plush toys.

This is in the classic line and similar to another larger classic Tigger I've bought from eBay last year.

I'm eyeing another one at eBay. Hmm...

5/9 This arrived today. Hmm... he looks smaller than in the picture but still he's adorable. Yan likes him I think.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Forever blowing bubbles...

We met West Ham again in our 2nd match of this season. We won them in last year's FA Cup Final which they claimed was fluke so this game provides us with an opportunity to set things right.

I also felt we did not do justice to ourselves in the Sheffield game as most players had their eyes on the midweek CL Qualifying match at Kiev. Now that's over, let's see whether the boys in Reds can continue to play as well as they did in the Community Shield match against Chelsea.



Was supposed to watch the game at Finnegan's @ Bintang but was held up by my boardgame meetup at Games Circle. By the time I reached Finnegan, the 2nd half has just started but I was pleased to walk in to a 2-1 scoreline in Liverpool's favor.

Sat down, soon after my Liverpool mate Kwang Yeow arrived. We ordered our food and drinks and settled down to watch the game.

Food was a mistake as the Chicken Maryland tasted like unthawed chicken meat! Yucks!!!! Soup was not bad but maybe I shud not order any more meals at Finnegans. Service is also poor.... had to asked three times for the non-liquor drinks menu before someone actually came up to me and said they only have coffee, tea and orange juice. What?

Back to the game, we were pleased to see Liverpool playing brightly, spraying the balls wide and Kuyt did very well on his 2nd half debut.

A cracker by new boy Agger and another well-taken goal by Crouch put us in the driving seat. First blood went to them though.... but I think everyone who saw that shot would agreed it was intended as a cross and not a shot-at-goal!

Bellamy also scored but was called for offside (we all dun think so) and Bowyer almost equalised for West Ham.

Still we held on and won the game 2-1. The new additions to the team certainly make us stronger. News that MU also narrowly won 2-1 at Watford (and later in the night while gaming at Pudu found out Arsenal lost 0-1 to Man City) brought more joy.

Some of the pluses of watching the game at Finnegans:
  • It seems there's lots of Liverpool supporters here
  • They have large screens
  • Their tables large enuff for us to do boardgames if we can get a group together
  • They have TMNet Hotspot if we wish to go online!

Now, if only they can fix their food, put more non-liquor drinks on their menu, and improve their service.... we just might make them the Liverpool Cafe in KL!

Friday, August 25, 2006

Chelsea stunned....

.. by a late Mark Viduka goal (Boro). Yeah... good to have them set back earlier.

Elsewhere Arsenal won their CL Qualifying match, while MU romped to another 3-0 win in their EPL mid-week match.

Liverpool in Group C of CL

Group C: Liverpool have been drawn against PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux and Galatasaray in the group stages of the Champions League.

... while Chelsea draws Barcelona in their group. That shud be an interesting one. The full draw below.

Group A: Barcelona, Chelsea, Werder Bremen, Levski Sofia
Group B: Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Sporting Lisbon, Spartak Moscow

Group C: Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux, Galatasaray
Group D: Valencia, Roma, Olympiakos, Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E: Real Madrid, Lyons, Steaua Bucharest, Dynamo Kiev
Group F: Manchester United, Celtic, Benfica, FC Copenhagen

Group G: Arsenal, Porto, CSKA Moscow, Hamburg
Group H : AC Milan, Lille, AEK Athens, Anderlecht

You Never Walk Alone

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Pay to be a club mascot?

Gosh.. I didn't know that those kids (or rather their parents) have to fork out thousands of pounds in order for their kid to walk out with a Premiership Football team!!

As reported in the Guardian, some charge as high as GBP3,500 for that "privilege"!! Come on... clubs are already making money from ticket prices, TV rights, etc.. do they have to squeeze another few thousand quids from these kids?

Yes they do. Here's the list of what each club charges with the exception of 7 clubs who offer this service for free.

The price of a dream

  • Everton £1,762.50 to £3,525
  • Bolton Wanderers £400 *
  • Fulham £300 to £995
  • West Ham £350
  • Portsmouth £300
  • Sheffield United £250 to £350 *
  • Reading £250
  • Tottenham Hotspur £195 to £295
  • Watford £195 to £250
  • Chelsea £176.50
  • Aston Villa £175
  • Charlton Athletic £60 to £250

    * also offer some free places
  • Free: Arsenal; Blackburn Rovers; Liverpool; Manchester City; Manchester United (but sponsors choose the mascot in 75 per cent of league games); Middlesbrough; Wigan Athletic.

For full report, read the Guardian article.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Kuyt to kick start our season?


As the Reds prepare to kick off their EPL season tomolo away at Sheffield United, we just confirmed the signing of Dirk Kuyt, the Feyenord striker whom Rafa has been tracking for some time.

So it looks like we now have the 4 different type of strikers - target man (Crouch), creator/poacher (Fowler), speed (Bellamy) and out-and-out (Kuyt).

You Never Walk Alone

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Dun you luv statistics?

The stark reality is that, had last season started on September 17, Liverpool would have been the champions. It was the club?s lugubrious start to the campaign that was their undoing and with even Frank Lampard admitting that Liverpool are more advanced than Chelsea in their preparations and less affected by World Cup aftershock, optimism is coursing through red veins.

After the 4-1 humbling by Chelsea at Anfield on October 2, Liverpool picked up 75 points, as opposed to Chelsea?s 67. However, before that match Chelsea had 21 points compared with Liverpool?s paltry seven.

In simple terms, that means Liverpool were the best team in the Barclays Premiership for all but the first month of last season. Now their players believe that a better team will hit the ground running.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Liverpool 2 Chelsea 1 (2006 Community Shield)


Not so much in the way we win but the way we play to win. In the past Jose would have said we nicked the victory, it was a lucky shot, watever.... but yest I do not think he can make mucho excuse.

We simply played better than they did. We have a system and regardless of which player came on to the pitch, they slotted into the "system" comfortably and not the other way of trying to find a system to suit the players you have (hint hint, Alex?)


Sissoko was awesome last nite (even when Gerrard was not playing - SG was only played in the 2nd half). Gonzalez impressed... even Aurelio looked very steady. And Bellamy is certainly a very good buy. Everytime he has the ball, you can sense panic in the Chelsea defence.


Jose boasted about his 50%-ready team taking on Liverpool. Rafa responded by leaving out our Gerrard, Alonso, Hyppia and Bellamy from the starting lineup... We started with just Momo (relatively unproven) against their top midfielders of Lampard, Ballack and Essien!!

And we drew 1st blood first. Go figure, Jose.


Mourinho's face when they were presenting the medals to the winner and runner-up were priceless!! Oh I also noticed Jose and Rafa didn't shake hands after the match.

btw we followed this game at Finnegan's Pub along Jln Sultan Ismail. Didn't order any of their meals as we'd just had our dinner but the waiter was very friendly and the environment not bad. Yan ordered mushroom soup and it was served with three slices of garlic bread. Good value.

Looks like we're having dinner there again next Sat as Liverpool is playing away to Sheffield Utd at 8pm local time.

You Never Walk Alone

p/s Oh, I luv the new Adidas home kit... Gotta get myself one. :P

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