+ be brave +

Be brave. Don't hold back, just do whatever you want to do. Don't look back to regret things you so badly wanted to do but never did, don't always start sentences with 'I should've have...'.
I should have been braver. There may never be another chance anyway. But I held back. Not because I didn't want it, that's for sure, but because I was too self conscious.

So people, pluck up your courage, be brave, and don't live to regret.

Was dining with a pal at a coffeeshop along Purvis Street (near Bras Basah Complex) yesterday. The place is still using the very olden style wooden countertops for the cashier! And they also had these coin holders whereby there are grooves to hold the coins in neat rows. That's supposed to have been around since the boss' dad, which according to the uncle is almost 4 decades ago. I couldn't resist a picture with the boss and the counter. :)

+ tune in to radio jr +

I love these songs, so I thought they should be introduced to the rest of you too.





rows down, from left:
James Blunt - Tears and Rain
from Return to Bedlam. The singer behind huge hit You're Beautiful.

Fantasia - I Believe
from Free Yourself. Reach the bridge and that's where I thought she really believed.

Allure feat. 112 - All Cried Out
from Allure. The song was released in '97, but I think alot of you will remember this song after hearing it.

Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
from O. Also in movie Closer's original soundtrack. You'll listen to it over and over again. Guaranteed.

Jason Mraz - You and I Both
from Waiting For My Rocket To Come. Nice and bright.

Lifehouse - You and Me
from Lifehouse. Yes, I listen to rock too! Not hard rock though.

Daniel Powter - Bad Day
from Daniel Powter. Well I sure didn't have a bad day after listening to this. Must get this too!

That's all for today's Radio JR. See you another time.

+ a post +

I had the weirdest feeling yesterday.

Excited (very excited in fact), jumping for joy and relieved, yet nervous, sad, unsure how to act or what to expect as I take each step toward the meeting place. Why? Rightfully, I should just feel the positive stuff, since it's been quite awhile since I saw you. The actual feeling however, was mixed with dispirit and question marks.

You are leaving. For good. Not just for the actual meaning of the phrase, i.e for a long time, but for something better. Certainly, the future out there is bright, and you have someone waiting for you in the UK, but I just hated to see you go, and not knowing if we will ever cross paths again. It does tear my heart apart when we have to wave goodbye, I mean you Are a dear friend. But yup, that is what you have to do.

Dinner did relieve me to some point. We chatted and laughed, almost like we used to. I just couldn't help but think that with every word we've spoken, we were taking a step away from each other.

And thank you, those wonderful whatever-your-names-are who invented MSN, email and IDD. You people are so going to heaven.
So yes, it is a painful goodbye, but it is also the beginning of your real life. Take care always and do remember me and some memories we shared.

And for the record, I’ll never fly Emirates. Cos that's what's taking you back.

+ coolest phones on the planet +

Before I start, just wanted to let the Nokia-philes know that the N90 is officially available at $1088 with a 2 year plan now. Nokia-philes should look away right now because I think the N90 looks rather hideous with its complicated multiple hinge design. And it's huge. No prizes for guessing that I prefer Sony Ericsson's W800i by miles.

OK, let's start proper.


Mitsubishi M800 So simplistic, so sophisticated, so rare, so cool. Available now.


Motorola V3x 3G, 2 megapixel camera version of Motorola V3. Coming soon.


Motorola PEBL U6 Name something else that's got an exterior that looks like it. Available in US now.


Panasonic VS7 First Panasonic that caught my attention. 16million colour screen, bluetooth, 2 megapixel camera. All in a thin Japanese-style clamshell. Coming soon.


NEC N343i Didn't get much info on this, but it sure looks tiny. Perfect companion to iPod nano? Probably. Only in Japan.


Motorola V3 Pink edition Strictly limited edition. Maria Sharapova has one. Availability under consideration.


Sony Ericsson K600i Love it or hate it. I reckon it's the coolest candy bar phone ever. Available now.

+ much needed update +

Ok, I haven't really said anything that people want to read lately. Because there's nothing about myself. So here goes.

I freaking spent $59 on a pair of in-ear headphones that didn't improve the sound quality of my iPod at all. Damn, to think I actually read up on various other models before getting it. Now I think the main problem is that my MP3 files aren't of that high quality in the first place, which is why they weren't able to 'perform' in the way they should. Worst thing is, it doesnt even match the Poddie one bit.

Putting salt on your ulcer doesnt exactly heal it. It just numbs it for some time. I fell for the trick. And of course, it hurt like crazy.

I thought I had done it, made my peace with everything, but I still felt a tinge of feeling when a message comes. Why? I don't want to be a selfish person, don't want to jeopardise anything, and honest, I really don't. It's just a natural feeling. A little bit of it that still resides deep inside, revealed subconsciously. Pure it is, there are no intentions whatsoever.
Which is good, because I can't. So what I need is more time. You're still a dear friend, and will only be that to me. I treasure it.

+ movies to watch +

Interesting movies coming our way..

Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire, ya know, the usual people
17 November


Flightplan, starring Jodie Foster
20 October


Chicken Little, sequel to Chicken Run
1 December


Corpse Bride, Tim Burton + Johnny Depp again!
29 September


And of course.. the Must-Watch movie this season, Cinderella Man! Starring Russell Crowe and my lovely Renee Zellweger.. Opens tomorrow!

+ a hit, a miss +


iPod nano. 2GB or 4GB flash memory, 1.5" colour screen, picture viewing function, actual size shown. $348 / $438. In black or white. So pretty, you'd touch it more than if a naked Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston stood in front of you.


Motorola ROKR. (USA only) Design wise, it's just an all-white version of 1 1/2 year-old E398 with an extra music-player button. Functionality wise, E398 with video recording and of course iTunes software. Granted, it's not exactly designed by Apple, but Motorola is no slouch in the design department either. For a delayed and much anticipated product, the strengths of Apple & Motorola can do much more. Come on, show us an impossibly cool successor soon.

+ picture time!


For those of you whom like me, has not been to Carl's Jr at Marina Square yet, this amazingly big burger should be quite an eye opener. Yes, that's over 400grams of pure beef patty.


This jingle thingy was found outside Centrepoint, the entrance near Pizza Hut. Never realised this thing was out there to 'lure' customers into the mall.


Carrefour changed their price displays on the racks to digital readouts, which shows the original price and discounted price, if there was any. A move to safe ink and paper?


My colleague's son. Like me, his 2 front teeth were missing at that age. Oh yea, he's got Portuguese and Chinese blood in him.


Me: Look look! That's how they're (teeth) gonna look when they grow again!
Hence the look on little Antonio's face.


The photographer of this shot seems to think it looks fine.

+ tech update +

For those of you out there who are either patriotic, affected by the style over substance comments iPods are still garnering, not won over by iRiver's high-ish pricing and wonder what Sony is doing with a somewhat passe inverted LED display, the MP3 player for you is here.

The 8GB Creative Zen Micro Photo, according to cnet's website, will be available for pre-order in Singapore as you read this.
The size of the player is no bigger to that of the original Zen Micro (the Photo is in fact a mite thinner around the waist), a 262k colour display should show off pictures much better than the admittedly rather disappointing iPod screen (though the latter's screen is 0.5 inches bigger). Pricing wise, the Zen Micro Photo is expected to cost $469.

+ project superstar +


Today marks the end of Channel U's singing talent show, Project Superstar! In my opinion the entire series beats the local spin-off of the 'Idol' merchandise hands-on. Firstly, Singapore Idol was hideously boring, and please, which local singer has made it big as an export market English crooner? A Mandarin singing contest made so much more sense, and therefore congratulations to Mediacorp for producing the 'right' reality TV show! But just one thing.. It seems to be a little too fair to divide the contestants so equally by sexes every week. Maybe they just didnt want to be too similar to 'the Other show'.

And the crown goes to... visually impaired busker Tan Wei Lian.

Runner-up is female champ Kelly Poon.

Without doubt Kelly is much more versatile in her delivery, but since those who bothered to spend money to ring in the votes preferred WeiLian, I've got no comments. Both of them got recording contracts anyway. Question remains though, it has been known that the 2 finalists will be signed either by local-based Play Music or Universal Music, so why has the runner-up gotten the kinda better company (Universal)? Probably the upper level execs saw who was the winner in Their eyes before tonight.

Yea. No "Singapore's Brainiest" prize for you if you guessed which contestant I supported.

A fine effort by Mediacorp, nevertheless. Cheers.

+ comex 2005 +

The 2nd big IT show of the year is here. COMEX 2005 will be held at Suntec City Convention Centre levels 4 and 6, from 1st to 4th September.

I was there earlier, these are some of the deals I found...


Left: Casio S500. $749. Freebies: 512MB SD card, leather case, lens cleaning kit, 256MB MP3 player, card reader, air-tight box. Various freebies for other Casio models available. camera details
Centre: Ricoh Caplio R2. $699. Freebies: 512MB SD card, cleaning kit, DVD player, mini tripod, card reader. Various freebies and price slashes for other Ricoh cameras available. camera details
Right: Fujifilm S3 Pro. $2999 (UP $3499). Freebies: 1GB CF card, camera bag, tripod, Photo Express software, cleaning kit. Various freebies slashes for other Fujifilm cameras available.


Left: Panasonic FX8. ($649 (UP $699). Freebies: 2 x 512MB SD card, camera case, cleaning kit. Various freebies for other Panasonic cameras and videocams available. camera details
Right: Canon Ixus 50. $649 (UP $699). Freebies: 512 + 256MB SD card, card reader, camera bag, dry box. Various price slashes freebies for other Canon cameras. camera details
Bottom: Olympus C70 Zoom. $849. Freebies: 256 + 512MB XD card, 2nd lithium battery, tripod, camera bag. Various freebies and price slashes for other Olympus cameras available. camera details


Left: BenQ Joybook $2988. (UP $3688) Freebies
Right: Dell Inspiron $1399-$1899 (UP $1799-$2499) Free RAM upgrade
Bottom: Fujitsu Lifebook $1988-$4688 (UP $2288-$4688) Freebies


Left: iRiver H320. $529 (UP $579). free Sennheiser earphones.
Right: Apple iPod Gen 4 (monochrome display). $398. $33 iPod accessories voucher.


Left: Dell Axim X50 pocket PC. $548 (UP$798).
Right: Canon MVX350i Videocam. $1399 (UP $1499). Free compact photo printer.