Nice cars

Saw this VW sports car at the parking lot of Amcorp Mall. I'm not really an avid VW or sports car fan, but I do appreciate a beautiful piece of automotive machinery when I see one. It looked really cool and I couldn't resist taking a quick snap with my handphone. Not sure which model was this though.

Nice car, isn't it?

I don't own a fancy car. I drive a Kelisa. Living in PJ and near KL, I wanted a small car for easy driving around cities, yet spacious enough for my passengers to sit comfortably. I got my car shortly after I started working. My father got it from his friend and it was still in good condition, as the car was only driven between the friend's house and his grandchild's kindergarten. As an added bonus, the car uses automatic transmission (AT). When you're driving in PJ and KL with its perpetually heavy and congested traffic, AT is definitely the better option.

Same model and color but different license plate

After years of driving, I'm proud to say that my Kelisa is still in good shape, despite a couple of minor accidents. A new coat of paint would be nice though. I have no intention of buying a new one before my car dies on me, and it still got a few more years to go.

Selamat Berpuasa!

Just want to wishes all my Muslim friends Selamat Berpuasa and have a safe fasting month!

Grail Diary

I loved Indiana Jones movies, some of my favorites when I was a kid.

Cue theme music....

For the first two movies, I've always fancied the hat, the leather jacket and the famous whip. But after watching the third movie, my attention shifted to another prop that I still wish to have for myself: the Grail Diary.

Dr Henry Jones Sr and Jr

A scene before Indiana takes The Path of God

The Grail Diary

Perhaps due to my love for reading, the Grail Diary became the first and only movie prop that I fancied owning one. I've always interested in what was written on that small leather diary.

A brief search through the Internet and I found many fans made their own diaries with all the details that fully replicate the movie prop. I envied them as I was never good in arts and craft, and I don't think buying one would be cheap either. So I'll just have to satisfy myself by looking at some pictures online. *sigh*

BookXcess 3rd Anniversary Celebration!

BookXcess will be having its third anniversary celebration on 13-15 August 2010.

A good time to expand your collection of books without robbing a bank! Don't miss it!!!

Irresponsible!!!

On 1 August 2010, I was really angry! I just couldn't believe how irresponsible some people can be!!

I was visiting Amcorp Mall that day, one of a few places I would go to when I’m spending the weekend alone. My usual routine was to visit my favorite bookstore BookXcess first, just to browse around or to buy books that I had in mind. Then I would just window-shop at the other stores and stalls at the flea market. Later, I would revisit BookXcess to see if I missed something the first time around.

During the revisit, I noticed a plastic bag with an empty paper cup in it, left among the books at the non-fiction section. I was surprised and angry that someone could be so irresponsible. What made me angrier was that I know who the culprit was.

During my first-round in the bookstore, I noticed a couple with their daughter at the non-fiction section. As I was browsing around, I saw the mother was eating something from a paper cup in a plastic bag. It was the exact same paper cup and plastic bag that was left among the books! I couldn’t be sure if it was the mother who left it there, as the food could be shared with the father and daughter, and it could be one of them who left it.

If it was one of the parents, they have set such a bad example for their daughter. While they did the right thing to encourage their child to develop a good reading habit by bringing her to a bookstore, they failed to be a responsible person by leaving their garbage there. If you couldn’t find a waste basket in the store, then bring it outside and throw it into a garbage can when you see one. Simple logic!

If it was the daughter, then both daughter and the parents were at fault. Either the parents failed to take notice the mistake the daughter had made and educate her promptly, or the parents did notice her mistake but decided to do nothing.

Of course, it was mere speculation as to what exactly happened, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the garbage came from that family. I decided to take a couple of photos and post it in my blog for everyone to see. And yes, I did pick it up and throw it away.

Can you see what wrong with this picture?

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated case. I had previously seen used tissues left among the books or on the floor. For everyone whose reading this, I hope that you would treat BookXcess better the next time you visit it. The bookstore, or any bookstore for that matter, is a wonderful place for everyone to be in. Be responsible. Don’t leave your garbage there. It’s a bookstore, not a landfill.

On a side note, some people still leave books all over the place, such as a fiction book at the non-fiction section, a RM 17.90 book at the “below RM 10” section, etc. Please put the books back where they belong if you decided later not to buy them.

China and the Cultural Revolution

Recently I finished reading two books involving China and its infamous Cultural Revolution.

Feather in the Storm talks about author Emily Wu's personal experience in surviving the Cultural Revolution, which destroyed thousands of lives in China. Her father Wu Ningku and mother Li Yikai were intellectuals, therefore her family was categorized as a "black" or rightist family and was subjected to continuous hardship, humiliation and abuse. She recalled her ordeals over a span of 19 years from the first time she met her father when she was three years old to the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976 with the death of Mao Zedong.

Chinese Lessons recounted writer John Pomfret's experience living in China from 1980, studying in Nanjing University as an exchange student, and his perspective of the country. He witnessed how China was slowly opening itself to the world after the Cultural Revolution, how the lives of his former classmates changed, as well as his own life as one of the first exchange students from the US and his intimate relationships, his journalism career and as a witness to the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.

These two books have allowed me to understand more about China, especially  the Cultural Revolution and its effects. It's hard to imagine how many lives were destroyed by this movement and how the same man who liberated China almost destroyed it with his own hands.

Laptop tray

Found this laptop tray being sold at MPH Mid Valley for RM 60.

It has a cushion base, a small LED lamp and recess for cup and pen/pencil. The tray is designed as such so that you can use your laptop, read a book, or doing craft work anywhere your want. For those who spend most of their time on their beds or sofas, this tray might worth their money.

Would you want to buy one?