Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in arubin's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
4:48 pm	Why, oh why, Miyabi? Yar, the Japanese paparazzi struck again and this time, its Natsuyaki Miyabi who's been caught out in another boyfriend scandal. Those pictures are grainy enough that there's some element of doubt as to who the girl really is, but there's no mistaking that chin... Goddamit! Leave those girls alone already. They have a right to their private lives. Sigh... Personally, I don't really care if any of the H!P girls decide to have a social life and apparently, neither do their international fans who seem to be a lot more open-minded. Unfortunately, we're only a small portion of their fanbase. The otakus and wota in Japan form the majority and they're a less forgiving bunch judging from how the issue has exploded on 2ch. We already lost Murakami Megumi to a nosy stalking fanboy, and she was one of the more talented of the H!P kids. Admittedly, C-ute has not seemed to suffer any apparent effect for it but that's only because both Airi and Maimi are awesome enough to compensate. Still, her presence is badly missed... On the other hand, Berryz can't quite afford to lose Miyabi. Nevermind the shrunken lineup, but I can't quite imagine the group being fronted by Momoko and Risako alone. They still need someone who can actually sing else it'll just be pretty faces in the front line. That ain't going to work... Than there's Buono! to worry about. What will become of them? You can't disband a group that has so much chemistry in it. It just wouldn't work without rock-steady Miyabi in the middle to balance out a lively Airi on the left and a ditzy Momoko on the right. I never really thought much about Miyabi until Buono came along. Even if I'm not that much of a fan, I would be sad to see her go. She has become an unmistakable and familiar presence in H!P and its always sad to lose one of the old-timers. Come to think of it, this 'kid' has been in H!P for far longer than most of the current lineup of Morning Musume. Hmm... I hope this incident blows over quietly and everybody pretends that it never happened. Meh... Current Mood: frustrated (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
3:44 am	Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu Hmm...its been ages since I last made a post. Guess I've been lazy or just can't be bothered, but suddenly I feel inspired to write a review of the best movie I've watched so far this year. Oddly enough, it isn't Iron Man. Its a Japanese movie that was released back in 2005 called Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu. Synopsis Oh bugger, I'm just going to plagiarize Wikipedia: Mio Aio's death leaves her husband Takumi and six year-old son Yuji to fend for themselves. Takumi is congenitally disorganized, suffers occasional fainting spells, and fears that his health compromised his dead wife's happiness. Yuji overhears relatives speculate that his own difficult delivery compromised Mio's health, and blames himself for his mother's death. Mio had left Yuji a picture book; in the book, Mio departs for a celestial body she calls "the Archive Star" but reappears in Japan during the following year's rainy season; turning the pages, Yuji eagerly awaits her return. On a walk in the forest outside their house, Takumi and Yuji find a woman sheltered from the rain, and immediately accept her as Mio. She has no memory or sense of identity; she comes home to live with the father and son anyway. This new Mio asks Taku how they met and fell in love, and he recounts a tale of years of missed chances, beginning in high school and ending when she encouraged their marriage years later. As the rainy season draws to a close, Yuji discovers the "time capsule" he hid with his mother before her death. Mio's diary is inside, and its version of the Mio-Taku romance holds the answers to the mystery. Thoughts Weepy love stories aren't really my cup of tea, but this movie came highly recommended and was directed by Doi Nobohiro who was responsible for Beautiful Life - a weepy Japanese drama that I actually quite enjoyed. However, unlike Beautiful Life which presented you with one heartbreaking scene after another, this movie struck a perfect balance being both uplifting yet heartrending at the same time. Despite having one of the most touching and saddest ending I've ever seen in any movie, it does not leave you feeling downcast. In fact, viewers might very well end up believing that there might just be a little bit of magic out there in this mundane world of ours. High point When Takumi learns about Mio's perspective of their romance from her diary. Low point None really, although I couldn't stop thinking that Takumi's doctor is really a ballroom-dancing legal assistant if only because he was portrayed by the same actor who played that role in the drama Hero. Star of the show Takei Akeshi, who was brilliant as 6 year Yuji who is absolutely delighted to be reunited with his mother yet is fearful of losing her again. Screencaps Current Mood: enthralled (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 9th, 2008
2:31 am	YES!!!!!! Doing well so far...can the opposition deny BN the 2/3? Regardless, this is helluva exciting... Finally we're rid of Semi Value!!! Bye bye Chew Mei Fun. If you're still wondering why you lost, its because your job title is MP and not MPPJ. Woohoo woohoo woohoo! Current Mood: giddy (Comment on this)
Friday, March 7th, 2008
8:03 pm	Stay the course! Last political rant before the election tmr. The BN is playing some truly desperate scare tactics again. I hope that in these last moments, that the rakyat have the courage to stand firm and not be afraid. We have nothing to lose. So what if the Chinese & Indians are no longer represented in BN? Its not like we even had a voice to lose in the first place, what with MCA, Gerakan, and MIC having no backbone of their own. In fact, the ideal scenario for this election is to have all other BN component parties wiped out. It will make things very interesting indeed. Badawi has said that he does not want to form a government with only one race. No shit, Sherlock. For once you're actually telling the truth. You need MCA, MIC, etc more than we need them. Without them, your government will no longer be credible. You can no longer claim that BN represents a united multiracial front. Without them to back you up, BN will be exposed for what it truly is - one that is entirely dominated by the bigoted UMNOputeras. So go ahead, Badawi...let's see you form your government with one race and party alone. It might certainly be legitimate, but it won't have any credibility at all. Your international reputation (which is already quite tarnished) will take a further beating. I will most certainly be interested to hear what both China and India have to say about the state of your ministry. In fact, should such a scenario happen, I won't be surprised at all if you are not given the chance to complete your term in office. You will most definitely be pressured to step down by your own party. And if enough Malays reject UMNO also...well now, it will be very interesting indeed... Unfortunately, this is only wishful thinking. While MCA, MIC and Gerakan will likely lose more than a few seats, I expect they will retain enough for BN to carry on with its little puppet show. But hopefully, we can rattle them enough to show that the rakyat will no longer tolerate their corruption and incompetence. Be resolute. Stay the course. The next few years will be trying times for us. Badawi and UMNO might very well deliver on their promise and make us suffer for deserting BN. That is to be expected. Patience...there is always 2012... Current Mood: optimistic (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
3:44 pm	R.I.P. Ernest Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) Co-founder of Dungeons & Dragons and the RPG system. Countless fantasy and gaming worlds owe their existence to your ideas. also... Fair elections for Malaysia (??? - March 4 2008) We know you're already going to win, BN, but there's no need to carry it that far... Current Mood: sad (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
11:26 pm	Rise of the son-in-law... Its probably an open secret by now...Khairy Jamaluddin: the infamous son-in-law. The man who wants to be PM by the age of 40. It will begin in Rembau where if he wins, he'll definitely be getting a Minister's post...possibly even the vaunted position of Finance Minister. What follows will be the unchecked plundering of our economy by the UMNOputeras. Hope you win, Chegubard...whatever happens, that greedy bastard must not win in Rembau. For the sake of our country's future, Khairy must not be allowed to come to power. Current Mood: cynical (Comment on this)
5:45 pm	You dirty cheats!!!!! And so the EC has canceled the use of indelible ink. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting it, but neither was I surprised. BN have always used sneaky tactics to rig elections, and apparently they're going all out to do so this year. All the fake voters which can be easily spotted on the SPR website is bad enough, but combined with this...doesn't take a genius to add it up and figure out whats going on around here... You bloody cheats...I hope you all die in bloody car accidents. So much for fair elections. Ah well, as Dr. M said...the people deserve the government they vote for. Its a pity that the rest of us have to suffer along with the idiots stupid enough to still vote for BN. Bah... Current Mood: infuriated (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
11:30 am	Like WTF? I'm trying not to make any more political rants but there was an article in today's newspaper that just made me go WTF? Apparantly, there's a small community of Siamese who live in Kelantan who are strong BN supporters despite living smack in the middle of a PAS stronghold. Fascinating. This is exactly the kind of news that our media loves to report during election period, being BN-biased and all. It didn't end there though. The article also revealed that these Siamese, who are mostly Buddhist, are 4th generation Malaysians and are also bumiputeras to boot. Like WTF?!? Why is it that a bunch of immigrants from Thailand can have bumi status, but the Chinese and Indians can't? I'm a supporter of freedom of the press and reporting, but since our government does not agree than this is one case where they should definitely have practiced self-censorship. We're definitely better of NOT knowing as finding out stuff like this is only going to piss us off the Chinese and Indians. Stupid newspapers... Current Mood: annoyed (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
5:20 pm	Hell no, I'm not a [Insert religion here].... I don't know why, but the body-snatching case of Gan Eng Gor suddenly came to mind. It happened not too long ago, and it seems that there has been no more forthcoming news since January. I wonder what happened since than. Did the family get the body back (although its probably too late by now for any more Buddhist funeral rites). How about the inheritance? Will the greedy bastard of a son get to claim it all as he's the only muslim relative of his supposedly muslim father? Regardless, the mere fact that it happened pisses me off. That the Syariah Court can just come in and snatch the body away from a grieving family using some incredibly dubious evidence is just...I'm at a loss of words here, but this sort of nonsense is exactly why Islam gets such bad press. Makes me wonder...officially, my IC card says I'm Christian. I wonder if I should get it changed just in case. I doubt if the churches in this country have the same authority to cart away corpses but it doesn't hurt to be careful.... Or maybe I should start carrying some documents somewhere on me. I hereby declare that I am a free thinker, and that I do not follow any religion. Should anything untoward happen to me, my family is to have sole jurisdiction over my body and all funeral rites will be solely their decision. Any third party who attempts to claim that I have converted to whatsoever religion is a liar and a fraud. Under no circumstance will I ever commit to any religion. Any official document pertaining to my religious beliefs is either outdated or forged. I am now a free thinker, and will forever be one. Signed, Me. As a free thinker, I do not really care what happens to me after I die so whatsoever funeral rites are fine by me - just as long as its my family who handles it. Current Mood: aggravated (Comment on this)
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
11:15 pm	More political ranting... This will probably be my last post about politics until after the election. Sick and tired of all the crap, but still feel the need to rant. Tomorrow onwards, there will be more positive and cheery stuff until I feel the need to rant about the results of the election. 1. You disappoint me, Lat... When BERSIH demanded for greater transparency in the electoral process, what they did not expect was for the government to respond by with transparent ballot boxes. Cheeky. Under other circumstances, I might actually admire such a response. What I did not expect, however, was for Lat to play along with the government charade with his cartoon on the front page of yesterday's NST. I've always thought you were politically neutral, but I guess I was wrong. Whatever it is, the list of Malaysians I actually respect just became one name shorter (and the list is already very short as it is...) 2. GTFO PJ Utara, Chew Mei Fun Y'know, I actually thought you did a fairly decent job in your 2 terms until recently. First of all, you just had to play on the fears of the Chinese community by once again bringing up the May 13 incident to fish for fear votes. Secondly, you used to reside in my neighbourhood but all it took was one robbery and you packed your bags and shifted to the gated community of Aman Suria. You traitorous coward! As our parliment rep, you're supposed to do something about the rising crime rate. But no...you ran off to hide while your DU state rep (who also lives in the same area) organized the resident's association to hire private security. Well done! I'll be sure to keep that in mind on election day. 3. Who made this idiot a journalist? Pretty stupid and uninformed column you got there, Marc Lourdes. You claimed there were no roses. Are you fucking blind or something? Heck, I happened to be in the Masjid Jamek area that morning on my way to work and I question your journalistic integrity if you dare say that you saw no roses at all. The rest of your column is about as truthful as your statement that there were no roses so I shall not waste my time with further comments. On the other hand, that was a seriously stupid PR move by Badawi. C'mon, will it kill you to accept the roses and offer some pacifying replies along the lines of "I'll think about it"? You could even have delegated that task to one of your lackeys. Sure, no one will believe that you're actually sincere about it but you will end up smelling of roses in public at least, literally and figuratively. Breaking out the FRU again is only going to lose you more Indian votes, but not like you care since they don't form the majority in any district anyway. 4. What's the big idea of announcing an election smack in the middle of CNY celebrations? We must be sensitive to racial issues you say...than you turn around and smack the entire Chinese community in the face. Well done! Bravo! You fear Anwar so much that you would rather insult a quarter of your voters than to risk having him in the polls. But hey, what's new? Not like your son-in-law hasn't already insulted the Indians already. You guys make the perfect combo. </end rant> Time for bed, because I'm about as sleepy as Badawi is during government functions... Current Mood: annoyed (Comment on this)
Monday, January 21st, 2008
8:30 pm	Political rant time... Ok...time to vent...got to let off some steam again... 1. That's a real pathetic rally you got there, Samy. Only 10k? The HINDRAF rally managed 30k+ (probably more without the road blocks) where each participant showed up on their own free will. On the other hand, rumor has it that MIC Kedah paid RM200 per head with RM1000 for a full car. Oh, and I heard you got boo'ed on stage too during some song event in Penang. Ahahahahaha! 2. Trying to bribe the Indian community now, Pak Lah? Nice try, but I don't think they're so easily fooled this time around. If anything, its proof that the HINDRAF rally was not in vain. They finally got you to admit that something has to be done to help the Indian poor. Now let's see if you actually live up to those words or will it all be empty promises again like last time. 3. No, the West does NOT have a mistaken image of Islam, Pak Lah. Their idea of Islam is correct based on the their own observations of how its religious and political leaders conduct themselves. If the West has a negative impression, than its because you guys fucked up. It has nothing to do with their media. They're only reporting what they observe, and believe it or not, the western media IS neutral (mostly). So stop putting the blame on others and admit to your own faults already. In fact, I find it highly comical and ironic that Pak Lah himself actually had the nerve to ask the West to have a more tolerant understanding of Islam. Yes, we're talking about Mr. Hadhari here who claims to represent a more modern and progressive form of Islam. Yet, under his watch, the following have happened: - The Malay language bible got banned. Sure, the ban was lifted by him personally but the damage was already done. That the bill actually got through in the first place is proof that he was either sleeping on the job, or didn't care enough until the Christians made a lot of noise. - Chinese and Hindu temples have been demolished across the country for various reasons, yet its next to impossible to secure a building permit for one. - Construction of a statue to a Taoist goddess in Sabah has been suspended as its supposedly 'offensive to Muslim sensibilities', which makes no sense whatsoever when Kelantan (which is run by PAS who are supposed to be the religious fundamentalists bad guys) allowed the construction of the largest Buddha statue in Malaysia. - Non-Muslims are subjected to the judgment of the Syariah Courts. You can claim that they're fair however much you like. Those who have had to experience it first-hand will tell you that with a few rare exceptions, they're mostly biased against non-Muslims.. - Malays who try to leave Islam are persecuted under apostasy laws. You may not realize this, Pak Lah, and you can claim this is a 'racially and religiously sensitive' issue which should not concern non-Malays however much you like, but this is the WORST offense out of the ones I listed and is far more likely to give people a negative impression of Islam. There's just no explanation whatsoever for this one. You cannot shove a religion down someone's throat if they're not willing. Religious freedom concepts aside, isn't it meaningless if belief has to be forced? The whole issue just reeks of the infamous European Inquisitions. Why are such medieval concepts still being practiced? I thought Islam Hadhari is supposed to be modern? - Who's freaking idea was it to riot in the streets just to protest some stupid cartoon? And, no, don't ask the West to understand why that happened. Not especially from you, Pak Lah. Don't try to explain that away when you forbid even peaceful street gatherings in your own country. Don't even try to claim there's a difference as it'll only make you look stupid. Yes, the cartoon was in bad taste. But what does rioting in the streets prove? To put it in perspective, some idiot who lives in a far off neighborhood insults me, and in response, I damage my car, break all my windows, and trash my entire backyard in protest. How does this, in anyway, affect the one who insulted me? What does that prove, aside from making me look like an even bigger idiot? The religious leaders could have kept it all in check. Get everyone to calm the fuck down and be reasonable about it. But no...they just had to whip everyone up into an angry fervor. Way to go...GG... Just how does all of the above help non-Muslims to develop a positive impression of Islam? The West's image of Muslims goes beyond the 'crazed suicide-bombing terrorist'. Only the shallow-minded believe that. What many of them do believe, however, is that Muslims are generally narrow-minded fundamentalists who are not only rampant anti-Zionists, but are intolerant of other religions and cultures as well. Is it a fair and accurate depiction? Of course it isn't. But can you honestly blame them? Its not the average Muslim that they see. Its the public face of the religion - the religious and political leaders - and they're doing a terrible job of representing it. Face it, if your imams go around bashing the West as a negative influence all the damned time, you should not be surprised if the West returns the favor. And don't even get me started on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.... 4. Elections are coming. This time around, I will be voting based whoever can provide me satisfactory answers to the following questions. - Will the toll concession agreements be made public and subject to auditing by an independent body? - Will freedom of speech and assembly be protected? - Is Malaysia secular or not? Will freedom of religion be protected, or are you going to allow nonsense like the Malay language bible debacle to crop up again? - Will there be a full auditing and independent inquiry into the PKFZ debacle? And I don't mean by the ACA. I want neutral and professional auditors. Bring in Arthur Andersen or Ernst & Young. I want to know how each and every single dollar was spent that the bill would run up to 4 billion+ ringgit. This will be a condition before the soft loan is approved. - What measures will you take to check the increasing crime rate? - Restore the independence of the judiciary? - Restore the independence of the media? (Already done? Ahahahaha...no, I mean seriously...) - Bar political parties (and their members) from owning a controlling stake (be it direct or indirec) in any form of public media like newspapers, television stations, etc? - How long more are you going to carry on with the NEP? What measures are you taking to reduce the dependence of the bumiputera community on it? I want to see a time frame. The oil money isn't going to last forever, you know... I've got a shitload more, but that would do for now. Giving you a fair chance now, Chew Mei Fun. I know you'll be going up against Tony Pua and I already know how he stands on the above issues. I suspect I know where you stand to, but I'll give you a chance to prove me wrong. Yes, I know that no matter who wins, it will change nothing. BN will still be in power. Nothing will change. I don't care. I want to know that the candidate I'm voting for at least stood for something I believe in. An ineffective voice is better than no voice at all, or worse...a parrot... Current Mood: cranky (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
10:26 pm	American Idol is back... ...and I'll be tuning in along with Vote For The Worst. Damn, but they weren't kidding on the audition plants...that's reality tv for you, I guess... Current Mood: dorky (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 13th, 2008
10:47 am	Damages is awesome Caught the first episode quite by accident. Damn, but this is quite possibly the best drama I've seen on TV for quite a while. Brilliant acting, especially from Glenn Close, and a very intriguing plot. Must remember to catch the rest of the series... Edit: Caught the Amazing Race Asia after the show. I don't normally watch it as I find it mostly blah, but one of the contestants said something funny. There was a detour event and the choice was between Bow or Blow. The former was an archery contest with crossbows while the latter involved glass-blowing. Anyway, one of the female contestants blurted "Well, I guess as girls we're better at blowing..." Bwahahahahaha....I nearly fell out of my chair laughing... Maybe I should watch this show more... Current Mood: relaxed (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
2:56 pm	Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! This game is freaking awesome...way better than its sequel as well as the America-nized Elite Beat Agents. My opinion is probably biased though as I actually knew almost all the songs featured in this game. I knew only a handful of songs in EBA and this was even less than Ouendan 2. Music aside, the script for the first Ouendan was excellent. Personally, I think the original game trumps the others if only because the final mission rocks. Once you've completed all other missions on the map, an arrow pointing upwards appears in one of the parks. Clicking on it takes you to a planet-side view of the Earth with a meteorite threatening to crash into it, and the entire cast of the game bands together to try and stop it. To top it off, this outlandish scenario has a thumping soundtrack in L'arc-en-ciel's "Ready! Steady! Go!". Its worth playing all the way to the end if only to watch all the characters rallying together with cries of "OSU!" and than charging the meteorite. Bwahaha... Have yet to beat the final level though...its freakishly difficult... Edit: Found a clip of someone beating it on YouTube Damn, but this guy also has a video up where he beat it on insane difficulty... Current Mood: energetic (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 7th, 2008
4:10 pm	And the downside of Democracy is... I have been keeping one eye on the US presidential candidates, if only because anything that goes on over there is going to affect the rest of the world somehow. And the outlook is not good...at least not in my opinion. I have not bothered to check whether the Democrats or Republicans are likely to win the next election. If I'm not mistaken, its still to early to tell anyway. Right now, both parties are still in the process of determining which of their candidates to put forth for the top spot. I'm not even going to bother talking about the Republicans. Being conservative is one thing, but they go beyond that. Only 2 words are required to describe what is so wrong with this party: George Bush. 'nuff said. Putting that idiot in power is reason enough on most civilized worlds in this universe to have an entire political party executed by firing squad. However, what troubles me is that the leading Democratic candidate (at least by based on the Iowa caucus and NH polls) is unfortunately a...erm...uh...ah, yes...tool. Yup...tool...most polite word I can think of to describe Barrack Obama. He seems to have the backing of Oprah too - a sure sign that he's the anti-Christ. I hate it whenever a president runs on a campaign of being the 'moral' candidate. Bah...morality is overrated. The most important quality a president needs is intelligence. If you're going to take up the job of running a country, you should be at least smarter than the average baboon. There should be an IQ test requiring that the candidate must prove that they're not complete retards, if only so the world can avoid the disaster of having yet another member of the Bush family in the White House. If your presidents won't use their brains, the least you Americans can do is use your own. Vote for Kucinich or Edwards. Either of them will do fine and both have the intelligence needed to properly run a country. Admittedly, Hillary Clinton is not stupid but I cannot condone a candidate who sees a need to take Rockstar Studios to task for the infamous Hot Coffee incident in GTA San Andreas. In order to access that infamous scene, not only do you need to mod the game, but you need to play quite far into the game to access it. Any kid who has that amount of time and the skill needed to crack the game should be able to easily figure out where to download the latest version of Sexy Beach if they really wanted to watch virtual porn. And that...is the problem with a real democracy. Too many voters are...erm...as condescending as this might sound...idiots...yes, idiots who vote for a candidate they can 'identify' with (oh, we like him...he's such a nice guy...) or for who their [insert religious leader/organization here] endorses. Morons! For crying out loud, READ their political positions and see what they stand for before you decide to put down an X next to their names. I see a strange parallel between both the United States and Malaysia. Our political systems are very much opposites. One has complete freedom of speech, while the other insists on restrictions. One has a Congress which is well known for being divided on issues, while another has a Parliament that is essentially filled with a flock of mindless sheep. Etc etc... Yet somehow, both countries ended up with hopeless morons for Presidents/Prime Ministers...oh, the irony of it all...   Edit: Oops...my mistake, Kucinich is a moron too...looks like its only Edwards...argh... Current Mood: cynical (Comment on this)
Monday, December 31st, 2007
6:40 pm	Hello Project was awesome on Kohaku Wow...they got to kickstart the show again. Pity that this was actually their shortest performance ever on Kohaku. Its been quite a stretch of enka after that...err...why are there vaulting gymnasts in the background during an enka performance? Ah well, I suppose that's NHK for you. They seen to have strange ideas on what makes an entertaining show... Current Mood: bouncy (Comment on this)
Saturday, December 29th, 2007
1:33 pm	Much ado about Hitler... There seems to be a lot of brouhaha going on right now regarding Will Smith's opinion of Hitler. Remarkably, Will believes everyone is basically good. "Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'let me do the most evil thing I can do today'," said Will. "I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was 'good'. Stuff like that just needs reprogramming. Apparently, lots of people (Jews in particular) seem to be offended by that. WTF? I dare say that anyone anyone who finds that even remotely offensive is either: A. some loser looking for a cheap 5 seconds of fame. B. mentally shallow, and we're talking kiddy wading pool kind of depth here... Is it so hard to actually catch the real meaning behind what Will said? It was a simple statement regarding human psychology. To put it simply, your average 'evil' person out there does not truly believe themselves to be evil. No doubt, there are some who are aware and take a perverse joy out of the suffering they cause BUT...on the overall, I dare say that most are probably just deluded. Take Saddam Hussein for example. He was an evil man who throughly got what he deserved. But did he ever once think himself to be evil? No. To his dying day, he had maintained that he was innocent and that everything he did was for the betterment of Iraq. At least that's what he personally believed. Never once has he expressed remorse nor admit any guilt, simply because he did not believe that he committed any crime at all. Likewise with Hitler. Yes...he was indeed evil (at least most sane people believe that he is), but he truly believed that what he did was for the benefit of Germany and its people. Hitler's opinion of himself is, of course, misguided and this is exactly the point behind Will's statement. Was that so hard to understand? Those who refuse to accept Will's belief that everyone has some good in them are just a bunch of pompous hypocritical moralists. I'll bet that if we held these people up to their own inflated standards of what they considered to be 'right' or 'good', they will likely fail (spectacularly, at that...) to meet their own requirements. After all, for all his faults, there is no denying that Hitler was an influential and charismatic leader (at least within Nazi Germany) who was driven by a vision. It might be a perverse and deluded vision, but the point here is that he was driven (unlike our PM who falls asleep on the job all the time, but that's another story). Now go back to what Will said also about 'reprogramming'. Consider, for a moment, what would have...could have been...if Hitler wasn't the racist megalomaniac that he turned out to be. What if a man of Hitler's stature had a more positive and humane outlook? What if he had focused his energies on rebuilding Germany's shattered economy after WW1 instead of pursuing his dreams of Aryan supremacy and continental domination? Unfortunately, its a tragedy for mankind that not everyone destined for greatness turned out to be good. Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Mao Ze Dong (yes, I know some Chinese still worship him but he was responsible for that Great Leap Backward and that was definitely fucked up), and Saddam Hussein are all examples of great people who have unfortunately misused their power and influence. Yes, they were great, whether you choose to accept that opinion or not. They were people who had made a mark on this world, be it for better or worse, which is something that only a rare few ever achieve in their lifetime. History will remember them forever. Can you say the same about yourself? So lay off Will already. I personally think that its an admirable trait that he always tries to see the positive or best side in every person. This world would indeed be a better place if everyone thought like him. Well, maybe not that bit where he admitted to being overly focused on sex...wait...that is actually not a bad thing...err...nevermind... Current Mood: contemplative (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 27th, 2007
2:45 pm	And the problem with WoW is... Edit: Change the title, since it seems my article took on a different tone... I just read this particular article on BBC, and I can't help but comment on it: Online games battle for top spot So...WoW has hit 9.3 million subscribers making it top dog amongst all the MMORPGs by far. By all accounts, it looks like the player base will continue to grow, but I wonder...do these people know exactly what they're getting themselves into? The reason behind WoW's success is fairly simple actually - it creates an illusion that it is friendly to casual gamers. This illusion is maintained beautifully all the way until a character hits the level cap. For a casual gamer, this will likely take anywhere from 3 to 5 months with the Burning Crusade expansion taken into account. WoW has a wonderfully immersive environment. Blizzard has proven that one does not need cutting edge technology to produce great graphics - all you need is beautiful artwork and a sense of imagination. The gaming world is huge, and there's tons quests and plenty to see and do while levelling up. Eventually though, everyone will hit the level cap. And than what? Supposedly, this is where you're supposed to be able to finally experience the game for real. Do all the fun stuff like raiding and gathering epic loots...BUT...than you find out the truth - raiding end-game dungeons takes an enormous amount of commitment. Unless you have tons of free time to devote to the game, chances are you'll end up being disillusioned just like this guy. At least that's what happened to me. He laid out the problem quite throughly, so there's no point in me repeating them here. What pisses me off about Blizzard is that they have only made half-hearted attempts to solve the problem so far. I suppose cutting back on the reputation requirements to enter a high-level instance is a step in the right direction, but it still isn't enough. Active raiding still takes way too much time, and for that matter requires membership in a well-organized guild. If you have neither, you are screwed. Its that simple. Several determined casual gamers do attempt to form casual raid alliances, but unfortunately those tend to never get very far... So what now? Who's fault is it? You cannot blame the hardcore players for not wanting to bring the casuals along. Casuals drag a hardcore raid down by not being sufficiently prepared or geared. On the other hand, the casuals are being locked out of substantial portions of the game content. Frankly speaking, if it were just epic loots that the casuals are missing out on, they will probably not have any grievances. But I think what pisses us off the most is that we're being locked out of the game's storyline as well. So obviously, the fault lies with Blizzard. After all, what's the point of hyping up an epic confrontation with Illidan during the Burningo Crusade expansion if you're going to deny the majority of your player base from even getting anywhere near him in the first place? To be honest, the solution to this is very simple. Make a 'casual' mode for all end-game raid instances which operates under a separate but more leniant environment. In this mode, it will be possible for players to be able to enter the current instances without needing the full 25-man. The best solution will be to scale the difficulty level to party size (ala Diablo 2) but this is probably too troublesome to implement smoothly. But hey, reduce it to 10 man or something. Also, it will be nice if the encounters were possible to get by through creative uses of class skills instead of having to rely on the standard tank+healer+dps formula because its not always easy to find the right balance of classes. Heck, make it possible for a raid of 10 hunters to be able to clear the instance just as long as they have enough skill to pull it off. Of course, in exchange for this nerfed instance, the loot can be nerfed to hell as well. But frankly, I don't think any casuals will care if they don't get any epix just as long as they get to enjoy the experience end-game content. You can choose to not count it as an 'official' kill. Maybe give them less reputation or something. Or you can tag the players char sheet with having completed an instance as 'casual' instead of the proper 'rightful' way. Heck, you can even give us a nub tag. I don't care. Whatever...just as long as the casuals have a chance to snoop around in the Black Temple. The hardcores should have no reason to complain about this as they still have exclusive rights to phat loots to show of how l337 they are. No doubt, there will be some arguments that it takes away from the 'epic' (no, not referring to the loot this time) feel of an instance. "We want our players to be able to appreciate that taking on Illidan is a truly heroic feat bla bla bla etc etc etc". The answer to that is so? Yes...just so? Its either that, or you can alienate your casual fan base. Frankly speaking, I would still be playing WoW (and paying the all-important subscription fee) if it were somehow possibly for me to play through end-game content with an average of 5-7 hours of play each week. Sure, progress might be slow but I'll be perfectly happy as long as I can finish up just before the next expansion hits. But as it is, I've decided to quit and devote my time and money to other more worthwhile pursuits. GG, Blizzard, GG...I don't deny that I've had a great experience and many fond memories, but its time to move on... I wonder how long it'll take for the other casuals to catch on though. Doubt that'll happen so soon though...not with the release of new expansion next year which will increase the amount of time needed to hit the level cap. Heck, I'm even tempted to renew my subscription for a few months when that happens if only just so I can run around and take a look at the new zones. After all, I have to admit that for all their faults, Blizzard has some throughly awesome developers when it comes to world design. But we'll see...we'll see... Current Mood: contemplative (Comment on this)
Friday, December 14th, 2007
9:54 pm	Oops, we just became a communist country... Help...we're being ruled over by a bunch of commies! How come? Well, I can't remember if it was yesterday or today, but I distinctly remember reading an article in the NST where our government declared proudly that it was satisfied with  China's stance of non-interference on (so-called) national security issues unlike the West. That certainly made me do a double take...our government is actually happy that a country run by a communist party, which is well known for severely restricting the rights of its own citizens, has decided not to condemn them for their actions? Oh man, that's just fucking rich...might as well just hang up posters of Chairman Mao over at Dataran Merdeka... Honestly...its one thing for our government to behave like tyrants, but to have them be so damned idiotic as well... Use your heads, you retards...being associated with China when it comes to matters pertaining to human rights is NOT good publicity. Its like  having Saddam Hussein telling you that its he doesn't mind if you enjoy gassing your own citizens. Very high praise indeed... And they actually complain that street rallies are giving tourists a bad impression...like hell...reading our local papers alone is more than enough to make any foreign tourist gag with disgust.... Current Mood: annoyed (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007
10:23 pm	WTF is wrong with our newspapers? Ye gods...the junk in the newspapers today. Do they really expect people to believe all that crap? And honestly, why the heck are all those arrests on the freaking front page of the NST when it really ought to be the Jelapang bus accident instead. As tragic as I believe the loss of democracy and freedom in this country to be, I do not think it a bigger issue than the loss of 7 lives. Just how blatantly does the government want to lie or misrepresent facts? Tian Chua bit a policeman while resisting arrest? Well, there's quite a few photos out there on the web which show the exact opposite. I don't know about the biting, but I do know for sure that the police didn't merely try to arrest Tian Chua - they literally beat the shit out of him in a very obvious and clear-cut case of police brutality. Did that get reported? Obviously not... I cannot comment on the other crap...too pissed...but I will say this one thing about the Jelapang Toll. Why the FUCK do we have to wait 6 months for it to be demolished? 146 accidents in 10 years is proof enough that the damned toll plaza is poorly placed and should be removed ASAP. And when I say ASAP, I mean like NOW. 6 months is way too long a wait. After all, it means another 7.3 accidents are going to happen within this period, and who knows how many other lives are going to be lost as well (since the government is so fond of wild statistics lately...) If the new toll plaza isn't ready yet, than you guys are just going to have to fucking do WITHOUT for the time being. Its your own damned fault for placing the toll plaza there in the first place. The rakyat should not be the ones to have to suffer for your mistakes. Its not like the loss of a few million ringgit of toll collection is more important than the potential loss of countless lives, isn't it? Oh...silly me...what a stupid question to ask in a kleptocracy... Edit: Just another thought...Nurin's killer is still at large. We have a serial child molester/murderer loose somewhere in this country, and what are our police doing about it? They're protecting our safety by gathering in the hundreds to arrest a few dozen lawyers who were marching peacefully in support of Human Rights Day. Malaysia Boleh! Current Mood: infuriated (Comment on this)