Tuesday, January 24, 2012

2012 Book 1 - Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

I typically don't enjoy reading biographies but this book was so riveting that I had trouble putting it down! I would describe it as one of the better (if not the best) non fiction book that I can recall reading in a very long time. 

If you don't believe me, trust the experts. Steve Jobs by Water Isaacson has been recently nominated by Amazon as a contender for "The Best Book of 2011" award. For more information on the Top 100 contenders, here is the link.  

Apart from gaining an insight to the otherwise unknown life of the legendary Steve Jobs, I also found myself becoming much more appreciative of the iPhone and iPad devices which I'm sure that everyone would agree are simply life transforming devices which most of us would now have trouble living without. 

Being a Intel and Windows person from the day I started using computers, I've neither been caught up with the Apple "We are the Rebels" siren call nor have been particularly attracted by its design or aesthetic plus points to want to make myself go through the trouble of working on a Apple desktop in a predominantly Windows world. However, by the end of the book, I found myself itching to get my hands on an iMac so that I can see for myself the "close integrated hardware and software" vision that Steve so adamantly held close to his heart. 

Beyond the magical transformation that I've just described, this book of about 700 pages have also for very special reasons (which I would not further elaborate in this post) touched me on a much deeper and personal level. :D


I hope that you will enjoy reading this book as much as I did. 



Jamie's Rating: 5 out of 5 (Must read)

About the Book

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.  
Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.
Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.

Where to get it

1. Popular in Singapore (Get additional 20% discount if you are a Popular member)
2. Shell Gas Station

Monday, January 23, 2012

I won't give up - Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz really rocks!! I love this song. :D




When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
There's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not
And who I am

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up.

I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Shuffling Lions!! Happy Chinese New Year!!





LION Tissue Box in my house....Ultra cute!




I totally cracked up when the music came on and the lions started shuffling. Haha!

新年快乐! 万事如意!

Heading out for reunion dinner now!! OH YEAH!!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Family Guy - Peter Griffin versus THE Chicken

OH MY GOD....IT WAS EXACTLY LIKE THAT!!!!

I suspect Peter Griffin and I are kindred spirits.....

Hilarious BEYOND words!!!

PLEASE....do yourself a favour and watch the whole thing. Super hilarious man!!!

The Noose - Pornsak Sukhumvit



The Noose - Lu Lu (my favourite character)

水为财嘛。。。。




Sunday, January 08, 2012

Hey Soul Sisters - Isn't this cute?

8 Year Old Aidan performs this song on his Ukulele. 
Adorable as hell.



Train - Acoustic Version



Train - Lyrics

Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains
I knew I wouldn't forget you, and so I went and let you blow my mind
Your sweet moon beam, the smell of you in every single dream I dream
I knew when we collided, you're the one I have decided who's one of my kind

Hey soul sister, ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo, the way you move ain't fair, you know!
Hey soul sister, I don't want to miss a single thing you do...tonight
Hey, hey,hey

Just in time, I'm so glad you have a one-track mind like me
You gave my life direction, a game show love connection we can't deny
I'm so obsessed, my heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest
I believe in you, like a virgin, you're Madonna, and I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind

Hey soul sister, ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo, the way you move ain't fair, you know!
Hey soul sister, I don't want to miss a single thing you do...tonight

The way you can cut a rug, watching you's the only drug I need
You're so gangsta, I'm so thug, you're the only one I'm dreaming of
You see, I can be myself now finally, in fact there's nothing I can't be
I want the world to see you be with me

Hey soul sister, ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo, the way you move ain't fair, you know!
Hey soul sister, I don't want to miss a single thing you do tonight,
Hey soul sister, I don't want to miss a single thing you do...tonight
Hey, hey,hey

Tonight

Hey, hey,hey

Tonight

Saturday, January 07, 2012

My 2 cents worth on Singapore Ministerial Salaries

TADA!!!

Come on ....You knew this post would be inevitable.... I simply cannot resist. :D

However, I have great news for you. I won't be putting forward a detailed post for 2 reasons:

1. I haven't had a chance to review the proposed changes in any detail except for the very summarized newspaper article that I saw on My Paper....(Yes....我报...:D), so I acknowledge that any comments from me now speaking on specifics of the recommendation would not be as informed as I would like.
2. I chanced upon Siew Kum Hong's blog post (and despite my earlier admittance in point 1 to be rather ignorant about the full recommendations formed by the committee), I do have my preliminary assessment and I feel that SKH has so perfectly articulated my sentiments, if not the general "feel" from the ground. 

Therefore, with the above disclaimer in mind, please proceed at your own peril.

To summarize, I'm very appreciative that most of our leaders have very graciously stepped out to openly accept the recommendations or have opted to respect the general population and adopt silent acceptance. (but as Grace Fu has kindly demonstrated, there are always exceptions) 

My personal view is that the pay cut is quite significant so it must hurt in one way or another. In the first place, no one ever complains that money is too much or enough, right? Don't believe me? Ask Jack Neo. 

However, with that said, in spite of the pay cut, dear leaders....you do know that you are still being paid a shit-load of money, don't you? As I know it, even with the pay cut, our leaders remain the highest paid group of politicians IN THE WORLD and really...your income is still *fill in your preferred curse words* obscene compared to the average Singaporean. Please forgive me if I fail to sympathise with your "predicament". 

(And yes I know that Grace Fu is taking alot of flake from netizens over her facebook post but to the likes of Grace "I'm so misunderstood" Fu, if you are not happy, go back to the private sector. No one is stopping you.)

Now that I've gotten that off my chest. Let me continue....:D

In conclusion, yes. While the change in formula to determine the ministerial salary has indeed tipped the scale "oh-so-very slightly" back from EXTREMELY OUTRAGEOUS towards just being plain OUTRAGEOUS, I believe that the general consensus of the masses is that these changes have not  fully addressed the problem. True enough, there will always be that group of people who will never be satisfied no matter what you do but as Siew Kum Hong explains in his post, I believe in this case, there are valid reasons to explain why this problem will not simply be swept under the carpet.



Wednesday, January 04, 2012

The "AM I SICK" Checklist

THE "AM I SICK" CHECK LIST
  1. Sore throat.....CHECKED
  2. Cough.....CHECKED
  3. Phlegm.... CHECKED
  4. Sneezing Fits.....CHECKED
  5. Running Nose....CHECKED
  6. Headache.....CHECKED
  7. FEVER....NOT YET
Guess I score pretty high on this test, huh!!!

I haven't been to the doctors yet. Was kinda hoping that the "off-the shelf" medication from Watsons will just do the trick but as I watch myself going from bad to worse, I guess I have no choice but to officially elevate my status from "I'M NOT SICK" denial stage to "OMG....DO YOU THINK I HAVE AVIAN FLU" hysterical panic stage.

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, as always, with nothing much better to do then sniffle, moan and groan, I decided to park myself on twitter to share my misery with the world. Just as I was kinda doing my thing....a friend shouted back: "A LOT OF PEOPLE FALLING SICK!!!" 

I don't know how to say this but I instantly felt kinda joyous. Let me do some internal soul searching for the sudden burst of joy. Hmmmmm.....Let's see......

For starters, for some strange obscure reason, it just felt good to have someone confirm that I am actually sick. I'm not sure why I needed anyone to tell me that but I guess I did feel a little relieved to hear it. I'm insane...I know.  And secondly, the always rather evil side of me was kinda happy to know that if I'm feeling this sick, there is definitely ONE OF YOU out there who is feeling as miserable as I am feeling. YAY!! We are the carriers.....now let's go out to infect MORE PEOPLE......hahahahaha...

For all you healthy, beautiful people out there, see you soon huh!! 

MUAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!



Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Good Evening to Bother You

1. Introduction to Steven Lim dancing to Lady Marmalade


Its actually VERY disgusting. So please be warned.





2. Steven Lim makes a report after receiving prank calls

#Goodeveningtobotheryou - Really cracked me up!

Watch the link!


3. One of the MANY video response to Steven Lim. This one is by Dee Kosh.

Enough said!




Monday, January 02, 2012

Highly Recommended - 一泡而红 (Already Famous) A Singapore Production

This has got to be the best Singapore production that I've ever seen. "一泡而红" was written and directed by Michelle Chong. She is one talented person who can manage multiple accents brilliantly!! LULU, in particular, from Noose is totally hilarious. (but oops...I digress) :D

From the get go, I was laughing so hard that my sides ached. This show must  NOT be mistaken with those slap stick (cheap jokes) done by Mr Cross Dressing Jack Neo shit which in my personal opinion, is a total waste of time and money. Needless to say, and if it is already not obvious enough, Jack Neo's movies really DO GRATE ON MY NERVES!

And while I'm at that topic, NOOOOOO....I don't think Jack Neo's productions are accurate portrayal of Singapore or the average Singaporeans. Okay, perhaps only the really spastic ones...like Steven Lim....(Ooopss...where the hell did that come from? Too much YouTube. #Goodeveningtobotheryou. If you don't know what I"m talking about, you don't know what you are missing!!)

Okay, back to the movie "Already Famous". I would summarize to say that I would be totally happy to buy another ticket to watch this movie in the cinema, if only to show support to a good job well done.

Here's the trailer.....SUPPORT GOOD LOCAL PRODUCTION!!!





P/s: OHHHH...I so love the FAT boy....He is the cutest!!

2012 - My Reading List and other plans

This year I've decided to limit the number of books that I read for the year to a grand number *drum rolls* of FIFTEEN. 

The problem is not that I don't read enough but rather I tend to get too carried away and then find myself  spending ALL my time reading some novel when I should be doing a whole lot of other things. 

Considering that I only have 11 months to renew my PMP certificate (among a rather long list of new year resolutions), I really need to start getting more discipline into my reading habits.

Alas! Barely 26 hours into the new year and I have already planned out the next 3 books to read starting with...... 

THE VERY IMPORTANT BOOK

P/s: I fully intend to read this book with an open mind. I believe our respected leader has got something to say to us so LISTEN UP!!

Sherlock Holmes - Game of Shadows

Firstly, a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to one and all.  :D

I'm writing this in the wee hours of the morning so I'm not expecting to be checking my post (yes, the grammatical errors, if any, will be here to stay).

Updates first: (or rather the top 3 Yays for me)
1. As you probably know, I've since relocated back to Singapore so there is absolutely no pressure for me to head to the airport this year to get back to Taiwan after the new year celebrations. Yay!!!
2. January 1st is a SUNDAY  and tomorrow is a public holiday for us in Singapore. Double Yay!!
3. I've met most of my 2011 resolutions (so we are good on that account). Now on to 2012. Triple Yay!

So what did you do for the first day of the year? 

As for me, I spent most of the day sleeping in. When I finally decided to get my act together, I headed out to Downtown East for an extremely late lunch (or rather early dinner). We had Mr Chicken Rice (supposedly opened by one of the chefs from the famous Chatterbox outlet) and that was pretty good and rather reasonably priced. So, check it out if you are within the vicinity. :)

The main topic of this blog is, however, about the movie we watched "Sherlock Holmes - Games of Shadows." I might first add that I was rather looking forward to catching this movie. I thought that the first Sherlock Holmes movie was quite interesting and I really didn't mind catching Jude Law in his rather sexy English accent. Alas, it was not meant to be.

To put it mildly, I found the show extremely draggy. Perhaps, I was simply not in the mood today (after sleeping so much) but I swear that every fight scene was put into slow motion and repeated twice. (once in Sherlock Holmes' head and then the actual fight scene with minor modifications.) I can't remember the last time that I actually fell asleep during a movie but I must have nodded off at least 3 times (or more) during the show. That's simply quite horrid by my standards. I actually turned to KL and asked: " Do you think the show will be ending any time soon?" and was perfectly happy when they started showing the credits.

OMG!! FINALLY!!

Perhaps not everyone feels the same way about this movie so if you think I'm missing the whole point of the show, please do let me know. :)

Meanwhile, here is the official trailer for you to decide if you haven't actually caught it.






And yes, Mr Guy Ritchie....I know Sherlock Holmes is brilliant and rather eccentric but don't you think that the movie might have been OVER EMPHASIZING it a little too much?!?