Joke (rated R)

http://www.ecartoonlogos.com/images/cartoon-logo-48.jpg

A FAIRY TALE

Once upon a time, in a land far away,

a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess
happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.
~~~~~~~~

The frog hopped into the princess' lap
and said: "Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me.

~~~~~~~~

One kiss from you, however,
and I will turn back
into the dapper, young prince that I am...

~~~~~~~~

...and then, my sweet, we can marry....

~~~~~~~~

...and set up housekeeping in your castle
with my mother, ...

~~~~~~~~

where you can prepare my meals, ...

~~~~~~~~

...clean my clothes, bear my children, ...

~~~~~~~~

...and forever feel grateful and happy doing so."

~~~~~~~~

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously
on lightly sauteed frog legs
seasoned in a white wine
and onion cream sauce, ...

~~~~~~~~

she chuckled and thought to herself:

~~~~~~~~

"I don't f***ing think so!"

And the princess lived happily ever after (*BURP!*)

THE END.

P.S. I received this joke via e-mail from Nazrin (my friend in Melbourne, Australia). Thanks Nazrin!

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

Jokes (Rated G): All puns intended

Hilman & I at Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort, Kota Kinabalu circa August 2006 attending the wedding reception of my niece, Jihan Xylia Sikayun and hubby Mohd Izham Alkaff. Yes, this picture has absolutely NOTHING to do with the contents of this post.

My sister Aida just e-mailed me these jokes. They are of the "Sesuai untuk semua lapisan masyarakat" kind.

ALL PUNS INTENDED

1. Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

2. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.

4. A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm, and says "A beer please, and one for the road."

6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

7. "Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home."

"That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome."

"Is it common?

"Well, "It's Not Unusual."

8. Two cows are standing next to each other in a field.

Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning."

"I don't believe you," says Dolly.

"It's true. No bull!" exclaims Daisy.

9. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.

10. Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

11. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn't find any.

12. A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident.

He shouted,"Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!"

The doctor replied, "I know you can't - I've cut off your arms!"

13. I went to a seafood disco last week...and pulled a mussel.

14. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

15. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, "Dam!"

16. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

17. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel, and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office, and asked them to disperse. "But why," they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

18. A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt, and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

19. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time,which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him a super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

20. And finally, there was the person who sent twenty different puns to his friends, with the hope that at least ten of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

Hahahahahaha....ROFL. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

Anugerah Juara Lagu 22 : My favourites won!

Just finished watching the Anugerah Juara Lagu 22 live on TV3. I am pleased with the results. Why? Two of my favourite songs, "Izinku Pergi" (Kaer Azami) and "Itu Kamu" (Estranged) won awards!
Otherwise, it was the usual AJL show. I liked the segment featuring a medley of songs by artists not competing for awards. There was Hazami with "Kata", Hattan & Dayang Nurfaizah with "Fantasia Bulan Madu", Nikki with "Caramu", TheLima with "Seindah Biasa"and Ziana Zain with "Keabadian Cinta". Good performance!


Estranged is one of my current favourite local bands with one of my favourite songs in tonight's AJL, "Itu Kamu". It certainly deserved the awards it won tonight. For tonight's performance, they presented a new arrangement which I have not heard before. Superbly done. Way to go, Estranged. I will be looking forward to their next album.
People may remember Rich, an Akademi Fantasia (AF) season 4 contestant, who got booted out after the 3rd concert. His short stint in AF probably increased the visibility for his band, Estranged. The decision to repackage Estranged's previously released album of only English songs featuring a song in Malay-Itu Kamu- was certainly a good one. Their drummer, Andy, a VJ with Astro's Hitz.TV probably also helped increase the recognisable factor for this alternative-metal band. This band will definitely have some longevity in the local music scene.

Kaer Azami is an AF Season 2 finalist, and I think that he probably has outsold even the season champion, Zahid. Nice smooth voice with a hint of R&B, he caught my attention when he sang Glenn Fredly's "Januari" in the first AF season 2 concert. His AF journey was rocky and was largely referred to as "inconsistent" but many will remember him for the fantastic performance in concert no. 7 where he sang M Nasir's "Mentera Semerah Padi". His self-funded album came out 4 years after AF2 ended, but it was musically one of the best of the AF alumni (IMHO, Vince, Zahid, Rich-via Estranged also came out with musically well produced albums). "Izinku Pergi" was a surprise hit from Kaer and coupled with a well produced albeit soppy(but popular with the ladies, I guess) music video the song went to the top of the Malay music charts on Era, Muzik Muzik and TV1.

As he is studying in Indonesia, tonight "Izinku Pergi" was presented by Sahri, an AF season 1 contestant.

The full results of Anugerah Juara Lagu 22 - 2007

1. Juara Lagu

Itu Kamu (Performer: Estranged/Composer: Estranged/Lyrics: Richael Lawrence)

2. Best Song - Ballad

Izinku Pergi (Performer: Sahri {replacement for Kaer Azami}/Composer: Azlan Abu Hassan/Lyrics: Sulu Sarawak)

3. Best Song - Pop Rock

Itu Kamu (Performer: Estranged/Composer: Estranged/Lyrics: Richael Lawrence)

4. Best Song - Creative Ethnic

Samudera (Performer: Nora/Composer: Johan Nawawi/Lyrics: Ahmad Fedtri Yahya)

5. Best Performance

Mawi - Angan dan Sedar

6. Best Vocals

Jaclyn Victor & Lah Ahmad(replacing Rio Febrian) - Ceritera Cinta

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

I got promoted!

Just received some SMSes from my boss plus an e-mail from the faculty dean that I am one of the 25 lucky ones in my faculty who have been given a promotion in a promotional exercise which began sometime last year. See my name listed as no.8 in the e-mail from the dean (above)?

Thank you to Prof Dato' Amin, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) and the 2 other professors who were there at my interview. Thank you to the faculty dean, Prof Ikram, my bosses, BJ (past) and Lisa(present), my referees (Kumar, Yang & Roziah) and Anu & Ouzreiah who helped me go through the massive amount of paperwork that I needed to submit my application. Thank you to everyone who helped make my simple and brief CV look impressive enough to be considered for this promotion. Thanks to my wife and children, the people I will always look forward to seeing after coming home from work. Thanks to my dearly departed parents and parents-in-law. Thanks to my siblings, their spouses and children, siblings-in-law, their spouses and children, my maids - past AND present, etc.

Oi, thank you sini, thank you sana. Apa kau ingat kau menang Grammy Award ke? Perasan je lebih! Macamlah kau tu bagus sangat!

Hopefully, I will be a better employee, be more focused on my work and stop concentrating on nonsense like blogging, Facebook, surfing the net, sleeping, lounging around doing absolutely nothing whatsoever, etc.

Last but not least, I give thanks to Allah Almighty. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah). This little humble servant of Yours is extremely thankful for Your countless bountiful blessings and after all that he has done (or has NOT done), he does sometimes wonder whether he deserves it or not.

OK, all that done- time to CELEBRATE! YAAAAAAY!!!!!! YES! YES!! YESSSSS!!!!

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

CLOVERFIELD at Gold Class- GSC Signature, Gardens Mid Valley City

Went to the Gardens at Mid Valley City (again!) with Julina. Left the kids at home and headed on to Mid Valley Megamall car park and sent my car for a wash. "Your car will be ready in 3-4 hours time" said the man who took my car wash order. I said "OK!" as I certainly wasn't in a rush.

Then, we went straight to level 4 of the Gardens to the GSC Signature and had a quick glance at the list of movies currently showing. I wanted to check out the Gold Class here, so we decided on one of the movies showing on Gold Class here (Yes, there are 2 Gold Class theaters here). I can't remember why we chose this movie, though.

After a quick lunch at Flying Chillies (again!) and a quick browse inside Borders, we went to the theatre. There are some differences with the Gold Class cinemas at other GSC Cineplexes.

1. The tickets cost RM 60.00 each.

2. The ticket price includes a complimentary drink ( you have a choice of either mineral water or canned soft drinks), complimentary use of a blanket & complimentary use of a pillow.

Anyway, since we were full, we ordered light snacks - I had one order of bruschetta while Julina had the potato skins. The bruschetta and potato skins were really tasty. Both of us also bought a packet of Twisties Chipster. As we were given vouchers for free coffee, we had a coffee each. We spent a total of Rm 23.00 on the food. Like other Gold Class theatres, you order the food at the counter and you will be served inside the theatre. The seats are pretty much the same as the other Gold Class theatres as well - those fully reclining leather armchairs type of thing.

Anyways, we soon discovered that we were the ONLY ones who bought tickets for the 1.00am show. Cool, huh?

The entire movie was shot to make it look like it was an amateur camcorder recording- you know, something like The Blair Witch Project. Basically, a story of Rob Hawkins, a New Yorker living in downtown Manhattan. He is about to take a Vice Presidency job in Japan. His brother (Jason), his best friend(Hud), his brother's girlfriend (Lily) throw him a surprise party. As a parting gift, his brother was put in charge of recording a tape of "goodbye messages" using the camcorder. Jason passes this responsibility on to Hud.

During the party, Jason, Lily & Hud discovers that one of the party attendees is a girl (Beth) that Rob is in love with. Beth came to the party with another man, and soon a fight erupts between Rob & Beth. As Beth leaves the party, Rob passes a sarcastic parting remark to Beth's date.

Soon afterwards, there's a quake and the lights go off. Funny sounds were heard. The entire party goes to the rooftop and sees balls of fire flying from the sky and hitting structures. Panicking, the party-goers evacuate the building only to discover more mayhem in the streets.

Watch the movie yourself for the rest of the story, ok?

Here's what I like about the movie:

1. Cool special effects - the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty landing on the street, the collapse of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building - they all looked so real. The godzilla-like "thing" and the smaller creatures also was very well done. The wall of dust and debris from a collapsed building raging through the streets looked so real - reminded me of an amateur video footage I saw on CNN taken when the WTC towers collapsed during the 9-11 tragedy.

2. The palpable anxiety, fear and frustration of the characters from the "amateur video recording".

Here's what I DON'T like about the movie:

1. The shaky camera effect - I suppose it mimics how one would see the video taken using a handheld camera when the cameraman is running, falling, etc but when the view is shaky for more than 20 minutes at a stretch, I got dizzy and nauseous to a point that I almost vomited. At least I was fully reclined in a very comfortable seat. Anyone prone to motion sickness should take some motion sickness medication prior to watching this movie.

Thank God this movie is rather short - only 1 hour and 20 minutes!

2. Because of the filming technique, you can't really identify the cast members and the characters don't really establish themselves. But then again, it is suppose to be an "amateur video footage".

My rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Message: Good but not an excellent movie. Be prepared to get dizzy, nauseous and break out in cold sweat. Take some anti-motion sickness pills if you are prone to motion sickness.

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

P.S.: No way I'll ever watch this movie again, even on DVD.

Flying Chillies @ Gardens Mid Valley City

Went for an early lunch yesterday with Alwi & Yang at Gardens MidValley City. As we were there rather early, Alwi who drove his chick-magnet red Audi TT, managed to find a parking spot right next to the entrance...yes, the dream Malaysian parking spot.

Went to Borders first, where I bought two books. Then we went to the Thai restaurant Yang was just raving about, the Flying Chillies Restaurant. Pleasant looking place with modern decor. The white facade of the restaurant had the name of the restaurant in bold red letters. We then decided to take a table outside the restaurant.

Since, Alwi & Yang had been there before, they made most of the choices. We had these...

Mixed Tomyam
White Rice
Mango kerabu with catfish
Thai chili paste chicken
Asparagus with shrimp paste
Phad Thai - Thai fried koayteow thingy with bean sprouts & dried chili.

The mixed tomyam was delicious and spicy - with generous amounts of mushroom, fish, prawns and other ingredients. It was really an excellent starter. There's an option for the healthier clear tomyam (sans coconut milk) but we decided on the cholesterol-laden version. Anyway, should any of us get our arteries blocked and suddenly get an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), Alwi the consultant cardiothoracic surgeon from IJN would be around to rescue us.

The mango kerabu was nice and had this net-like fried crispy catfish served with it. The combination of the sweet, sour, spicy, salty and the crunchy catfish thing nicely overwhelmed our taste buds.

The chicken with chili paste was served with pieces of cut kacang panjang and was really awesome. The spicy chili paste had this hint of citrus in it (lime?) and went very well with the white rice.

The asparagus with shrimp paste was my choice and I did not regret it one bit. Thick, fat & fresh asparagus, cut into short lengths with shrimp paste/chili gravy coating it. Really, really good. I'm sure I was the one who ate most of this dish. Even when I ran out of rice, I would put more of this dish on my plate and eat it ratah style. It was extremely sedapalicious.

The Phad Thai was nice and really spicy. Imagine thin koayteow strips fried and served with prawns, ground dried chili and fresh bean sprouts with a squeeze of lime on top. Simply awesome.

Alwi, Yang & I ate and chatted. I washed everything down with some iced water while Alwi & Yang washed down theirs with diet Coke.

Since we were terribly full, we decided not to have desert - although Yang said the mango-glutinous rice dessert was good there.

Fantastic food. I would definitely be back for more in the near future.

Ciao! Happy Thaipusam for those celebrating.

Amir Fuad.

Revisited: Sting's first solo album: The Dream of the Blue Turtles

It happened just last week when I was clearing up my office (my room has been such a bloody mess, that I have not been able to find things. Heck, I even left my office keys over the weekend under the pile of x-ray films, paper and junk- all the while thinking that I dropped them somewhere). Now, I've cleared about 25% of the mess and have just about 75% more to go. Yuks.

Anyways, while clearing up my drawer, I found a few CDs that I brought into the room when I first moved in (about 7 and a half years ago) and one of them is this CD. I first bought the album (cassette) in 1985 - I think I was in my first year of medical school. Being a huge fan of Sting (and even The Police, the band he was in prior to going solo), I bought the CD version of this album with my pay as a house officer in University Hospital (along with a RM 1200 Sony mini hifi with karaoke function).

He mixes jazz/RnB influences in this outing - Moon Over Bourbon Street, If You Love Somebody (Set Them Free), Consider Me Gone, and the only instrumental track in the album - The Dream of the Blue Turtles. He samples a classical Russian melody in Russians- a song about the anxiety surrounding the nuclear arms race of the Superpowers involved in the cold war. In Love Is The Seventh Wave, there's a bit of reggae-rock, reminiscent of the earlier works of his former band. There's even a remake of one of The Police's song - Shadows In The Rain.

His songs, asides from being musically brilliant, are lyrically quite cerebral too. Children's Crusade tells about "young lives betrayed" in 2 scenarios -firstly during World War 1 where young, innocent men were sent to war while army generals celebrate - and comparing it to the then present day scenario in Soho, London where heroin addiction is rampant among youths. In We Work The Black Seam Together - Sting talks (sings?) about the plight of the coal miners in UK and warns of the dangers of nuclear power- "....what's deadly for 12,000 years, is carbon-14". I learned later, as a first year Master of Radiology student that the half-life for carbon-14 is 6,000 years so Mr Sting certainly did his homework!

Listening to this album at my age now, the lyrics do sound a bit idealistic, naive and a tad pretentious. On the other hand, when the album came out I was at the age when being idealistic about peace, pollution and the nuclear arms race seemed cool. Nevertheless, revisiting this album certainly brought back happy memories of a first-year medical student me struggling with life, studies and my social life (or rather, the lack of it). I've enjoyed all of Sting's albums since then and am now trying to buy Sting's albums (CDs) that are missing from my collection - mostly because they were cassettes and as you know cassettes don't really last- especially if you keep playing them again and again and again - like the way I did.

That's all. Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

P.S. - Thaipusam, this coming Wednesday has been declared a public holiday in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya by our PM. One more day off work to chill is just what everybody in this country needs! Thank you, Yang Amat Berhormat!

SMS jokes (Adults only!)

Received a set of jokes today via SMS from a colleague who never seems to run out of them.


1. Besides many reasons such as hygiene, social & erotic reasons, there is one more interesting reason for men to get circumcised...

Women grab ANYTHING with 20% off!



2. "How do you feel about sex?", he asked.
"Well, I like it infrequently.", she said.
He asked, "Is that one word or two?"


3. There are 7 types of women's orgasms.

i. OPTIMIST - "Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes..."
ii. PESSIMIST - "Oh no, oh no, oh no, ..."
iii. CONFUSED - "Oh yes, oh no, oh yes, oh no..."
iv. TRAVELLER - "Aaaahh I'm coming, I'm coming!"
v. RELIGIOUS - "Oh God, Oh God!"
vi. GREEDY - "Aaahhh more more...!"
vii. MURDERER -"Aaaaahhh if you take it out I will kill you!"

Have a nice day, y'all!

Ciao!
Amir Fuad.

American Gangster

Based on the true story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington)- a big time New York gangster cum kingpin of a drug-dealing empire and Richie Roberts (Russel Crowe)- a detective cum part-time law student sitting for his local bar exams.

Set in 1970s America with the background of the Vietnam war and the Nixon presidency, the movie begins with the death of Frank's boss, "Bumpy" Johnson. Frank was Bumpy's driver and Bumpy was very much a mentor to Frank. Just prior to his death, Bumpy lamented how America has changed as every business seemed to "cut out the middlemen" in order to bring prices down. This, Bumpy said has resulted in the middlemen losing out. Frank vows to carry on Bumpy's work.

Realizing how watered down heroin was sold at high prices, Frank goes to Vietnam in search of the pure stuff and finds it. He engaged the help of a US army officer to help him directly ship the drugs to USA using US Army aircraft. As he manages to sell the pure heroin at a much cheaper price compared to watered down versions widely sold, he quickly gains success, much to the dismay of the other drug dealers.

Richie Roberts is a clean corruption-free cop in a city full of corrupt ones receiving money from the drug syndicates. His odd-working hours and his association with shady people takes his toll on his marriage. His turning in of a US $1 million of drug money without taking one single cent for himself earned him a good cop reputation. His reputation is recognised and he is asked to head a major narcotics division in the police force.

After going through investigations in order to nail the big kahuna New York drug syndicate, he stumbles on the trail of Frank Lucas. This is where the paths of the 2 main characters of this movie cross. As Richie's investigations progress, Frank's drug business sees problems. The Vietnam war comes to an end Frank will no longer have the advantage of US Army personnel/aircraft to help him ship the heroin.

Well scripted, excellent performance by the cast and already earning nominations for the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild awards, this movie is a must see. I enjoyed every moment of this crime drama and so did Julina. Watching the movie in a Malaysian cinema means many censored scenes (nudity presumably) and "absent" dialogue (presumably obscenities silenced out) but it didn't affect the understanding of the movie's plot. Violent scenes are very much intact and there are some glimpses of topless women, but then again this movie is rated 18PL, so under-18s will not be allowed into the cinema.

My rating: 4.8 over 5 stars

Message: What are you waiting for, go out and watch it! Just leave your kids at home and watch it with your spouse/significant other.

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

Carl's Jr. Charbroiled Burgers - It's gonna get messy

Probably more than 10 years ago, I remember savouring Carl's Jr burgers at one of their outlets at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. They were the best burgers then.

However, when they left the Malaysian scene soon afterwards, I turned to McDonald's. When Burger King returned to Malaysia- their Whopper burgers were then my favourite burgers.

Then, I tasted TGI Friday's Mushroom Swiss Burger - awesome! For me then, the title for the best burger went to them.

When Carl's Jr came back to Malaysia a sometime last year, I was naturally looking forward to it. It was a few months back when I stepped into the 1-Utama outlet located at the ground floor of the old wing. Their place looks cool, I thought. The price was a shocker, though. Each combo meal came at a price of RM 20 and above. But, if you consider the sheer size of each burger, it was probably OK. Now, they have a wider range of beef burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, desserts and even Fish & Chips! There's also a wide range of sauces and condiments (salsa, jalapeno, chopped onion, etc).

For my first reacquaintance, I chose the Portobello mushroom burger. I was not disappointed at all. The combination of the sauteed mushrooms, onions, cheese and beef patty was simply exquisite! Unlike most fast-food burger joints, Carl's Jr burgers are bloody huge with generous amounts of filling, so eating it was a messy affair. The cheese, sauce and mushrooms messing up my hands and licking my fingers clean afterwards was a heavenly part of the whole experience. Mmmmmm...I am drooling as I type this.

I have also tried the Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger - fantastic! The green creamy guacamole with the chicken bacon and beef burger patty were a menage a trois made in heaven!

Today, at the Pavillion Kuala Lumpur's Carl's Jr outlet, I had the Chili Cheeseburger. The chili/cheese/beef threesome was bloody good! This is the second time I tried this burger and I did not regret it one bit. It was freaking awesome! I was blown out of my mind!

I've also tried other items, including the chicken sandwiches and the low-carb versions of some of the items (In the low-carb versions, the buns are replaced by lettuce). All good, but the three that I have mentioned earlier are the best, in my opinion.

Carl's Jr Charbroiled Burgers - (IMHO) THE BEST BURGERS IN THE WORLD! Carl's Jr RAWKS!!!

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (a.k.a. National Treasure 2)

Went to GSC in MidValley Megamall today to see a movie. This was an impromptu decision, so I didn't have any movie in mind. Anyway, this movie seemed interesting.

The sequel to the successful National Treasure brings back Nic Cage and the main supporting cast in their roles in the first movie. A welcome addition to the cast is Helen "The Queen" Mirren, who plays the role of Ben Gates'(Nicholas Cage) mother.

The movie begins with a flashback to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Ben's great-great grandfather, Thomas Gates is approached by John Wilkes Booth (President Lincoln's assassin) and another man who is a member of the KGC (a pro-Confederate group in Civil War America). They ask him to decipher a Playfair puzzle contained in John Wilkes Booth's diary(which is a clue to a treasure map) but Thomas upon discovering that the man is a pro-Confederate and therefore an enemy of a united United States of America, Thomas tears of the page in the diary and throws the puzzle into the fire. Angered by Thomas' action, the KGC guy kills Thomas.

Back to the present, Ben delivers a lecture in which he relates the story as told to his father by Thomas Gates only to be rudely interrupted by a man, Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris). Mitch goes on to produce the missing page in the diary and claims that Thomas Gates is the mastermind of the Lincoln assassination.

Upset with the sudden tarnishing of his great-great grandfather's good name, who prior to this was regarded a national hero, Ben and his father vow to clear their family name and prove once and for all that Thomas Gates IS a national hero.

The recently discovered missing page in the diary is analyzed with the help of his now ex-girlfriend, Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), Riley Poole (Justin Bartha), his father (Jon Voight) and his mother, Emily Appleton (Hellen Mirren). Together, they embark on a colossal treasure hunt that takes them to the Statue of Liberty replica in Paris, Buckingham Palace in London, The White House in Washington DC and Mount Rushmore in search of the lost native American city of Cibola (City of Gold).

The treasure hunt is filled with action & thrills that keeps you glued to your seat and clenching your teeth throughout the movie. Cool special effects. Not much different from the first movie, though and even the ending is a tad predictable. Nevertheless, I had no regrets as I enjoyed the movie thoroughly. What happens to Ben and his ex & what happens to Ben's dad, Patrick Gates and his ex-wife, Emily Appleton-Gates? As I said, the ending is predictable and you would have guessed it before the movie ends.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Message: Watch it!

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

Jason & Iris' Wedding - The Reception

The reception for Jason & Iris' wedding last night was at the Dragon Deluxe Restaurant at 7.00pm. The restaurant was full of family and friends who came all the way to celebrate the newlyweds. Guests were treated to a sumptuous multi-course Chinese dinner with dishes such as 4-Season Hot & Cold combination appetizer, sharks fin soup with crab meat, steamed white promfret, yam basket with scallops, butter prawns with nestum, etc. As it was held at a halal restaurant, we were able to happily stuff our faces without any guilt whatsoever! Cool!

Leen, baby Rayyan, Joe & Julina. I think I will shave my head like Joe. What do you think?

Jay, May & Auntie Susan from Singapore.

Mr Eugene Tow, Miss Emily Tow & Mrs Tow also from Singapore.

The arrival of the man and lady of the night, Mr & Mrs Jason Kay.

Auntie Yang looking elegant in her yellow nyonya kebaya.

Jason & Iris cutting the wedding cake.

This youthful looking lady is actually the bridegroom's mother, Auntie Bong! She was the life of the party and sportingly sang 3 songs (Stupid Cupid, Never on a Sunday & Si Jantung Hati) to entertain the crowd who kept begging for more.

No one really noticed but the newlyweds quietly sneaked out to change into these outfits - Iris into an elegant peach coloured evening gown and Jason into a white suit.

Jason & Iris popping the cork on the champagne bottle.

Jason & Iris creating the champagne fountain.

Dayana standing near the stage to get a better view.

Jason's family on the stage for the Yam Seng segment of the event.

Iris' family on the stage for the toast.

Hilman, the aspiring male model, handsome, just like his Papa.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam SENG! We raised our glasses and gave a toast to the bride & groom and wished them all the best for their marriage with the hope that they will bear numerous children soon.

Lastly, Jason & Iris gave a speech of appreciation to all the guests.

The whole thing was over at about 10.45pm. After saying our goodbyes, we went back to the hotel and slept.

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

Jason & Iris' Wedding - The Tea Ceremony

Joe, Julina & I left the hotel at approximately 8.00am to Auntie Bong's house in Bukit Baru for the tea ceremony. We gathered here and left with the bridegroom(Jason)'s entourage to Iris' house for the first leg of the ceremony. Jason, the dashing bridegroom was driven there in this gaily decorated Proton Perdana.

The entrance to the bridegroom's house decorated with a red cloth for good luck.

Mother of the bridegroom, Auntie Bong with Johar "Yul Bryner" Munchar. Joe just shaved his head so Auntie Bong suffered minor cuts on her fingers soon afterwards (No... I'm just kidding).

Auntie Bong, Jason, Auntie Yang & Julina.

After rounding up the entourage, we proceeded convoy-style to Iris' house for the first leg of the tea ceremony. Once we arrived the cars honked to announce our arrival. The bridegroom then goes to the bride's room and tries to coax her out so the wedding can go on as planned.

Jason trying to "pujuk" Iris to open the door. Iris had a gang of ladies with her that negotiated with Jason. After several unsuccessful attempts, Jason decides to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in a group a capella style.

Mmmmmm...that did it. Either Iris was so delighted by the tuneful rendition or she just wanted them to stop, we'll never know. The door was finally opened so Jason can claim his lady.

Jason lifting up Iris' veil and giving her a kiss while some of us cheer them on.

Iris seeking blessing at the family altar.

Iris offers tea to her mother.

Jason serving tea to mum-in-law.

Tea was also served to Iris' late father. This tea was received by Iris' mother and poured on the floor.

After serving tea to the elders and receiving ang pows from them, it was the bride & groom's turn to give ang pow to relatives younger than them.

After the tea ceremony was over, Jason & Iris posed for a group photo with Iris' family.

Mr & Mrs Jason Kay Kit Leon arriving at the groom's house for the second leg of the tea ceremony.

Kuih gading galoh- a Nyonya kuih similar to kuih serimuka.

Kuih lapis.

Auntie Susan, Uncle Jhong & Julina waiting for their turn to be served tea by the pengantins.

The bride's entourage.

Iris serving tea to dad-in-law.

Jason serving tea to Auntie Yang.

After the tea ceremony was over, we posed for family pictures.

Then we were treated to a Nasi Beryani lunch.

Went back to the hotel for a rest. There'll be the reception tonight.

Ciao!

Amir Fuad.

Hotel Seri Malaysia Melaka

After discussion with Julina's brother, Joe, we decided to book rooms at this hotel for our Melaka trip to attend Jason & Iris' wedding. The weekend rates that we were charged for this 3-star hotel are quite reasonable - RM 180/night for a family room (with 1 queen bed and 1 twin bed) & RM 150/night for a standard room (twin sharing/double). If you are a government employee- you get a RM 30.00 discount per night per room! The rates I mentioned include breakfast (family room - for 3 pax, standard room - for 2 pax). Not bad, huh?

The hotel opened sometime last year so everything here is pretty new and clean. We came in before our rooms were ready so we had buffet lunch at the hotel's Jonker Cafe for RM 19.90/pax. Menu a tad limited, but it was OK for the price I guess. There was a live musician playing during lunch, too! Above is a picture of a tortoise in one of the hotel ponds.

This hotel has a self-service launderette- with a coin operated washing machine, dryer and 2 ironing boards (with electric irons provided, of course). This hotel also has broadband WiFi at a reasonable rate of RM 10.00/3 hours. I am currently posting this using the hotel's WiFi.

Dayana & Hilman doing what they do at hotels - swim at the pool.

Dayana, Hilman & I at the swimming pool.

The ice-cream bar by the pool.

The view of the pools from the 2nd level of the hotel.

Another view of the hotel.

Not bad for 3-star hotel. There is room service, IDD, TV with selected ASTRO channels - finally one hotel with Disney Channel for the kids. If you are used to 4 & 5-star hotels, you would be missing a few things here - complimentary morning paper, a lift(yes, there is no lift in this hotel), concierge staff (the hotel security guard helps you with your luggage!), bathtub, fine dining outlets, hair salon, spa, gym, karaoke room, executive centre, etc.

That's all. Ciao!

Amir Fuad.