Random Notes 34

Posted by : foongpc | Monday, January 6, 2014 | Published in

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1. Welcome to the first Random Notes post of 2014!! Yeah, it's my 34th Random Notes. Still a long way to go before I can reach the 100th. For those of you who are not familiar with my Random Notes, well, it's simply a blog post where I talk about random stuffs. LOL!

2. I was shocked to read the news that Islamic authority JAIS had raided the Bible Society Of Malaysia and seized more than 300 copies of the Malay language Bible simply because they used the word "Allah" to refer to the Christian God.

I have a few questions regarding this issue.
Question 1 : Since when did Islam in Malaysia has the exclusive right over the word "Allah"? It is not the case with Islamic countries outside Malaysia. Or is it? Enlighten me please!
Question 2 : Are Muslims in Malaysia so weak they can feel threatened by another religion using the word "Allah"? Will Muslims easily convert to Christianity just because Christians use the word "Allah"?
Question 3 : Is this raid by JAIS legal? Can they do this without a search warrant?
Question 4 : Is this act by JAIS simply a ploy to distract us from other more urgent issues at hand?

3. Who killed Altantuya? Who killed her? Who did it? No one. Nobody. Someone must have done it, but so far all those arrested had been released. And as the time passes, we will forget about this. That's the way it was, is and always will be. Sigh…

4. Let me introduce you the stupidest couple I have ever seen in my entire life. They are none other than sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee.

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Why stupid? Here are my reasons…

Reason 1 : Alvin lost his scholarship at the National University of Singapore as a result of his pornographic exploits. What a stupid waste of opportunity!
Reason 2 : They were both arrested and charged for insulting Muslims with their "Selamat Berbuka Puasa" (breaking of fast) greeting on Facebook showing them eating bak kut teh, a pork dish. How stupid can one be?
Reason 3 : Alvin accused Vivian for being unfaithful to him. They had both admitted to being in an open relationship. So did he not see this coming? Stupid!

By the way, I do not want to insult Vivian, but seriously, if I want to watch porn, I prefer to watch a much prettier girl. Period.

5. Everything is going up, up and up!! Except our income, that is. Of course, this may not be the case for everybody - some of you may be filthy rich and have an ever expanding income - but I am speaking for the majority of Malaysians. Just last week, I talked to a friend who is in the construction line. He told me that he was having difficulty signing deals with his clients, who kept asking for discounts.

Looks like the economy is not in good shape. Time to tighten our budget! But I still see lots of people shopping and dining away at expensive outlets everyday. Are they rich or pretending to be rich? I do know however, that all my really wealthy friends do not drive expensive cars or eat at expensive restaurants.

6. I like this Mexican King bread from Lavender Bakery.

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But last week, I was surprised to find that the bread was much smaller compared to previously. Even though they did not raise the price, they had reduced the size! Oh well, maybe I should be thankful that they did not reduce the size and raise the price at the same time!

7. Talking about the lack of money is bad feng shui. So let's talk about how much Mariah Carey made recently by performing just 3 songs for Prince Azim, the son of Sultan of Brunei.

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Photo courtesy : Richard Young / Rex Features

She was paid a whopping US$1.5 million! That's right!! So easy to make money, eh? And not forgetting she was paid US$18 million for being a judge on American Idol last season!

8. Not everyone can see ghosts. But I know 2 bloggers who can smell ghosts. Yes, smell, not see. Can you see or smell a ghost? Thankfully, I have no such gifts!

9. Last year, for the very first time, I stood up and sang Negaraku, Malaysia's national anthem, before a movie in the cinema. In fact, I sang two times on that day because I watched 2 movies! LOL! I did not really sing however, as no one was singing in the cinema hall. I guess standing up and showing respect as the Negaraku was being played is good enough. There was a guy sitting two seats away from me who continued sitting and playing with his handphone while everyone was standing up. How disrespectful!

10. Talking about cinemas, have you watched a movie in IMAX 3D at TGV cinemas before? The ticket price is admittedly, very expensive. You can of course choose the cheaper seats (nearer to the screen) but sitting too near the big screen is not comfortable and may spoil the wonderful experience of watching in IMAX 3D.

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Image courtesy : Cinema Online

Let me tell you a dirty trick that TGV practises (at least in my case) on unsuspecting ticket buyers. When I went to buy the tickets for me and my friend at the ticket counter, the staff showed me the seating plan on the screen monitor. He told me to choose one of the empty seats which he pointed out to me. I noticed those were the more expensive seats and so I pointed to the cheaper seats and asked whether they were empty. He reluctantly said yes. I bought 2 tickets straight away!

Now let's turn the table around!  Here's my little secret on how you can buy the cheaper tickets and yet still get to sit the more expensive seats! Here's how. Firstly, you must of course go on a day when there is not many people watching the movie. Weekend is out. Choosing a weekday morning or afternoon is best. Before you go, make sure you visit their website and check to see if there are still many empty seats (the expensive ones of course). You should do this about 15 - 30 minutes before the movie starts. This is because, if you check too early, there may be people buying the tickets later. You want to make sure that there are still some empty expensive seats right before the show starts.

If there are still a number of empty expensive seats, quickly buy the cheaper seats online. Or immediately go to the cinema and buy the cheaper seats from the ticket counter. Once inside the cinema hall, instead of sitting at the seats you bought, go over to the more expensive seats and choose any of the empty seats there! Get it? : )