Pimp my Ride - the Transformers edition (Part 1)

MB : Hey it’s me Michael Bay. I’m your host for this special edition of Pimp my Ride. This is not going to be the usual episode featuring those old dilapidated cars that sits in the garages of those car owners with gross habits and poor hygiene standards. No, we will do one better.

Today, we will take our classic Cybertronian visitors and give them a special makeover at Galpin Auto Sports. But I am warning you, at the end of the show, you may not even recognise them. We are not talking about the usual paintwork, new wheels or super sound system; we are going to mess around with your childhood cartoon heroes, steal some modern robot-design concepts from Gundam and Bionicle, and update them with new contemporary vehicle bodies, oh did I mention that GM is one of our big sponsors.

Okay, enuff talk. Let’s get the show on the road.

First the Autobots.

Bumblebee

Before : The lovable beetle. Being among the smallest Autobot, Bumblebee was often the target of the Decepticon bullies.

After : A sleek 2008/09 Chevy Camaro. The whipping boy no more?

Jazz

Before : Jazz, the Martini Porcshe 935 Turbo racing car. Cool and stylish second in command.

After : Though, he's no more a porcshe, the silver Pontiac Solstice is still cool enough to make it to the pages of Maxim.

Ratchet

Before : The boring Ambulance medic

After : The Hummer H2, and keeping to the orginal, he's with the fire Department.

Ironhide

Before : Ironhide, the red Nissan Onebox Cherry Vanette

After : A cool black GMC Topkick C4500 pickup truck.

Optimus Prime

Before : Our dear Autobot Leader, the iconic red and blue flat-nosed truck.

After : Check out the flames on the Long-Nosed version of Optimus.

MB : We only got time to feature the Autobots this time. So what do you think? You like what we did with them? No? What do you mean I overstepped my artistic license? You mean you prefer those old unimaginative box-like robots to my sexy futuristic versions?

Wait a minute, before you go back and organise an online boycott of my movie, how about some eye candy to placate your dissapointment.

Megan Fox, and she's not a robot in disguise.

MB : Happy now? Ok, look out for my next instalment where I'll introduce the bad boys of Cybertron. Over and out.

Birthday Girl

Today is ma's birthday. We have come a long way since diapers and milk bottles, but she's still the boss of her kitchen and much of the household. She still reminds me to eat my fruits and exercise regularly. I guess mums will always be mums, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Ma!

Riverwalk Tandoor

(pink fonts to keep to the pink theme)

We had a birthday dinner celebration at Riverwalk Tandoor last Thursday. The two brithday girls were sportingly attired in bright pink tops. I hope they won't come out with some awkward suggestion for the next two birthday boys. Not that I mind.

Anyway, the buffet($14++per person) that we had was not entirely remarkable, but palatable. The Naan did go well with the assortment of curries and the fruit custard dessert went down well with the sweet toothed. It wasn't too crowded at the beginning but soon the Indian tourist groups started thronging into the restaurant. Two other groups beat us to the birthday celebration, so by the time we had our cake out, we were hoping that they would not play the birthday song again, but unfortunately for some of us, the song blared out the third time. Well here is the obligatory photo to go with the post.

Ultraman rumble

What are the chances of seeing seven Ultramans (yes, the guy in the red-striped silver suit who fights monsters) in one scene. That literally sopped me in my tracks in front of the DVD shop on Sunday; my eyes transfixed on the small TV screen, with other much younger fans around me. It's like wrestling, you know it's make believe, but it sure has it's appeal.

So before I digress further, there was this reunion of sorts for Ultraman Mebius and his brothers at arms. And since this was a movie, they threw in a few extra monsters and a really gigantic one, named U-monster, supposedly the evilest kiss-ass monster that ever walked the face of the earth. They had to, since they needed a reason for seven of these galactic heroes to appear together on screen. So like all Ultraman episodes, there were the lame attempts at kungfu when a laser shot would have done better and the time-out light indicator flashing after a few bad falls.But unlike the old episodes, they had some cartoon-like scenes where the Ultramans zip around the sky trying to escape the tentacles of the U-monster. And how did they end the movie? The other six ultramans decided to pass on their remaining energy to the lead Ultraman, so that he could do the heroic thing and fight one-on-one.

Ok, I've let it out of my system. Now, go and wrestle some monsters today!

P.S : More on the Ultraman Mebius movie

P.P.S : Ultraman Mebius in wiki. Wow, it's quite a family tree ...

The MILFactor

Ok, let me set it straight, it’s Mother-in-Law factor.

My colleague was telling me about his recent trip to Bangalore. He recounted something interesting during a meeting there.

A manager asked an engineer, “Would you be willing to relocate to Chennai for a period of time?”. The Engineer replied, “No”. Curious, the manager asked him why. Without hesitation the Engineer replied, “Because my Mother-in-law lives in Chennai.” It suddenly struck the manager that he was on a verge of uncovering something important. “Okay now, how many in the room have mother-in-laws in Chennai and are not willing to relocate there because of her”. A few hands shot up. “Then,” the manager exclaimed, “the Mother-in-law factor should be one of the considerations in choosing a site!”

In the end they didn’t really take up his suggestion, but it did leave them with some points to ponder.

Status code: 1-500-19

"Changing "www.blogger..." to "www2.blogger...." in the URL address can
help to solve the "Create Post" error."

Got this tip from Blogger Help Group and now I'm able to create new posts. Looks like many Singnet users in Singapore are facing this problem too from the numerous 'cries for help' in the forum. If they do not catch this tip in the next few days, you'll probably see a few blog addicts suffering withdrawal symptoms. I wonder how will that look like?

My Town by the River - 1

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Stately old shophouses still standing proudly on the streets. The town council sould have done better with their choice of colour and need for uniformity.




A few of the more notable buildings around town. Top right is the now defunct supermarket, Senyum, while the bottom left is Yong Seng, the most popular confectionary in town. On the top left is a association building, while on the bottom left sits the old Chung Hwa 1 primary school.




Muar's Glutton Square - a short stretch of road with food stalls and eateries flanking both sides.




A view of Muar's coastline. The river mouth is just around the bend, leading towards the Straits of Melaka.

Another day perhaps I'll take another stroll around my town, to take in the sights that we often miss. Maybe before changes transform this town into something my youth does not recognise.

A TreAt On Sticks

Here are just some Sate variants that we had come across over the past two weeks

Part of the Appetizer platter at Bayang, Clarke Quay. The meat was tender and tasty. Too bad there were only three on the plate. The variant is commonly found in Indonesian restaurants.

This was is not so common. We discovered in at the Larkin Bus Station, JB, on our way back to Muar last weekend. The stall is located on the third floor of the station among the other Malay Hawkers. Here the Sate was served with yummy black sauce and fried shallots. Some people even have the Sate as a dish with rice. Wouldn’t mind going back there for the skewered meat!

First of May