Thursday, September 30, 2010
Kuala Lumpur Rain
Why does it have to rain in the morning?
I get wet just getting into my car.
I get stuck in a traffic jam to work.
I get in late to work.
Such a great start to the day.
But at least it's nice and cool.
Somehow I feel like sleeping now.
I get wet just getting into my car.
I get stuck in a traffic jam to work.
I get in late to work.
Such a great start to the day.
But at least it's nice and cool.
Somehow I feel like sleeping now.
Monday, September 27, 2010
What was that all about roy???
Absolute rubbish first half. Absolute rubbish. Lucky goal from Kuyt there. Can't believe we have to resort to unsportmanship-like behaviour to get goals like that. Penalty was unlucky. Don't think we can fault Poulsen for that. Just "one of those things" that happen I guess. Unlucky. But the second Sunderland goal was absolute rubbish. Glen Johnson you are rubbish. The fact that Darrent Bent had more desire to get to the ball than you, and how he could have gotten goalside of you shows just how inept you are at defending. You are an absolute liability to our defence.
Honestly, we looked so much better once we moved to a 442 formation. Gerrard and Merieles in the center. I think from now on, for all matches which we *should* be winning against lower level teams, we should be playing those two in the center. Kuyt at right, and Cole at left. Stick Torres up front with Ngog / Babel / Pacheco / whoever (doesn't make a difference, the first two are rubbish anyway, a pick from a bad bunch, whilst Pacheco is untried so just give him a go).
Back four, if Kochensky is injured, play Carragher at left back, Agger & Skrtel in the center, and maybe Kelly or Carragher at right back. And bloody hell, how the fuck did Agger manage to miss THAAT chance at the end.
Rubbish! Absolute rubbish!
Honestly, we looked so much better once we moved to a 442 formation. Gerrard and Merieles in the center. I think from now on, for all matches which we *should* be winning against lower level teams, we should be playing those two in the center. Kuyt at right, and Cole at left. Stick Torres up front with Ngog / Babel / Pacheco / whoever (doesn't make a difference, the first two are rubbish anyway, a pick from a bad bunch, whilst Pacheco is untried so just give him a go).
Back four, if Kochensky is injured, play Carragher at left back, Agger & Skrtel in the center, and maybe Kelly or Carragher at right back. And bloody hell, how the fuck did Agger manage to miss THAAT chance at the end.
Rubbish! Absolute rubbish!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Fuji X100, I want one of these
Was thinking of upgrading my trusted Panasonic LX3 which has served me well these past couple of years or so. And I came across THIS.
The Fujifilm X100, with an APS-C sensor, manual control dials and knobs, fast F2 35mm fixed focus Fujinon lense, all in a retro range-finderesque body.
Hell yeah. I want!
How low can you go?
Just read that we lost to Northampton Town. A team languishing in the second division. Didn't (couldn't, since it wasn't shown here in KL) watch the game so I can't really comment about how badly we played.
Other than the fact that our highly paid second stringers lost to, no disrespect to them, a team that we should have won against. I mean, with a team of international players, with European experience and all that, we could manage to lose against them. Agger, Soto, Babel, Jova, Lucas, Ngog.
I am in agreement with what Roy Hodgson has to say about all this.
"We have 12 players, or 13 players if you include Fabio Aurelio, who didn't play tonight and are the more famous names. But outside of them, the players we had out tonight are the ones we have and I thought it was a good opportunity for them to show what they can do at Anfield."
"The fact is these players have to accept responsibility. I have to accept responsibility for changing a lot of players in the team, but I did it because I thought the players I put on the field would be good enough to go out and win the game."
Honestly i agree with him there. Looking at the starting line up, I would have thought myself that, there's a team that could do a job for us. Waiting on the wings with a chance to impress the manager to give them more playing time in the first team. Motivation enough for all of them to play their hearts out there.
So my thoughts are, these people are the ones who have something to prove. The ones that should be taking this opportunity to shine. Show 'em what you got and all that. And in the end, they lost to a 2nd division team (again, no disrespect to them).
Simply not good enough, I would say.
Other than the fact that our highly paid second stringers lost to, no disrespect to them, a team that we should have won against. I mean, with a team of international players, with European experience and all that, we could manage to lose against them. Agger, Soto, Babel, Jova, Lucas, Ngog.
I am in agreement with what Roy Hodgson has to say about all this.
"We have 12 players, or 13 players if you include Fabio Aurelio, who didn't play tonight and are the more famous names. But outside of them, the players we had out tonight are the ones we have and I thought it was a good opportunity for them to show what they can do at Anfield."
"The fact is these players have to accept responsibility. I have to accept responsibility for changing a lot of players in the team, but I did it because I thought the players I put on the field would be good enough to go out and win the game."
Honestly i agree with him there. Looking at the starting line up, I would have thought myself that, there's a team that could do a job for us. Waiting on the wings with a chance to impress the manager to give them more playing time in the first team. Motivation enough for all of them to play their hearts out there.
So my thoughts are, these people are the ones who have something to prove. The ones that should be taking this opportunity to shine. Show 'em what you got and all that. And in the end, they lost to a 2nd division team (again, no disrespect to them).
Simply not good enough, I would say.
Monday, September 20, 2010
If thats the best, then we should be worried
Watching last night's match against the Manyoo got me thinking. Looking back, it would have been the lineup that I would have chosen.Reina, Johnson, Carra, Skrtel, Kochensky, Poulsen, Gerrard, Cole, Meireles, Maxi and Torres. With the exception of probably Maxi (maybe if Kuyt wasn't injured he would be in there), that, I think, would be our strongest line up. And what worries me was that even with that starting line up, we never looked even close to getting a result from the match. Sure, we came back from a goal down. But, other than that we offered almost nothing going forward.
It was plain obvious that Torres is not just out of form, frustrated, but he is also so lacking of service up front. The 2 of the limited times he actually got the ball to his feet, actually resulted in our 2 goals. But other than that. Nothing. From anyone.
Of our new signings, Poulsen looked tidy, a poor man's Mascherano, but he does a job for us. Meireles looks tidy as well, and looked much more alive when we changed to a 442 formation, and can't wait until he beds in. Kochensky however, sadly, looks out of his depth. Playing in a familiar position in a familiar league, he shouldn't need any bedding in time. But he just looks like a poor player out of his depth to be honest. Cole, similarly to Maxi was just invisible most of the game. Can't remember much of what they contributed. Cole looks like what I remember of John Barnes in his twighlight years with us. Just being around the center of the field, gets the ball, and a short pass to a team mate. And repeat throughout the game.
All in all. Disappointing. Getting back on level terms did give me a glimmer of hope. But Manyoo deserved the three points. And my hats off to Berba. That second goal. Amazing!
It was plain obvious that Torres is not just out of form, frustrated, but he is also so lacking of service up front. The 2 of the limited times he actually got the ball to his feet, actually resulted in our 2 goals. But other than that. Nothing. From anyone.
Of our new signings, Poulsen looked tidy, a poor man's Mascherano, but he does a job for us. Meireles looks tidy as well, and looked much more alive when we changed to a 442 formation, and can't wait until he beds in. Kochensky however, sadly, looks out of his depth. Playing in a familiar position in a familiar league, he shouldn't need any bedding in time. But he just looks like a poor player out of his depth to be honest. Cole, similarly to Maxi was just invisible most of the game. Can't remember much of what they contributed. Cole looks like what I remember of John Barnes in his twighlight years with us. Just being around the center of the field, gets the ball, and a short pass to a team mate. And repeat throughout the game.
All in all. Disappointing. Getting back on level terms did give me a glimmer of hope. But Manyoo deserved the three points. And my hats off to Berba. That second goal. Amazing!
Friday, September 17, 2010
So what does being Malaysian mean to you?
It's a belated Malaysia day post for me here. Mainly since I couldn't be arsed to log on and surf the net yesterday as, if I remember correctly, it was such a beautiful day yesterday. Sun was out shining. Birds chirping. It was such a good day to just, go out there and do something. Celebrate Malaysia day. Out side. In the sun. Malaysian weather at it's best.
Which was why I ended up waking at 12. In the afternoon. Missing out the whole morning.
But basically it was such an eventful, activity packed day yesterday. Woke up, and immediately went out for brunch with a friend of mine at a mamak store nearby. Some roti canais and teh tarik kurang manis to go with it is the perfect way to start your day. Either that, or some nasi lemak would have been good too. But roti canai is great anyway.
Went to visit a couple who just received a newborn. They decided to have lunch at their place and invite a few close friend over. They cooked some good briyani rice with some chicken and lamb, and added to that with some excellent dessert thing which I really do not know what it is, but was good nonetheless, and ended the whole meal with some Kopi Luwak from Indonesia. Yes, I am the type of person that does enjoy a good cup of coffee, and the Luwak coffee really does taste good. Would I pay that amount of money for a cup of coffee everyday? Probably not. A simple cup of nescafe is all i need every morning to get me up and running. But for those special moments, a cup of Luwak would definitely be an excellent choice.
Then after a quick photo session with the newborn, I quickly ran off to another friend's house for a Hari Raya open house for more food. Briyani, Laksa, satay, ketupat, lemang, rendang, ayam, kambing, daging, itik. You name it. You got it. Actually I really enjoy going to open houses like this. You actually get to bump into a lot of friends here, and I ended up hanging out and chit chatting, catching up with friends from primary school and secondary school who I have probably not really been keeping in touch with. Really good to know that they are all doing well in their lives. Before I new it, I probably ended up staying there for more than a couple of hours.
Which then lead me to meeting up with another group of mates at the SS2 hawker stalls. Again, catching up with friends (OK I am lying here. These friends I probably see them more than once a week, so I would not really call it catching up). Just plain talking crap and nonsense over some char kuay teow, some o-chien (is that how you spell it? the fried egg with oysters in them) and topping it off with a ramly burger daging special. The works.
At the end of the day, I was just too completely exhausted that I just completely crashed into bed and missed the Liverpool Steau Beaucharest match which was played at 3am here. (We won 4-1 by the way. Woo hoo!)
So. What does it mean to be Malaysian to me?
Exactly how I spent my Malaysia Day. Spending time with my close friends and family who are all Malaysians irregardless of race, doing what all Malaysian love to do. Being Malaysian.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
I think he just needs some time
Liverpool supporters are just a funny, fickle bunch of supporters.
We have a new manager in, and its only been just 4 games or so into the season. Four games. And some of them are already calling for his head. He doesn't know what he is doing. Biting off a bit more than he can chew. Out of his depth. Benitez mark two. Too defensive. I read somewhere (can't be arsed to remember where) that someone mentioned that he is treating Merieles like how Rafa was treating Aquilani by not starting him against Birmingham.
I mean, come on! It's only been four games! Four games!
And in those four games, we played Arsenal, Manchester City, Birmingham and West Brom. We got a point against the Arse (good result considering we were down to 10 men), we lost against Citeh (who spent a gazillion dollars this summer), we drew against Birm (which they haven't lost at home for god knows how long) and we won against West Brom.
Just being realistic here, but that to me sounds like a decent return, in the position that we are in now. What did you really expect? Of course my heart tells me we should have bulldozed all of them. Ten Nil. Torres bagging five or six, Gerrard a couple and maybe Reina a hattrick or two.
But come on, lets be a bit realistic here.
I'll reserve my judgement until, hmm... say Christmas time.
We have a new manager in, and its only been just 4 games or so into the season. Four games. And some of them are already calling for his head. He doesn't know what he is doing. Biting off a bit more than he can chew. Out of his depth. Benitez mark two. Too defensive. I read somewhere (can't be arsed to remember where) that someone mentioned that he is treating Merieles like how Rafa was treating Aquilani by not starting him against Birmingham.
I mean, come on! It's only been four games! Four games!
And in those four games, we played Arsenal, Manchester City, Birmingham and West Brom. We got a point against the Arse (good result considering we were down to 10 men), we lost against Citeh (who spent a gazillion dollars this summer), we drew against Birm (which they haven't lost at home for god knows how long) and we won against West Brom.
Just being realistic here, but that to me sounds like a decent return, in the position that we are in now. What did you really expect? Of course my heart tells me we should have bulldozed all of them. Ten Nil. Torres bagging five or six, Gerrard a couple and maybe Reina a hattrick or two.
But come on, lets be a bit realistic here.
I'll reserve my judgement until, hmm... say Christmas time.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Disappointing again
That's all I can say about the performance of Liverpool on Sunday.
Well, at least from what I watched, which was the last 30 minutes of the game. From the reviews I read, Torres looks like he can't be arsed. Probably from the lack of support or any decent service from the rest.
Looking at the starting team line up, with Lucas and Poulsen starting in central midfield, I am not surprised. Such a negative choice of team. But then again, who else was there to play. Cole suspended and Kuyt injured.
On a positive note, Mereiles looked extremely encouraging from what I saw when he came in. I think he should be starting the next game.With Cole coming back, and with Mereiles starting, I would think the team may look better. But then again, the next game would be against the Mancs. Definitely need a win against them to kick start our season.
And how many times will we be hearing that this year?
Well, at least from what I watched, which was the last 30 minutes of the game. From the reviews I read, Torres looks like he can't be arsed. Probably from the lack of support or any decent service from the rest.
Looking at the starting team line up, with Lucas and Poulsen starting in central midfield, I am not surprised. Such a negative choice of team. But then again, who else was there to play. Cole suspended and Kuyt injured.
On a positive note, Mereiles looked extremely encouraging from what I saw when he came in. I think he should be starting the next game.With Cole coming back, and with Mereiles starting, I would think the team may look better. But then again, the next game would be against the Mancs. Definitely need a win against them to kick start our season.
And how many times will we be hearing that this year?
Back to work after raya
Somehow felt that the 5 day break came and went by so quickly. In a blink of an eye, I am back at work again, feeling, well not demotivated, but requiring motivation to jump start work again. Still in the raya mood, and waking up for work this morning took such a great effort to just get out of the duvet, considering how gloomy the weather was. At least this is a four day week, with Malaysia day on Thursday. Thank god for public holidays in Malaysia!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Well hellooo.... 3 day weeks!! :-) :-)
On a more positive note, it's a 3 day week and Hari Raya this Friday! Looking forward to meeting up with the family, and also this would be the first time I'd be spending Hari Raya with the missus as well! Happy eid mubarak to anyone who is reading this, if there is even any readers whatsoever. Take care of yourselves, and each other.
Fasting month this year...
Ramadhan. Every year, it comes and goes, and at the end of it, we celebrate Eidul Mubarak, or what we call it here in Malaysia, Hari Raya. I just wanted to highlight a slight observation of the Ramadhan month lately.
Lately, the ramadhan month has been equaled to ramadhan buffets, pasar ramadhans (or "params" as they are refered to now, I have been told) and a whole load of eating. Ramadhan buffets in hotels now cost on average more than 100 bucks in a decent hotel. And even with the high prices, you would be lucky to be able to make a booking if it wasn't done a few weeks before. I actually tried making bookings at a trendy hotel a week before and couldn't make bookings. And people go to these buffets to gourge down food like it's running out tomorrow.
Also, going down to Params lately, I have to say has not been a totally enjoyable experience. I've only been to it once this year, and that was to the Taman Tun "param" and the place was packed full of people. Such that the crowd sometimes get rude, bumping into each others shoulder and swearing at each other. Also, everybody seems to be buying a whole load of food. I am not saying everybody does this, but I see a lot of people just tend to buy so much food during these params, and when they get back, they tend to again gourge down their food until they are packed full, and still have loads of left over food, which ends up being thrown away.
And I thought the spirit of Ramadhan was a month of personal self control and moderation.
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