Take everything but TC!

Take my phone.
Take my laptop.
Take whatever material things I have.
Just not my cat.
He's the most precious thing I own.
I would give up all that if it means I can have him back.

Twitter

Sorry I haven't been blogging for a while. My attention lies with Twitter now. It's also easier (140 word characters limit) because I've been so busy. I can spend hours on doing one blog update. I have not totally abandon my blog. I will come back when I have more free time to write.

Follow me @BeingIdle.

Other random updates:

- TC is getting bigger and fatter. Sorry no pictures.
- Got recently introduced to One Manga.
- My ATM card has refused to work. So have been broke for quite a while. Thank God for my lovely Ali.
- Can't think anything else. Gotta get back to my Mafia Wars on Facebook. Cya.

Happy New Years!

Ali's here and I'm ecstatic. Just came back from Damai Beach Resort. The food was good, the service was hilariously entertaining, New Years celebration was amazing... I don't have pictures with me but even though it rained every day, the views of the mountains and the sea were beautiful.

It was a good start of a new year for me. I didn't bother to make resolutions as I figured I would have forgotten about them after a month. Just like every year.

P.S: TC's growing bigger and smarter!

Twilight (novel) review

I took me more than a week to finish this book. It wasn't a difficult read so why did it take me that long to finish 500+ plus pages book?

SHORT SUMMARY:

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is about a teenage girl named Isabella Swan who moved to a smaller town (Forks, Washington) to live with her dad, Charlie.

On her first day of school, she noticed Edward Cullen and his family sitting together at the cafeteria. She also met other people but they seem irrelevant because they are not as hot as Edward so they are not worth much mention.

After many boring conversations and forgettable happenings, they fell in love. After that, many more conversation of how in love they are with each other. Bella's reason is because he's so gorgeous. And Edward... well he likes her smell.

Oh and Edward sparkles in the sun instead of bursting into flames and die. SPARKLES! GLITTERS! Sparkly glittery vampire...!

After that, Edward introduces Bella to his family, quite interesting background story here. And then, they went to play baseball. So readers can see how normal these vampires are. I mean they attended high school right? I've no idea why though, it wasn't explained. Not only that, they are also very nice vampires with a conscience because they only drink animal blood. Right, someone should call PETA and SPCA.

After nearing the end of the book, something that resembled a plot suddenly appeared. After all the action, they all went to prom. How nice.

LONG SUMMARY:

It started off well but as I read on, Bella seems so depressing to read. She didn't like her dad (calls him Charlie when he's not around), didn't like the new town (it always rains with rare sunny days), didn't like the school... wasn't even happy about the fact that many people said hello to her on her first day in school or how a few of them boys seem to be interested in her.

I didn't find Bella quite a likable character. I think Meyer intents to portray Bella as strong, independent and clever. But I don't see her that way. She's extremely clumsy and it made her seem so in need of constant saving by overprotective and jealous Edward. She sometimes appears as weak and clingy. She also seems to have no goals, no plans except wanting to be with her boyfriend because she is “unconditionally and irrevocably in love with” him. I find it so shallow and stupid and ridiculous.

And then there's Edward... Sigh. I know he's gorgeous but I don't see what's the purpose of reminding us of that fact on nearly every page every time he makes an appearance. Instead of getting excited over Edward I groaned inwardly every time I read about his "musical laugh" and his "angel face" and "adonis figure" again and again and again in every chapter.

For about 350 plus pages, you will read about how Edward warns Bella to stay away from him, that he's dangerous but she doesn't care etc. It gets annoying after 200 pages of boring drizzle of mushy love talks, with the constant reminder of how beautiful Edward is." Stay away, I can kill, no don't stay away, please stay, no I'm dangerous go away..." and back and forth as Edward argues about the same shit to Bella. I'm surprised she isn't frustrated about it since they have this talk about every single time they have conversation. I guess Bella's too in love (a.k.a stupid) too notice anything else. After a week of knowing each other and see Edward sparkles a bit in the sun she's ready to sacrifice her life for him. -roll eyes-

What disturbed me is how Bella is so crazy about how pretty Edward is. She's already so in love and is prepared to be together with Edward forever. She's 17. Okay, so the guy saves her a few times but do you fall in love with your doctor because he saved you many times? I didn't think so. I find it disturbing that her attraction towards Edward is based on his looks and the magic of being a vampire. But I guess it's fair since Edward never really explained why he likes Bella other than her blood smells good. I also find it extremely hilarious that Bella literally fainted when Edward kissed her. Who in the world literally faints when kissed by someone?? (Please let me know if you've experienced this or know anyone who experienced it.)

Edward doesn't even act normal. Not as a guy, not as a 17 year old, not even as a vampire. In my opinion, he came off as immature for a vampire his age. And the way he talks makes me laugh because I have no idea what kind of guy talks like that. If the author didn't really stressed it out, I would have thought that Edward really is a girl. His character seems so unrealistic simply because he was portrayed too perfect. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a Disney classic fairy tale book.

Even though there are many attempts on trying to make Edward seem like the perfect boyfriend, he comes off as a creepy stalker. Since he can't read Bella's mind, he reads her friends' to get a gist of what Bella is thinking. He also goes off to follow her home and watch her sleep at night without her knowing. I was shocked when Edward confessed that part and more shocked when weirdly enough, Bella doesn't find this a disturbing behaviour.

However, it's not all that horrible. After 400 pages in, there's finally some action. It was a quick read after that.

BUT! After the action is over, the book has not ended yet.. oh no.. they have to go to the friggin prom. I find it weird to end the book that way. Sorry I spoiled it for you but seriously, you're better off reading something else.

Based on all this, I don't think I'll be reading any of Stephenie Meyer's other books or Twilight, the movie, either.

I don't recommend this book to anyone at all. I finished it simply because it's a habit and I get restless if I don't finish a book no matter how boring it is. It's written for Young Adults but the message it's getting across is stupefying. She falls in love with Edward because he's hot. It's okay to ditch your friends and family for a guy you barely know and who constantly reminding you he can kill you. When a bad vampire wants your blood, you go off to meet him alone without thinking of other alternatives or talk with anyone else to come up with a plan.

Okay, okay I better stop telling you about Bella's infinite stupidity and Edward's 'perfectness'. Gah I detest this book.

If you would like to read good vampire books, Anne Rice is one of the best vampire writers. Stephen King's Salem's Lot is good too. L. J. Smith's vampire series and trilogies are pretty awesome. The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris is a delicious and fun read. It is also a TV series now called True Blood, which I simple love.

The Tuxedo Cat

Losing Bagheera was hard and it still is. So to ease the grief and mourning stage, I adopted another kitten. I got it from my uncle in Miri.

The mother was friendly with a lovely temperement. Looked like the Malaysia Cat/Kucing Malaysia breed with blue eyes. She had 3 kittens. And my heart was quickly set on a black and white male kitten. Of the 3, he was quiet when I picked him up. So I knew he wasn't a screamer, which makes it better.

After a few weeks, my aunt took the kittens back to Kuching. She asked me to come over and choose one to bring home. Even though I knew I wanted the black and white one, it was still pretty hard to choose because they were all adorable.

Finally, I sticked to my first choice and brought the black and white kitten home. I didn't regret my choice. The kitten adjusted well to his new home. He's friendly towards everyone and started chasing our feet and hands, a naughty behaviour which I try to eliminate.

TC/Charlie

Just like any normal kitten, he's clumsy and chases everything that moves (or doesn't move). To quote a friend of mine, the kitten seems to be "in Lala Land".

We couldn't decide what to name him at first. There's many suggestions, some quite silly: Kiddo, Hitam, Checkers, Chess, Oreo, Growly, Buster....

I finally decided on TC, meaning Tuxedo Cat. It's sweet and simple and it suits him.

He even has a moustache. ^^

He hasn't really know his name yet but he seems pretty smart despite the many clumsy events that befell him.

Ali wanted to call him Charlie because he does look like a Charlie. But I'm getting used to calling him TC.

To show how silly (normal) he is... here's an example:

Hi!

Oh look, foot!

Let me get closer... -swat-

Ooof! Damnit.

He's adorable and I love him...

ZzzZzz...

This doesn't mean I have forgotten Bagheera. No cat can ever replace him. He was the first and will always have a place in my heart. I miss him and still think about him every day. I still hope that one day I would see him once again. However, TC helps in keeping my mind occupied. It feels good to care for a cat again, buying and feeding it food, bathing it etc.

TC is a domestic short hair. That means he belongs to no particular breed. I think it is important to try to adopt stray cats before buying purebreeds because the strays outnumbered purebreed by the millions. Purebreeds will always have a home to go to. But it's not the same with strays. Many are homeless and hungry. Think about it when you decide to adopt a cat.

P.S: Never ever buy your cats or dogs at a pet store!! Here's a few articles on why. Click here or here.

New US President

Barrack Obama

The dream that that a lot of people had that one day America would have a black American president finally came true.

Even though I am not an American, I am glad that Obama won. McCain was too similar to Bush in terms of his views and policies and Palin is such a joke. Imagine if McCain had won, had another heart attack (he is 72 years old) and died, Palin would be president. Nothing wrong with a woman becoming president but I can't see how Palin would run such a powerful and influential country filled with weapons of mass destruction. Whoever was rooting for McCain probably changed their mind because of Palin.


A great change has come. And it is certainly for the better. The Obama victory is the end of the streak of white men running the US. I'm glad that Americans put aside their racism views and voted for the black man.

The World is Flat

There are some people out there who still believes that the world is flat. Yep, not round but flat like a paper. How bizzare.

Type in "Flat Earth society" on Google and check those websites. As I was browsing the sites, I kept on thinking these people are a bit, I'm sorry to say, delusional.

This is a rendered picture of a Flat Earth model.

I guess they have never seen Discovery channel programmes where you see all these shots of how ROUND the world is.

I visited one of the Flat Earth forums and read this FAQ.

Q: "Why do the all the world Governments say the Earth is round?"
A: A Conspiracy among world Governments claiming to have space programs has disseminated the lie to the other governments of the world, as well as to the media and the general public.

Q: "What about NASA? Don't they have photos to prove that the Earth is round?"
A: NASA is part of the conspiracy too. The photos are faked.

Q: "Why has no-one taken a photo of the Earth that proves it is flat?"
A: The government prevents people from getting close enough to the Ice Wall to take a picture.

Q: "How did NASA create these images with the computer technology available at the time?" A: Since NASA did not send rockets into space, they instead spent the money on developing advanced computers and imaging software instead

Q: "What is the motive behind this conspiracy?"
A: The motive is unknown although it is probably money.

Q: "If you're not sure about the motive, why do you say there is a conspiracy?"
A: Well it's quite simple really; if the earth is in fact flat, then the governments must be lying when they say it isn't.

Q: "The government could not pull off the conspiracy successfully"
A: Actually, they could.

Q: "How are the world governments organized enough to carry out this conspiracy?"
A: They only appear to be disorganized to make the conspiracy seem implausible.
A2: Only a few governments (USA, former USSR, certain European countries) need to be involved. The rest readily accept the lie.

Q: Why hasn’t this site been shut down by the government?
A: Doing so would prove that the government is hiding something.

Q: No way could the government possibly guard the entire Ice Wall! It would take too many men! Millions of men!
A: Not really. You could do it with a few hundred and some basic equipment.

Q: Why is NASA’s space shuttle runway curved?
A: It was specially constructed by NASA to be so. After all NASA are at the heart of the conspiracy.

WTF is an Ice Wall? Their answers are not very convincing either. Where is this proof of an Ice Wall? And what kind of equipments needed to get people away from this Ice Wall? Some kind of spell from the Harry Potter universe?

There are more to this FAQ.

Q: "What is the circumference and diameter of the Earth?"
A: "Circumference: 78225 miles, Diameter: 24,900 miles

Q: "What about the stars, sun and moon and other planets? Are they flat too? What are they made of?"
A: The sun and moon, each 32 miles in diameter, circle Earth at a height of 3000 miles at its equator, located midway between the North Pole and the ice wall. Each functions similar to a "spotlight," with the sun radiating "hot light," the moon "cold light." As they are spotlights, they only give light out over a certain are which explains why some parts of the Earth are dark when others are light. Their apparent rising and setting are caused by optical illusions. Some controversy exists as to whether the Sun and Moon are spherical or flat. In the "accelerating upwards" model, the stars, sun and moon are also accelerating upwards as a result of Universal Acceleration. In some models, the stars are about as far as San Francisco is from Boston (3100 miles). Others claim them to be much further away.

Q: "Please explain sunrises/sunsets."
A: It's a perspective effect. Really, the sun is just getting farther away; it looks like it disappears because everything gets smaller and eventually disappears as it gets farther away.

If you want to read more about this, go here.

I'll end this post with some pictures of our beautiful Earth.

Photo of our planet by the Earth Observing System flagship Terra.

Seems pretty round to me. But I guess that might be photoshoped by NASA. We've all been fooled! Oh woe to the humankind. We've been tricked by this organisation whose mission in life is to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research".

Hmm.. I wonder if vampires and werewolves exist too?