Currently Reading

What... After almost a year of "hiatus", now I'm posting two blog posts in a day?! THE END IS NEAR.

Well, I just feel like it. I think it's time for me to get back on this blog, write something, and speak up my mind.

Remember that one post I wrote about a book (click here)? Me neither. Kidding. I do. Of course I do. It was my first blog post ever! And that was back in 2010. Oh, how time flies. If only I can tell my old-self not to take everything for granted and make so many mistakes.

Okay. Enough with self-pity. And speaking of books, do people still read them? I think they do. I'm one of those people. I'm not an avid reader however. I'm a slow reader in fact. So slow that it takes years for me to finish reading a book.

Last year, I picked up several books. Maybe around four. I'm still currently reading one of them. Haven't finished 3 or so. And I had to return them to the library (Yes, I go to library as well. I'm not lying!). As a matter of fact, I still haven't finished reading the book that I wrote about in my first blog post. Heck, it's the only book I talked about in this blog.

Well, I think it's really due to my bad habit. I tend to stop doing something in the middle and leave it unfinished. Not just reading books, but almost everything. By everything, including big things that could affect my future. Yeah, it's that bad - do I need a therapist or something?


So, currently I'm reading two books:

Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain
Goodreads link (click here)

I've read about 40% of the book. And so far, it is brilliant. I have never read a book with such details and well researched contents before. And I've found one.

This book mainly is about introverts. In this book she explores what is introverts, how a person can become one, is it inherited or developed by experience, and many thing else. She also makes thorough comparisons between introverts and extroverts in many cases and instances, Really good book.

"What is introvert?" you may ask. I'm not quite good at explaining it. But the main adjectives (not necessarily accurate) that can relate to introverts and extroverts are "quiet people" and "loud people" respectively. But like I said, it's not a precise definition.

You may take the test yourself to know what type of a person you are. There are many self-test online. There is a decent one by Psychology Today (click here). You might have a better understanding about these two personalities.

I found this book in a bookstore while searching for other self-help book. And I'm glad that I found it. The book itself is pretty popular. It has received a lot of praises and good reviews. I read few pages in the bookstore and totally hooked by it. RM 49.90 worth spent.


The Perfection Point: Predicting the Absolute Limits of Human Performance by John Brenkus
Goodreads link (click here)

I bought this book at Big Bad Wolf book sale last couple of weeks. I couldn't find any interesting book at the time except this one. And it only costed me RM 8.00.

Basically the book is about how far human can go at performing certain actions - how fast a person can run, how high a person can jump, how long a person can hold his/her breath underwater, how a fast a person can swim, etc. The author mainly uses sports to study those limits and whether human can exceed them or not.

I've only read several pages. And it seems like a good book. The language is easy to understand. But at the moment, I can't tell how deep his (the author) research and findings are yet.

I'm planning to finish these two books by the end of March. And I've recently joined Goodreads too. A very neat social site for book readers. I hope I can fill the "read" bookshelves as many books as I can by the end of this year.

Anfield Talk: Disappointing Start

Hello!

Liverpool first game of the season against Sunderland ended with 1-1. I'm quite disappointed with the result, so do majority of Liverpool fans out there. We were brilliant in the first half and for some reasons we let the opponent dominate the second half.

Suarez heads the first goal

I was very excited with the starting line-up. Enrique made his debut on the left side of defense with only one training session with the squad in hand. Dalglish surprisingly chose young Flanagan on the right side of defense instead of Kelly. Besides Enrique, Downing, Adam & Henderson made their debut as well. Suarez & Carroll started up-front left Kuyt on the bench. It was a good line-up without our inspirational captain, Gerrard.

Like I said before, we were brilliant in the first half. 3 points look good for us during half-time. We lost our focus in the second half and Sunderland managed to snatch a goal (nice goal though). I'm livid with the referee in this game. First, Richardson should have been sent off after taking down Suarez (pic 1). The other one, Carroll's goal should have stood because he didn't push Ferdinand at all (pic 2)! All four new players played well. Adam showed what we have been missing since Alonso left; creative long passes, quick short passes, total support in midfield, good defensive play in centre. Downing as expected showed his class. He almost score a wonderful goal and could have been goal of the month maybe.He passed 3 players before unleashed sweet strike, but hit the bar. Phewww! Henderson & Enrique did well.

1. That should have been a red card.
Last man & clear goal scoring opportunity.

2. That's not a foul! He's merely puts his hand on defender's body.

As I said in the last post, Liverpool could concede at least a goal and they did. There was no surprise when we conceded that goal with the way Sunderland played and controlled the second half. We are always have trouble in defending crosses and set pieces. This time, Sunderland took advantage of Flanagan careless defending. No one tried to block the cross and young Flanagan forgot to check his man (pic 3). But, I don't get mad with him. He is young (18 years old) and have little experience. He will learn from that mistake.

3. Flanagan (red circle) should have marked Larsson (blue circle)

All in all, we didn't play that well. In my opinion, we should have not lose this kind of game if we want to finish in top 4. But, it's the first game of the season. Give some time to the players to gel and we will be stronger as the season continues. Next game is away at Emirates versus Arsenal. My early prediction is Liverpool can win that game. Arsenal have their own problem and don't look so strong. I watched their game against Newcastle and I believe we can beat them.

That's it my write on beloved Liverpool for now. Thanks for reading. Ciao!

Anfield Talk: 2011-2012 Season Begins!

Hello!

Guys, new season of English Premier League starts today! Yeah!! For us, Liverpool, our first game will be against Sunderland at home, Anfield. For me, this is the most exciting season since after we won Champions League in Istanbul 6 years ago.

Liverpool pre-season game, versus Malaysia, last July.
Liverpool 6 - Malaysia 3.
(Really sad I couldn't attend )

Last season was a season to forget for everyone who associates with Liverpool FC. It was a horrible season, or at least until January this year. Embarrassing lost to not-so-big clubs like Blackburn, Blackpool, Stoke, West Ham, etc is certainly something we need to avoid this upcoming season. Added to that, humiliating League Cup (vs Norhampton) & Europa League (vs Braga) exits. If we want to challenge United and the rest of big clubs, we must improve.

Huge disappointment in 2010-2011 season.

Speaking of improvement, this summer Liverpool have spent big to strengthen the squad. In my personal view, I'm thrilled with our new signings. The thing that I like most is that Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool's manager by the way) has signed quality local players. 4 of them were player of the season for their former club - Charlie Adam (from Blackpool, Scottish), Johan Henderson (from Sunderland, English), Stewart Downing (from Aston Villa, English) and Jose Enrique (from Newcastle, Spanish). The squad is now almost complete. For me, we only need one more solid centre-back. Gary Cahill from Bolton is a strong candidate. Other than that, I think Liverpool are well-prepared and ready to go for a new season. Our target is definitely to finish in top four to qualify for Champions League, the playground of European elite clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayern Muncih, etc. For those who don't know, Liverpool are the third most succesful club in Europe with 5 Champions League titles. Hence, we ought to be there in the competition once more. Personally, I believe Liverpool can do it. My heart says we will win at least a cup (FA Cup or League Cup) and finish in top 4 with only few points behind the champion (probably that scum again). But my head says that we will have to struggle to finish top 4, but eventually we will get there.

New players. Welcome lads!
Kenny (centre) with Henderson, Adam, Doni & Downing.

New addition. Jose Enrique.
Spanish left back from Newcastle.

Champions League spot is our target this season.
Come on!

Tonight, our campaign starts with a game at our beloved stadium, home, Anfield. We will be playing against Sunderland. Last season we drew 2-2 at Anfield and won 2-0 away (remember Suarez brilliant goal?). I have a great confidence that Liverpool will win tonight's game. My prediction? 2-0 at least. But looking back at our pre-season friendly matches, Liverpool are bound to concede at least a goal. I don't want that to happen, but it's not surprise if Sunderland manage to score. Anyway, Liverpool will win. Really excited to see our new players performing. For me, especially, Stewart Downing. I'm a big fan of Downing since he at Middlesbrough. Great left footed player, traditional winger, can play both sides of the flank, got a sweet left foot - great crosses, shooting and dribbling skill. 

Liverpool against Sunderland last season.
Remember him?

So, all the best to Liverpool (as if they are listening. Haha). Walk on. YNWA.
Thanks for reading. Ciao!

Album Review: Westlife - Gravity [2010]

Salam & hello.

I finally got a chance to review Westlife's latest album. I procrastinated a lot to do this entry actually. But, anyway, here it is. 

This latest album by Westlife is called Gravity. It was released in November, last year. So, it has been like 7 months and only now I managed to write a review. But, I'm gonna share my review anyway regardless whether if there is anyone out there will read this or not. For those who don't know or not sure, Westlife are still exist and this album is their 11th studio album. 13 years, they are still going strong doing performances & tours around the world. Personally, I grow up listening to their songs. Because of that, I can assure you that this is the best album Westlife have ever produced. This album rocks! Westlife have changed their style little bit, but not completely. They go for much rockier (is rockier a right word?) and dark appearance, but not like heavy metal or something. Their songs are more solid and exciting. They are no longer a boy band with charming lookings etc. 

As I wrote in my previous post for Safe single, this album is produced with the help of great John Shanks. This guy is one of the most talented music producer in America and he has worked with the likes of Bon Jovi, BSB, Kelly Clarkson and others. So there's no surprise by how amazing Gravity turns out to be. 

Track by track review

1. Beautiful Tonight - Perfect start for this album. A potential chart topping song. This song is probably the best and most different Westlife's song in many years. It's a mid tempo song, has a great beat in it. Some of my friends thought this song was Bruno Mars' The Way You Are. If you hear it, you can understand why. It's a song that you would like to sing along to it. 

2. Safe - First and apparently, the only single for this album. The melody and style are very much like any other Westlife's songs. It's a power ballad I should say. The lyrics are nice because they deviate from typical love songs.

3. Chances - This one is actually a cover song. It was originally sang by a band named Athlete. Very good song. It starts slowly and ends dramatically. Music and strings in this song are awesome, especially at the climax. 

4. I Will Reach You - Another great song in the album. Love the melody, music, lyrics and basically, everything. I recommend this one to anyone that would like to know Westlife's current music style (along with Beautiful Tonight). 

5. Closer - My personal favorite. I always love listen to songs that start with piano + hopeful tone and have dramatic/extravaganza finish. This is one of them. It's pretty similar to the last album's hit song, What About Now. All members of the band contributed in writing this song.

6. The Reason -  This one is actually need no explanation. Another cover song, originally from Hoobastank. I'm sure everyone knows this song. I love this song, since many years ago and it's one of my all time favorites - Hoobastank version. Quite disappointed when I found out that Westlife would record it and put it in the album. Anyway, their version is not that bad, just fine, nothing much. 

7. Tell Me It's Love - I've posted an entry for this song. The reasons why this song is good; beautiful lyrics, nice melody,  easy listening and Nicky's part (third verse, after the second chorus).

8. I Get Weak - If Nicky has his part on the last track, this one has Kian in it (Nicky & Kian rarely sing solo).  Again, nice melody and it's a heartbroken song with nice lyrics. 

9. Before It's Too Late - For the last album, they have a song that called Talk Me Down, where Mark sings solo in it. This one is quite similar. It has the same music style, and it's even better. Lyrics are good; about saying something important to people when we still have our chance. One very great song. 

10. No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight - Ever heard of Black Eyed Peas' songs? Well, this one is like theirs. Perfect song to be played in events, commercials or montage. It's a dance/club song, no one would hate it, trust me. Love the part where there's instrument playing like in a Muse's song (I don't know what the instrument is. Keyboard, synthesizer or something?).

11. Difference In Me - A very unique song. Different from all Westlife's songs in their 11 albums. Shane sings solo in it, and his voice suits very well. It's like a song that Plain White T's would sing. 

12. Too Hard To Say Goodbye - For the last album, the last track is a goodbye/farewell song - I'll See You Again. And they do the same for Gravity. As before, they dedicate it to Nicky's & Kian's late fathers. In fact, the lyrics for this song are more personal than the other one. I like the chorus, lovely lyrics; "Standing by your side. It felt like I could fly. If I could be half the man that you are in my eyes. And I could face the darkest day and fight the tears inside. I can't turn the page or hold back the time. It's too hard to say goodbye". Also, do you guys know Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On? This song was written by the same person who wrote that Titanic popular soundtrack. So, you can hear the similarity in the music. A very beautiful ballad song.

All in all, this is the best and most exciting album they have ever produced. All 12 tracks are amazing. Although it's the best, my favorite album is still their first album (Westlife, 1999). Gravity my second favorite, yet. Go, buy, download it or whatever. Totally worth it. If not, try listen to Beautiful Tonight, I Will Reach You or Closer. I give it 5/5. awesome album! 

By the time I'm writing this, Westlife have announced that they will release their second Greatest Hits album: Unbreakable Vol.2 (possible name). How great! The first single will be released in August. Can't wait! Two greatest hits album in their career, not many bands can achieve that. Amazing accomplishment. Kudos to them.

That's it for my review. Thanks for reading. Next, I will review Avril Lavigne's 2011 album: Goodbye Lullaby.     Here is a live version of Beautiful Tonight. Enjoy it! Bye.

Anfield Talk: King Kenny is Coming Back!

Hey guys

As of now, to all football fans out there, you probably have heard the news. The big news. Yup, Kenny Dalglish is taking over the head coach position for Liverpool. Hooray!!

Welcome back king!

I don't feel sorry for Roy Hodgson. His termination was simply inevitable and long overdue. 31 matches, only 13 wins? That's not good enough old man. In fact, it's the worst thing I've seen since the first time I started supporting Liverpool, 11 years ago. Suffice to say that Roy is just an average manager - mid table club at best. We are Liverpool, we are better than this. We should have been challenging Premier League title by this time, or top 4 finish at the very least. Instead, we embarrassingly lost to Blackburn, Stoke, Blackpool, Wolves and even freakin' Norhampton. Sayonara Roy Hodgson. You will be remembered, for the wrong reasons, and surely will not be missed.

Hodgson legendary (embarassing) face rub

Now, let's talk about King Kenny. Kenny Dalglish is a Liverpool legend, no.1 all-time greatest player in fact. We are so glad to have him back (he managed Liverpool 1985-1991). He is definitely will boost squad's morale and motivate all the players, encourage them to keep on fighting.

Good old days

"Kenny: You just have to poke those eyes. Like this. Easy!
Gerrard: I'm not doing that to Owen, Kenny. He was my best friend"

That's all I got to say from now. This entry may sounds not that interesting, but I'm actually so excited with this news. 2011 shall be the year that The Reds started to comeback to rule European & English Football. Yeah!

You'll Never Walk Alone.

Ciao

TV Series Round-up

Happy new year guys!

LOST (quick review)
Last year was the final season of LOST. Do guys know LOST? Yeah, that tv series. I'm a massive fan of this show. LOST is definitely in the top 3 of my all-time favorite tv series list and it's pretty sad to see the show ends. LOST follows the lives of various characters, most importantly the survivors of the plane crash, on a mysterious island. LOST is a great show, because they played with the characters' emotion very well and the storyline were fantastic. The final season. last year, was the 6th season of the series. But, honestly, it wasn't as good as the previous seasons, especially season 1,2 and 3. My thought is that the producers & writers didn't conclude the whole story very well. In fact, so many questions have been left unsolved. But overall, I still think that it was a great show. Btw, here's one big rule that you must follow in order to understand LOST; you must watch all episodes, in the right order preferably. True, otherwise you wouldn't understand and you ended up asking 'why' every time you watch it. Haha.

"Tell me guys, if this island can heal people,
do you think it can help me with my hair problem?
Anyone?"

Now let's get to the other tv series that I'm following and still running.

The Office
The Office is one of my favorites tv show of all time, of all time! (Kanye West's emphasizing style. Haha). Probably my number one and the best I've seen yet. The Office depicts the everyday lives of office employee in Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of a paper company named Dunder Mifflin. The characters in this series are awesome, including the supporting characters. It's a comedy series and the jokes are simple, smart and subtle. They don't have to jump around or act like an idiot to tell their jokes (eventually, at some point, they did). That's why I like this show very much. I tell you what, if any tv series I'd recommend to you guys, it would be The Office. You guys go watch season 1 (6 episodes) & season 2 (22 episodes)* and I promise that you will come back for more. Yup and this is not an exaggeration - unless if you put your expectation way too high or compare it to your favorite show, and that would kill your impression on The Office.

What happened last time (spoiler alert!):
For your information, this season will be the last season of the main character, Michael Scott, the boss of the office *sad*. Last episode was the 12th episode of the 7th season and it was a Xmas episode. It was hilarious! Holly back at the office and Michael gets so excited about it. He postpones the party to the later time when Holly comes back to impress her. He learns that Holly is still with AJ and naturally, he gets upset and acts unpredictably (Pam refers it as 'idolizing people'). In the end of the episode, Michael learns from Pam that Holly gives ultimatum to AJ.

Michael as a Santa yet again

Office romance. Pam & Jim

The Office's casts

Next episode:
The next episode is 'The Ultimatum and will be airing on 21 January 2011 (Pheww!)

*(20 minutes for each episodes except for Casino Night episode; 40 minutes)


Fringe
This show is actually produced by one of the producers of LOST - J.J Abrams. Abrams also produced two great films, Cloverfield (2008) & Star Trek (2009). In fact, he was also the man behind Alias (2001) & Felicity (1998) (I watched all of them!). As a big fan of the guy, I couldn't resist but started to watch Fringe. And I ain't disappointed. Fringe is awesome! The concept of the story is pretty much the crossover of CSI and X-Files. The series follows the story of FBI 'Fringe Division' team in their investigation on many mysterious & scientific cases happen around them. The thing that I like the most about Fringe is that it plays with science ('fringe science' to be precise - parallel universe, time travel, dark matter, telepathic, etc) deeply. That's actually the theme of the show. It is a brilliant sci-fi tv series.

What happened last time (spoiler alert!):
Currently, Fringe is on its 9th episodes of season 3. In the last episode, Olivia Dunham, the main character, manages to jump back to the real world after she got stuck in the parallel universe for some times. I know, it sounds strange and way too confusing. But that's what happens. I could tell you more, but probably no one would understand, except if you do follow the show. Right? Hehe.

"Hey, what's up?"
Walter, Peter & Olivia

Next episode:
Firefly. Premiere 22 January 2011 (another phewww!)


The Walking Dead
The series is based on the graphic novel of the same name. It's about a small group (probably there will be many more) of people trying to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. Yup, it means, there are horrifying zombies in this series. It may sounds cheesy like any other zombie films/stories, but it is not. I actually quite surprised by how good the show is. It's not the same like others. Yes, there are killing, hacking and slashing dead people scenes, but it also gives you different views on surviving the aftermath of zombies apocalypse. The themes of the show mainly about desperation, moral dilemma, humanity and choices you have to make in your life. The story runs slowly and it's not a fast-paced & action packed tv series like 24 or Prison Break. But that what makes The Walking Dead so good - it lets your emotion attached to the story.

What happened last time (spoiler alert!):
Last year, The Walking Dead finished its 1st season (6 episodes). The survivors make their way to Atlanta, Georgia and find out that walkers (zombies) have overran the city. So, the city is no longer safe for them and they also learn that there are no one out there to help them.

Obviously not everyone likes police officer

Excessive botox treatment

Next episode:
The premiere of season 2 will be on October 2011


Archer
An animated tv series follows the story of a International Secret Intelligence Service's (ISIS) agent, Archer Sterling. This show is freakin' hilarious! Seriously. The jokes are fast, clever & yet stupid. Basically the jokes are much like any other typical American jokes that you would find on YouTube. But I enjoyed watching it. The main character, Archer, he is like James Bond, but he is also an idiot, annoying and hilarious agent.

What happened last time:
Season 1 has finished with 10 episodes.

Exactly Archer!

Next episode:

Season 2 will be started on 27 January 2011.

Also, tv series that I watched last year, and...

I loved it!

Everwood

Lovely 2002 classic family tv series. Everwood is a story about father and son relationship, family dynamic, friendship, life, career, academic and of course, love. This is one of the best American drama I've seen. I like all the characters in this series and the actors were brilliant. The storyline and themes are superb. It has everything in there for a great drama - joy, sadness, fondness and comedy (minus action theme). I watched all 4 seasons in just a few months. Can't get enough of it. Oh yeah, plus, Emily Van Camp (as Amy Abbott) is so pretty! Hehe

Ephram Brown & Amy Abbott

Favorite scene. Ephram gives a necklace to Amy.
 (Yeah. Damn right I'm a sentimental guy)

I've stopped watching

V

Lame. Liked the concept, but not its presentation. The CGI is horrible, dialogs are bad and the acting is poor (I'm not an expert, but anyone can tell)

The poster says it all

The Event

It started very well with an action packed pilot episode. Then it became too complicated. Too many flashbacks and twisted storyline. I like the idea of the story, but something is missing, affection theme perhaps? I'll come back to it later (few years from now maybe. Haha).

Sometimes hot girl is not a factor for a good show

Ok. That's it guys! I literally took half of my day to finish this entry. Pheww! I got nothing else better to do anyway. Hehe. 

So, thanks for reading. See ya next time. Ciao!

p.s: Excuse me for my grammatical errors & weird sentences :)

Anfield Talk: Welcome Back to Anfield, Houllier!

Hello everyone!

It was the 16th Premier League game for Liverpool last night and a comfortable win against Aston Villa. The scoreline was 3-0 and scored by Ngog, Babel and Rodriguez.

Aston Villa coach, Gerard Houllier returned for the first time to Anfield since he left the club in May 2004. For those who don't know, Houllier was a Liverpool manager in 1998 until 2004. We won UEFA Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Charity Shield and two League Cup under Houllier's charge. We also finished 2nd in 2001 with 80 points - 3 points above United. Beating Barcelona, AS Roma, Bayern Munich and United at Old Trafford were amongst the highlights of his managerial career with Liverpool. So, this time he came back to Liverpool as a opposite manager.

Treble season. UEFA Cup winner 2001.

Houllier, Thompson and Houllier-appointed captain - Gerrard.

For Liverpool, we had to play without Gerrard, Torres and Carragher. So Ngog and Babel were given a start and they did well. Nice goal-poacher instinct by Ngog gave us a lead. That goal shows us what he can do - natural goal scoring talent. Hopefully he can do more often. Babel later scored after a nice lob ball by Lucas. Babel had a great game, love to see more from him. Sometimes he doesn't use his brain much while playing. He likes to do whatever he wants, that's what makes him a not-so-good player. But if he plays properly and confident, he can be the best player on the field.

All players did well last night. Johnson had a couple of chances. I think Roy Hodgson should seriously consider to convert Johnson as a right midfielder. If Gareth Bale (Tottenham) can be a great flanker, why can't Johnson be one? Anyway, once again, Lucas & Meireles partnership was outstanding. I pick Lucas as man of the match, again. He has been terrific this season. Good to see all the 'Lucas' haters' suddenly turn to be fans of Lucas. Haha. I told you so he is a good player! Hopefully both of them will continue their good form for the rest of the season. Our defenders were great. Managed to shut Villa's attacker for the majority of the game. As for Reina, he was brilliant yet again. He made one outstanding save and initiated an awesome counter-attack (Rodriguez goal).

Ngog dives to score the first goal.

Overall, Liverpool did very well. I really hope that Roy Hodgson can motivate the lads to maintain this kind of performance. I'm not a big fan of commenting opposite team performance, but I feel sorry for Houllier. It wasn't a very good night for him at Anfield. Villa have great players but they didn't perform. I particularly like Ashley Young, Albrighton and Agbonlahor, also, Downing. Wish that Roy could sign at least one of them this January.

So now, Liverpool are in 8th, with 22 points, 8 points are needed to chase Man City in 4th position. Btw, it's only 10 points behind league leader, Arsenal. 10 points, say if we can make 2 months of winning streak, and probably undefeated until end of the season, who knows, we can be a champion! Shooting for the star, err.. right?

Spotted Xabi Alonso at the stand watching the game. We really miss you man!
So, that's it. Thanks for reading. Until next time, YNWA.

p/s: Remembering my post on Liverpool 5-0 win against Villa last year. It was written for my first blog :P