A 2-in-1 Cellphone... BEAT THIS!

(Translated from http://hk.phonedaily.com/news/?news_id=5116)

What can I say from having my first gilmpse on the mega-phone that looks like it was teleported from the 1990s. In fact, it should be featured in the next Transformers movie!
This, I have to say, is the ideal phone for those in Mainland China who just got rich (legally or illegally -- the latter case is more likely) who thinks putting the logos of T-Mobile, 3 Mobile and Nokia's Vertu in the front will reveal your status (as an uneducated and uncivilized fool with no taste, yet with loads of cash burning in your pocket). It gives you enough size and bling to be envied in the hoods and ghettos across the US of A!What? It is a flip-phone (a MOTO RAZR wannabe), with two sets of keys? (one inside and one outside) Why?

It is because this 3cm-thick piece of brick has TWO PHONES COMBINED INTO ONE! I believe this is the first such phone EVER in the world!You might ask: How?

The phone on the outside is a normal 2nd gen GSM phone (if you use Rogers/Fido) while the inside is a 3rd generation video phone (note the camera rotates so you can either take a picture or start a video conference with some of your corrupt buddies plotting how to run away to Canada and apply for refugee status). Each phone has a separate power button using the same battery as the power source.Miraculously the phone features a 2 megapixel zoom-enabled camera with MP3 ringtones and a MicroSD card slot. It has the basic functions but not at the top notch quality as expected in these fly-by-night phones.So there you go, here's your chance to have the best of all worlds, for an unspecified amount of money.

Who on Earth Would Buy This Phone?!

(Original Article in Traditional Chinese from http://hksincere.com/article.php?artID=1192)

Many of you have heard about stories on copying of name-brand cellphones by Chinese fly-by-night factories, but I can declare the following as a Chinese local invention...

Introducing the Shenzhou VII Space Shuttle cellphone! (with Space Discovery music playing in the background...)

Don't you feel like an astronaut once you take it out of your purse and start talking? (The first words should be "Houston, I have a problem!")


Look pops! Ther's a blue light shinin' from its nose!

OOOO... There's a hint of red at the boosters... Looks like we're ready for a BLASTOFF!

Function-wise, this attention-grabber has all the standards of a normal cellphone:

• 1.3mpixel camera located on the back behind the captain's quarters.
• MP3 Ringtones with volume control on the side
  
• 1MB internal memory (apparently the makers have used a 60s version of the space shuttle as a model - fortunately it has a microSD card slot on the sides)
• USB support + battery charging
  
• Did I mention the phone's vibration abilities that comes with every cellphone nowadays? ;)
  

Overall this is a sleek-looking and bright-coloured phone as this will surely make heads turn! (if you don't mind providing entertainment to the people around you) It is either the ideal prank gift for your buddies or an excellent toy for your loved ones (kids and adults alike).

With the price tag of HKD$1380 (or around CAD$175) for this unlocked piece of beauty, you can say goodbye to those damn phones that come with 3-year plans.

Merged Pics

Yes it's since a while I have added an entry to my blogs.

I have managed to merge some of the shots taken during the past year or so, and since you cannot see them in full by merely uploading to Facebook, I decided to post them here... Enjoy!

First, we have the beautiful Vancouver skyline!


And featuring a streetscape along Pacific Blvd. overlooking at the Davie/Yaletown Station construction site for the upcoming Canada Line, the first subway line for Metro Vancouver (formerly called the Greater Vancouver Regional District). No the underground section for the Expo Line from Stadium to Waterfront does not count.

False Creek North overlooking Fairview Slopes.
...and featuring the glass towers taken from Granville Island.

To the east we go towards Port Moody's Newport Village!

Finally we have Douglas Island as seen from the north shore of the Fraser River.

How can I not include the stunning skyline of NYC taken during my trip there in the Labour Day weekend?

A Short Notice

Due to the recent creation of sex-related blogs that have similar names as my clean blog, therefore I have taken some defensive actions to protect my treasured entries from being associated with the "dark" side.

I will post pics from my short return trip to Vancouver in December 2006 and the field trip to the Junction area in Toronto between Dundas West, Bloor, and Dupont a little later during my semester break, for I am having a hard time catching up with my work.

Stay Tuned!

Gypsy Woman

Recently I have been playing the 1991 song Gypsy Woman by Crystal Waters over and over. I am not sure if I am being mesmerized by the da-da-de-da-da-da beat or the tone of the electronic keyboard. This song and "100% Pure Love" (also by Waters) are some of the best in dance music even today. However I find the MTV for the song disturbing if not weird, not to mention that Miss Waters does not possess the slightest ability to dance (merely shaking your body and occasionally kicking your legs do not count, for I became the laughing stock on the dance floor for unknowingly mimicking your moves).

First of all, here is the original MTV for the song, followed by a hilarious diss-and-spoof by Kim Wayans on In Living Color (featuring homeless people dancing!). I wonder who is getting the last laugh when Gypsy Woman is still one of the most played dance songs in clubs, especially in Europe where hundreds of remixes are made, with rapper T.I. copying the song's psyched-tone in "Why You Wanna."

The original (and uber-weird) MTV for Gypsy Woman:


The hilarious diss-and-spoof by In Living Color's Kim Wayans:


T.I.'s Why You Wanna:


A special bonus: 100% Pure Love by Crystal Waters:

An Unexplained Phenomenon

The usual hotmail message window popped up when I first logged onto msn this morning. Though it was a facebook-related message, rather than the normal friend update email which I used to get, it consisted of the following:

[Person 1] has tagged a photo of you in [Person 2's] album "[album name]"

To see the photo, follow the link below: [Link deleted for privacy reasons]

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

There were two noteworthy items before curiosity took over me by clicking on the link:

1. I do not know Person 1.

2. I have not seen Person 2 in a long time, though I have added this person onto my facebook friends list a few days ago. (How can I be in a picture with Person 2?)

The guy in the picture was obviously not me, therefore I quickly removed my personal tag without the slightest moment of hesitation.

How on earth did this happen? It's most likely that I have discovered a technical chink in the armour on facebook, or else it was a human error on Person 1 by accidentally checking my name instead of another person's. If not, then someone should put my story into the collection of unsolved mysteries on the Internet.

An Interesting Question

This happened in my final year of studies at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby (part of Greater Vancouver), BC -- and some of you have already heard about the following from me when I ranted sometime ago on msn:

When I passed outside one of the large lecture halls (K 9500), a guy was standing at the doors, holding a cute female puppy with a near bowtie placed on her top. Apparently he was waiting for his girlfriend, whom came out, took the puppy, and went off with the ever-faithful fella (and both were holding hands for obvious reasons).

The question therefore is: Which one is the bitch?

Today I am still having a difficult time determining which is which.

On my personal motto

Though I am still in the process of fully applying the following in my life, nonetheless it provides me with some insight on how to survive my short stay on Planet Earth.

信長之果斷, - The decisiveness of Nobunaga (1)
家康之能耐, - The resilience of Ieyasu (2)
武藏之堅定, - The firmness of Musashi (3)
政宗之善變. - The adaptability of Masamune (4)

The motto is drawn from four important characters in the Japanese Sengoku (Warring States) Period (~1500-1615): Oda Nobunaga (織田信長), Tokugawa Ieyasu (德川家康), Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武藏), and Date Masamune (伊達政宗). With the exception of Miyamoto, whose spirit and teachings on Japanese swordsmanship is hailed by people worldwide and was the author of the Book of Five Rings, the rest were powerful warlords (daimyos) in this turbulent age.



(1) Nobunaga conquered Central Japan after decisively defeating the large force of Imagawa Yoshimoto (今川義元), though the former's army was outnumbered 7-to-1. Nonetheless his ruthlessness eventually led to his downfall in 1582.


(2) Ieyasu, though initially a vassal to the Imagawa and Oda families, became the winner in the Sengoku Period by founding the Tokugawa Shogunate, the last of its kind in Japan, in 1615. His resilience and patience when things were not going his way was the main reason for his victory over rival daimyos. It took a lot of guts for him to ask one of his sons to commit suicide on Nobunaga's orders, though his subordinates were ready to give their long term allies a fight before doing so (however Ieyasu had to rely on Nobunaga in order to survive at that time).

(3) Musashi's firmness and determination to become the best swordsman in Japan resulted in his victory over his archrival Sasaki Kochiro (佐佐木小次郎) (though the latter was more skilled than Musashi) just before Ieyasu ascended to the title of Shogun. Despite all the fanfare after his death, Musashi was alone for most of his life, which does not fit considering that social networks are the key to success in today's society.


(4) A latecomer to the Sengoku stage, Masamune showed the rest of Japan that he was a force to be reckoned with in the North after the swift unification of the province surrounding Sendai within 2 years at the age of 24. However it was impossible for Masamune to further challenge the dominance of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豐臣秀吉) and Ieyasu, as both have long solidified their positions as hegemons to Japan. He first declared his allegiance to Toyotomi, then later switched to the Tokugawa camp, while maintaining a large degree of independence from the two as they wrestled against each other to determine the ultimate winner (Masamune was right in choosing the latter). It was his adaptability to the changing tides that led to the survival of his clan to this day, though dreams of establishing a Date Shogunate became just a dream. (Edit: The current head of the Date Clan, Date Yasumune, has set up an official website, which can be accessed here: http://www.datemasamune.com/ )

On the deaths of Brown, Ford, Saddam, and the Turkmenbasi

The final weeks of 2006 was characterized by the deaths of James Brown, Gerald Ford, Saddam Hussein, and Saparmurat Niyazov. These people were all talented in their own ways during their stay on Planet Earth, which translated into hordes of admirers -- and haters (maybe except for Brown).

Brown was widely regarded as the Godfather of Soul with his unique style of music, and his funeral was more like a carnival. The world will remember this talented singer as he sold more albums than anyone else not named Elvis Presley. Gerald Ford was remembered as the person who stabilized America after the debacles in Vietnam, yet his records were marred by the decision to pardon Richard Nixon. Saddam Hussein was seen as a friend to the Regan Administration (for going against Iran -- America's #2 public enemy behind the former USSR) and a demi-god to the Sunni Muslim population around Tirkrit in Iraq, but his ruthlessness and savagery to the Kurdish and Shiite population to the north and south eventually led to the split of Iraq after he was toppled by American forces in 2003, in an apparent revenge by President George W. Bush for attempting to assassinate his father, former President George H.W. Bush.


His Holiness the Saintly Writer of the Ruhnama Turkmenbasi Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan was without doubt my favourite dictator of all time, and was likely a victim of deathbed betrayal by his subordinates. He was famous for the numerous and wacky presidential decrees that put Kim Jong-Il to shame. Also Kim's mushroom cloud hairdo certainly looks awful compared to Niyazov, who sported a sleeky jet-black hair that made Elvis proud.