Behind the Scenes of Star Wars Ep. V - The Empire Strikes Back

That's a lot of behind the scene photos of the fifth Star Wars episode, The Empire Strikes Back at imgur. And I leave you with this one - Yoda and his voice-cum-operator Frank Oz - at a time before a computer generated Yoda was possible:

Star Trek-Transformers Mashup!

It's not only Star Trek and Star Wars sharing the same director these days. Inside the Enterprise E is actually... an AUTOBOT!

There's even a story how this happened... click on this link and be ready for a world up Star Trek-Transformers mash-up!

via io9.

Iron Man 3

The movie begins with The Mandarin addressing the public and the President of the US of his terrorising activities and warns of his imminent invasion while Tony Stark (who else?) returns post the New York battle with the rest of The Avengers to find himself insomniac, haunted by the alien invasion. To counter his psychological problems he got himself immersed with his Iron Man suits, particularly developing a new but troubled armour that automatically assembles onto him... or whoever he wants. There is also the Iron Patriot armour used by Stark's buddy Colonel Rhodes.

The audience will not find any lack of action and it's also well balanced with plenty of comedic moments. I can safely say that this is not a boring movie. The trailer here doesn't give much away any plot details so you'll have to really watch the movie to know what is really going on beneath the surface of this good versus evil act of terrorism.

It's really quite good with Robert Downey Jr. playing the billionaire well just like in the previous two movies with Gwyneth Paltrow having a much bigger role here than just pure eye candy and love interest. Sir Ben Kingsley is of particular interest here. However, I was just irritated at how the odds turned so easily when Tony Stark and his buddy Colonel Rhodes were faced with The Mandarin's horde at the finale.

Action 3/5.
Twists 2/5.
Comedy 3/5.
Effects and sound 3/5.
The whole thing 3/5.

Sorry that I have a long way to improve on my attempts at reviewing movies. And by the way, don't leave your seats when the end credits come on. Too many people did... and missed out the post credits scene.

Tree Grids

So that's what they call these - tree grids.

via Paris Daily Photo.

Engineering Leads Top Paying Jobs

No way! I've studied engineering and all this while I thought the arts produce the highest paying jobs but CNNMoney sure proved me wrong. Petroleum engineering is the top followed by computer and chemical engineering. Computer science is the only non-engineering field in the top 5 below but it's a technical profession nonetheless. I guess now everyone knows what to go for when they leave high school.

Opposition Leader to take back seat, go into teaching if fails to form government

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take up teaching and give ip being the main guy if his coalition Pakatan Rakyat fails to capture the required majority to form the next Malaysian government!

Just wondering if it would be that easy to leave behind a life of politics after going through so much...

via The Star Online.

Petition for smaller Android smartphones with the same tech specs

Although I'm now an iPhone user, I had almost went for the Galaxy Note II because I love the phablet idea just not the huge form factor that I find difficult to put in my pants pocket. GSMArena is running a petition to convince Android smartphone manufacturers to produce smaller Androids with the same specs as its larger brethrens. The larger ones just get larger with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and Mega coming to mind. Go on and sign the petition if you are into the smaller ones without compromising the tech specs.

GoComics App

I used to follow some GoComics strips via RSS but had been falling behind lately due to lack of time. Besides it was not so convenient to read them via RSS readers. I was delighted to learn that there was a new app. Just installed it and followed my favourite Lio, Cul de Sac, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes (how can I not have mentioned this first! O.o), Garfield, to name a few.

I knew it would be too good to be true for this incredible app to be totally free. There is a Pro version which is chargeable at US$1.99 for 30 days or US$15.99 for a year. The Pro would remove ads, email updates of your favourite comics (I think), unlimited access (I have not reached any limits yet so I don't really know what the limitations are for the free version) and most importantly, the cartoonists get a cut.

Get the iOS version here. There is also the Android version, of course.

"Angry" Harrison Ford

How I missed Harrison Ford's acting, especially when he's acting angry!

Apple vs Android

It's finally come to this...

via a Cult of Mac article about iPhones outselling Android phones in the US.

Lego Iron Man

Mix Marvel's Iron Man and Lego...

China - North Korea

A longish article about how China struggles under pressure to strengthen ties with North Korea while the latter continues with its nuclear tests.

"You can't say they've failed yet. But they haven't succeeded."

via Reuters.

비빔밥

I used to only order Kimchi fried rice whenever I go into a Korean restaurant but recently, I discovered another choice, the mysterious 비빔밥, pronounced as Bi Bim Bap. It tasted sweet and a little spicy.

Crying In Space Not Our Usual Way

Crying in space is surely different from how we do it here on earth...


via Mashable.

The Abandoned Teddy

Poor bear was abandoned and left at a back lane. Spotted it on the way to lunch yesterday. :'(

Malaysia General Elections 2013

Our Prime Minister dissolved the Parliament on 3 April 2013 paving the way for our country's 13th general election. The Election Commission announced nominations to be on 20 April 2013 while the polls will be held on 5 May 2013.

Note that Sarawak state assembly still has about 3 more years to go before election becomes compulsory (Sarawak had its state election in 2011).

via The Star Online.

40 Years Of Mobile Phones?!

It's been already 40 years that the mobile phone existed? I had my first glimpse of a mobile in my late 0s or early 10s and I'm not 40 yet for another couple of years so... I guess I must be wrong because the world just celebrated 40 years since the first call from a mobile device. The Guardian compiled a nice set of pictorials of the mobile's existence and evolution all the way up to Apple's current iPhone 5, BlackBerry Z10 and Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S 4. Very informative indeed.

Kangaroo Culling

Often I read about how lovely kangaroos are but not this time. A Reuters photographer follows through this controversial but deemed necessary activity of killing kangaroos by licensed government shooters in Australia.

Mobs of kangaroos can quickly damage the environment and compete with livestock for scarce food, impacting the livelihood of farmers.

But the saddest part why the government resorted to this was the effect of something that started way back some 220 years ago:

"After Europeans settled in Australia some 220 years ago, they chopped down millions of trees, and created much more grassland which the kangaroos have thrived on. As a result, their numbers have increased dramatically, and so in order to keep the natural balance for the environment to be sustainable (especially during a drought), their numbers have to be reduced. So actually, it’s our fault."

Millions of kangaroos need to be killed every year because it's the fault of us humans.

April Fools' Day

Slashgear has a great list of April Fool's tricks from big boys such as Nokia, Samsung, Google teams (how I wish ending Google Reader was just an April Fool's joke), Ikea, etc.

Check them out for some fun!