David Gahan's bastard son ?

I failed to mention this earlier but when I was watching Indiana Jones 4, I couldn't help but noticed the glaring similarities between Shia LaBeouf and Dave Gahan, frontman of Depeche Mode. To see what I mean just have a look at these two side by side (below):

Shia Labeouf (left) David Gahan (right)
Now you see what I mean ? I wonder if anyone else noticed the similarities. If there is any biopic movie to be made about Dave Gahan, Shia would be the top choice.

Watched Indiana Jones 4

I brought my wife and baby to watch the movie yesterday afternoon at 2pm. It almost didn't happened as my wife was worried that the baby might not be able to stand the whole 2 hours in the theater. But I felt pretty confident that she would be alright as I know her character by now and assured my wife. With 20 mins left on the clock before the movie starts, we left our place and made for the theater which we reached ... just in time. The theater wasn't overly crowded and I noticed quite a number of people in their 40s and 50s, clearly Indy fans right from the very start. There were lots of little kids there as well accompanied by their parents to watch probably their first Indy flick. About the movie itself, it was a bit lackluster at times and really tried my patience. I must admit that I went in feeling more ebullient than when I came out. There's no denying that it is a worthy addition to the series but I'm surprised some rank it above the 2nd and 3rd installments. Indiana Jones and UFOs just didn't quite do it for me I'm afraid. It's a wrong mix. For my baby Sophia it's her first movie experience in the cinemas. She sat and watched the events unfold in the screen silently for the first 10 mins without moving, maybe just a little bit overwhelmed by the whole new experience. Then she started eating some candies offered by her mum and began to gaze around the darkened theater. That was interrupted by the gunshots and explosions from the opening scenes and she appeared a little startled but once she got the hang of it that its just a movie she started enjoying herself. By the half hour mark, she was laughing and smiling and pouncing up and down. However, by the hour and a half mark, she got bored with the movie and the fact that she has been sitting in one place for so long. She started to get really restless and even attempted to disturb the patrons seated in front of us. I was thinking of bringing her out for some fresh air but then she started to follow the movie again, only for a few minutes though, as she fell asleep and unfortunately missed the finale.

A friend told me that the movie was shot in classic Technicolor and not on digital. I read last year that Sean Connery was approached to reprise his role as Indy Senior but he declined it with good humor too:

"I get asked the question so often, I thought it best to make an announcement," says Connery in statement on the film's official website. "I thought long and hard about it and if anything could have pulled me out of retirement it would have been an Indiana Jones film. I love working with Steven and George, and it goes without saying that it is an honor to have Harrison as my son.

"But in the end, retirement is just too damned much fun. I, do however, have one bit of advice for Junior: Demand that the critters be digital, the cliffs be low, and for goodness sake keep that whip by your side at all times in case you need to escape from the stunt coordinator! This is a remarkable cast, and I can only say, 'Break a leg, everyone.' I'll see you on May 22, 2008, at the theater!"

Connery had retired from acting in 2005."

So what's your favorite moment from the movie? Mine was all the scenes involving the retrieval of the fedora.

Winner Of Akademi Fantasia 6 is ... Stacy ?

Tomorrow's the final of Akademi Fantasia 6. There's no doubt in my mind that Stacy will win easily. Yes, Stacy will be crowned the new Akademi Fantasia winner tomorrow night. I guessed correctly last season's winner, Mila and I think my guess is right again for this season. My wife actually got me watching the Akademi Fantasia show last year. I am now a bigger fan than she is ! Ha ha.

Birthday Blues

One thing I learned from making money on the internet is that its not sustainable. I was making RM2,000 - RM3,000 a month from Google Adsense but got banned last year. I then made RM5,000-RM6,000 a month from an affiliate program but got dumped from the program today for no good apparent reasons. And it happened right on my birthday too - sigh ...that's cruel :(

Parking at Spring

At the tHe Spring shopping mall, I just realised they now have a parking toll system installed. And its all fully automated. No parking attendants sitting in their claustrophobic booth to collect money from you. No.

When you drive in, you first obtain a ticket similar to the one depicted below:

Now that's pretty standard procedure at all car parks, right?

Now when it comes to paying, that's when things start to get different. Instead of paying at the parking exit you now have to pay before you get into your car ! You have to make sure that you settle the payment before you drive your car to the exit. This is important and should be heeded if you don't want to get stuck at the exit with dozens of cars angrily honing at you. Good for me my family informed me beforehand otherwise I would have got myself into a rather embarrassing situation.

This is how the machine looks like. Pretty ugly and cold looking, isn't it?

The payment procedure is a breeze. Just stick in your card to reveal how much you owe in parking fees. Then just pay the amount by sliding in your ringgit note(s).

Parking wasn't really that expensive. I was there for about 2 hours and I only paid RM 2. In the current economic climate, it could have been worse. And anyways the toilet facilities are still free, so there.