GoodBye To 115 Years Old Pudu Jail

 By: ryan    3:32 PM  Worth A Read   No comments

Name: Pudu Jail

Age: 115 years old

Pudu Prison (photo from google.com)

It's sad to see, the iconic Pudu Jail being tore down yesterday night around 1030pm. According to TheStar:

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With just a few strikes from an excavator, parts of the iconic Pudu Prison wall came crashing down last night, marking the beginning of a new era for the historical area.

Even before the clock struck 10pm, people were crowding Jalan Pudu to witness the tearing down of part of the 394m prison wall.

Cameras were flashing the moment an excavator started demolition of the wall from inside the prison area at about 10.20pm.

Curious onlookers also hurried to pick up fallen bricks to take home as souvenirs.

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Pudu Jail might not a pretty sight to most of Malaysian but at least they reminds us of history, murals that were painted by the prisoners, and all the haunted stories that do exist.

The current ruling government (BN) give their green light to UDA Holdings Sdn Bhd, the company that is said to have acquired the prison land to make way for shopping complex.  The government finally decided to destroy this historic icon on yesterday night. When the MP for Bukit Bintang Fong Kui Lun (DAP) asked why the building is not being retained as part of Malaysia's heritage, Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Hussain (UMNO-BN) replied: "To our opinion, it's not something to be proud of." (this minister surely have some shit blocking his mind...please define in what way the prison humiliated us? Or because it's something that are not build by Malaysian?)

Heavy traffic during peak hour (by sloone.wordpress)

When asked what are they planning to develop on that land? The main answer was to make better roads to ease traffic congestion in that area. But another reason was....(people are not stupid) of course to make more money by building more shopping complexes. So they are telling those bull as more shopping complex means more cars and more traffic. 

But hey, why everyone seems to be sadden and so concern about the demolition of Pudu Jail. We can understand why we need to be “sad” as this is what Malaysian mentality was. Only when we really losing on something then we grieves for it. If we do really care about Pudu Jail and want it to be maintain as a heritage site, during the partial demolition which started last year, those who are "grieving" now should do something about it back then.

So good jobs guys!! Continue to demolish more historical site in our city. First they decided to move the palace to Jalan Duta due to some reasons. Then, they want to move the Parliment to Putrajaya (really waste our taxpayers money) and now they demolish Pudu Jail to make way for shopping complex. And is quiz time everyone, can you guys name 10 buildings which are serves as landmark in KL now?

Some may agree to that it should go as to make way for better development but some said that, taking away Pudu Prison is a waste because whatever is built there will be haunted.......

                                                              --Images by TheStar
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For more pictures on Pudu Jail, visit this blog

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The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

 By: ryan    2:45 PM  Books, Stephenie Meyer   No comments

Title: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Publisher: Little Brown Book
ISBN: 9780316127684

Back Cover text
Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion.

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Please email me if you want a full pdf version of the book for free

For more reviews, please visits
StephanieMeyer
BSCReview  
WondrousRead

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Jllen Kang

 By: ryan    11:44 AM  Dear Diary   No comments

Since I had promised Jllen that if one day he gonna leave the company, I will have to write a post as a dedication to him. So this day had really come and now, I am scratching my head on how and what I gonna write bout him. So for not squeezing my brain too much, I decided to squeeze others brains as well (Jllen's friends) sorry guys. So without hesitating, I send out mails to his friends asking "What do they think of Jllen" and here are some of of the replies that I got back:

From Miss Elyn Ting:
"1) de way he speak hardly to understand
 2) wash cup take a long time to wash
 3) like to simply give ppl flower flower name-means simply give name to other ppl la "

From Miss Kai Lin:
"Jllen ar... actually is a funny guy too, but sometimes i don't understand what he said. Then, u cannot trust 100% of what he told u cos he always cheat me =.= (hehe..not only i said, but his ex-colleague also said like that :p) I still remember that a case happened recently. 1 day i met him at the water dispenser there, of cos will chit-chat a bit lo..then i told him that purchasing job is easy to find cos no need a specific cert or qualification for it, unlike accounts, need at least lcci. But he told me that purchasing also need a cert which call PPP. Wasei..i really believe that got a cert call PPP n ask the full name of PPP. U know what he told me? PPP = purchasing purchasing purchasing =.=||| hmm...mayb tis consider as 冷笑话 (cold jokes)??? but not cheat."

From Mr Isaac Chin
"grey shoe", tall n dark" ** (grey shoe) fui hai, the words sound very similar for humorous in cantonese**

From Miss Xiaoqi
"actually, jllen is a "cold kidding man"....his kidding really boring one...haha and nobody can give him comment....then he also can get high on it.....ahahahaha...."

From Mr June Loo
"he always said joke to us , he look like very cool , actually he is a friendly guy, he always change people name , and the name very ugly 1, like me, he always call me " ah kiang " , =.=!! but just funny la !! erm......, still got many, but ...sorry~~~ "

From Miss Joey Yong
"Cool man"

So far, from all the comments stated above, I do experienced some of it myself. For example, Jllen indeed enjoys telling jokes. But sometimes we (cause not only me) really can't catch what his jokes means. So I can't said those are cold jokes but maybe his EQs are very high which we ordinary people cannot understand. **Salute**

Next was, can't deny that he brings laughter to everyone. I still can recall back on one conversation we had on lunch time. He ask:

Jllen: Dong gor, where are you going to tapao?
Me: Behind Public bank.
Jllen: Wah so happy ah....
Me: Why happy le?
Jllen: Because there many thing to see....
Me: ??? starts popping above my head.......Huh, what things to see?
Jllen: A lot, you can see bank, atm machines and people......
Me: can't help but to laugh ..............

(Look how short am I when I stand next to him (Jllen))

The third was nicknames....since from the first day I know him, he already calling me funny names till at last he called me Dong gor (Big bro Dong). Since he is older than me giving me a "big bro" title surely make thing awkward and that is why when we saw each other we will says hello to each other and we slightly bow to each other. Funny eh?

(Sorry Jllen) This is about the ways he talks. Sometimes I really don't understand what he's trying to mean. No matter on what and when he starts talking, he looks and sound so serious (even on jokes). That's why most of the times, I must listen very carefully in order for me to catches what he's trying to mean. Where else, if really I missed what he's saying, I just smile. I thought that this is only happening to me but hahahah it seem that many people too do experiencing the same thing.

Beside that, regarding on the washing cups part, so far I never encounter before. So no comment on this. But from what I've observed, this suit him lor. He is indeed a person that not only kind, like to bring happiness to others but he is also an environmentalist. Here are the reasons why I credited this qualities to him:

1. Being a kind person
Some people are so stupid till the extend they didn't know how to use a dustbin. Dunno which moron after he used the hand towels, he will simply threw on the floor or worst, into the washing basin. So got one time, I saw Jllen this kind men picked them up an threw into the dustbin....kudos and salute to him. **Bow**

2. Bringing happiness
He likes to tells jokes, he likes to shows a lot of funny things, he likes to talks a lot things that make people happy...and because of all these, he has a great and deep impression on us.

3. Being an environmentalist
There's one time when I go to fix a printer in his department, a lot of papers are wasted because I was doing this test printing function. So he brings me a stack of recycle papers to use on. Then I teased him by saying, "company resources must fully utilize". Then he give a finger-sign asking me to come to his desk and show an email to me. He reads it out as I can't read Chinese. The email showing in comic format that the Mother Earth is ill, global warming, and natural disasters that happened because of human not doing enough to protect the Mother Earth. That time I was dumbstruck on his concerns on Mother Earth and I do felt embarrassed by teasing him before. (Hey this doesn't mean that I am a jerk that not concern on Mother Earth)

Before I end this, this anthem of our company is dedicating to you,
(I know, they changed it from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)

Dazzle Recron Star
Dazzle Dazzle Recron Star
Creative, Committed Recronians you are!!

Dazzle Recron Star
Dazzle Dazzle Recron Star
Will attain the worlds of high and shines in trades of sky! (we sincerely hope that you will have a smooth and happy environment on your new job)

Yeah yeah, I know this is super lame song to used as an ending and worst to use this as a dedication but still, I think that this may make some of you have a good laugh recalling when those people that really singing the song during our annual dinner (having standing straight and proud) as thought as this is an national anthem.  Where else it's only a modify version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star....So....Good luck and take care, Mr Jllen Kang....

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Ford County

 By: ryan    2:13 PM  Books, John Grisham   No comments

Title: Ford County
Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Random House Publishing 
ISBN:  9780553386813

Back Cover text
Number 1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham takes us back to Ford County, Mississippi, the setting of his first novel, A Time to Kill. This riveting collection of short stories features an unforgettable cast of characters: Wheelchair-bound Inex Graney and her older sons embark on a bizarre road trip through the Mississippi Delta to visit Inez's youngest son, Raymond, who is on death row. A hard-drinking, low-grossing divorce lawyer fed up with his wife , his life, and the law plans a drastic escape after an unexpected phone call. A quiet, unassuming data collector sets out to bring down a flashy casino owner with his skill at blackjack as payback for the theft of his wife. A stalker hunts victims in a retirement home, a lawyer confronts a vengeful adversary from the past, and a young man from a prominent family is driven off by scandal and fear but finds unexpected redemption on the wrong side of the tracks. Often hilarious, frequently moving, and always entertaining, this collection makes it abundantly clear why John Grisham is our most popular storyteller.

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I never enjoy reading crimes, investigations or criminal types of fiction books. This one is definitely my first and it's not disappointing. Moreover it's in short stories. I likes short stories compares to regular books. What I can said is John Grisham really knows how to lure you to read more and more. Overall, I enjoyed the reading.

 For more reviews, visits
John Grisham
Washington Post

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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

 By: ryan    2:45 PM  Books   No comments

Title: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Publisher: Disney Digital Books
ISBN: 9781423117803

Back Cover text
Will Time Stand Still?

Long ago, in the sand-swept land of Persia, one king ruled with fairness and strength. His name was King Sharaman. Blessed with two sons, Sharaman still longed for one thing, a son he knew would love him for himself alone, not for the crown that might one day be his. And so, one fateful day, Sharaman saved a young urchin from the streets of Nasaf. This boy would grow into the man known as Prince Dastan.

Years later, the task of rulling the vast Persian Empire has fallen on Sharaman's eldest son, Tus, and the king's brother, Nizam. When Tus lays siege to the sacred city of Alamut, he sets in motion events that threaten to destroy the entire world. Now Dastan, along with the beautiful but mysterious Princess Tamina must set out on a journey to find the mythical Sands of Time and sale all the prince holds dear.  
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What I've Bought (06.06.2010)

 By: ryan    10:20 AM  Dear Diary   No comments

                         1. Snakes Roosters and Pigs - Tsem Tulku Rinpoche (NEW)
                         2. Twenty Challenges To Enlightenment - Master Cheng Yen

                             3. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
                             4. The Book of Origins - Trevor Homer

                             5. Learning English Proverbs - Oh Teik Theam
                             6. Learning English Idioms - Oh Teik Theam

                                  7. The Ford County - John Grisham (NEW)
                                  8. The Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time (NEW)

9. Words of Wisdom From His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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Oprah: A Biography

 By: ryan    5:03 PM  Books, Kitty Kelley   No comments

Title: Oprah: A Biography
Author: Kitty Kelley
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
ISBN: 9780307394866

Back Cover text
For the past twenty-five years, no one has been better at revealing secrets than Oprah Winfrey. On what is arguably the most influential show in television history, she has gotten her guests, often the biggest celebrities in the world to bare their love lives, explore their painful pasts, admit their transgressions, reveal their pleasures, and explore their demons. In turn, Oprah has repeatedly allowed her audience to share in her own life story, opening up about the sexual abuse in her past and discussing her romantic relationships, her weight problems, her spiritual beliefs, her charitable donations, and her strongly held views on the state of the world.

After a quarter of a century of the Oprah-ization of America, can there be any more secrets left to reveal?
Yes. Because Oprah has met her match.

Kitty Kelley has, over the same period of time, fearlessly and relentlessly investigated and written about the world's most revered icons: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, England's Royal Family, and the Bush dynasty. In her #1 bestselling biographies, she has exposed truths and exploded myths to uncover the real human beings that exist behind their manufactured facades.

Turning her reportorial sights on Oprah, Kelley has now given us an unvarnished look at the stories Oprah's told and the life she's led. Kelley has talked to Oprah's closest family members and business associates. She has obtained court records, birth certificates, financial and tax records, and even copies of Oprah's legendary (and punishing) confidentiality agreements. She has probed every aspect of Oprah Winfrey's life, and it is as if she's written the most extraordinary segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show ever filmed, one in which Oprah herself is finally and fully revealed.

There is a case to be made, and it is certainly made in this book, that Oprah Winfrey is an important, and even great, figure of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. But there is also a case to be made that even greatness needs to be examined and put under a microscope. Fact must be separated from myth, truth from hype. Kitty Kelley has made that separation, showing both sides of Oprah as they have never been shown before. In doing so she has written a psychologically perceptive and meticulously researched book that will surprise and thrill everyone who reads it.

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In this book, Kitty Kelley provides a fascinating portrait of the other side of Oprah, where she does not want anyone to know. Some said that, the more you read about her, the less  you'll like her. The research, which includes interviews with Oprah's family member's, friends and other journalists which offers a thoughtful analysis of Oprah's relationship, childhood and the bad-side of Oprah.

For me, this book was fun to read. It was straightforward and well documented. I think other readers who likes Oprah and fans of her will find it interesting, revealing yet informative. I have watched many talk-shows by Oprah and charities that she had done. So no matter how revealing or how bad she's, she's still an icon, a fascinating actress, self-made billionaire African-American lady that help so many children and women and a great television personality.

Selling price: RM114.95 (currently MPH and Borders bookstores is giving 20% discount on the book)

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Highlights For June 2010

 By: ryan    4:31 PM  Books   No comments

1. The Passage - Justin Cronin  Pub Date: 08 June, 2010

"Every so often a novel-reader's novel comes along, an enthralling, entertaining story wedded to simple, supple prose, both informed by tremendous imagination. Summer is the perfect time for such books, and this year readers can enjoy the gift of Justin Cronin's The Passage. Read fifteen pages and you will find yourself captivated; read thirty and you will find yourself taken prisoner and reading late into the night. It has the vividness that only epic works of fantasy and imagination can achieve. What else can I say? This: read this book and the ordinary world disappears." - Stephen King

Read a sample chapter HERE

 2. My Name Is Memory - Ann Brashares   
     Pub Date: 01 June, 2010


My Name is Memory is the first in a trilogy. My Name is Memory is the first in a series in which Daniel, able to recall his past lives, attempts to convince Lucy that she is the woman he has loved through the ages.

Ann Brashares is the author of the young adult novels The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants, and Forever in Blue. This is her first novel for adults.

3. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - David Mitchell
    Pub Date:  29 June, 2010


The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is an epic novel set in 1799 in which young Jacob de Zoet, a clerk in the Dutch East Indies Company, arrives at a Japanese outpost to earn his fortune and sail back to his love, but instead falls for the daughter of a samurai.

David Mtchell, is also author to the book Cloud Atlas and Black Swan Green

 4. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender
     Pub Date: 01, June 2010

On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents’ attention, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.

The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden—her mother’s life outside the home, her father’s detachment, her brother’s clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.

 5. A Little Book of Language - David Crystal
     Pub Date: 01, June 2010

With a language disappearing every two weeks and neologisms springing up almost daily, an understanding of the origins and currency of language has never seemed more relevant. In this charming volume, a narrative history written explicitly for a young audience, expert linguist David Crystal proves why the story of language deserves retelling.

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Malaysian Maverick

 By: ryan    9:34 AM  Barry Wain, Books   No comments

Title: Malaysian Maverick
Author: Barry Wain
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9780230238732

Back Cover text
Critical Studies of The Asia-Pacific

The granson of an Indian Immigrant and the first Malay commoner to become prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohammad turned the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian country into one of the developing world's most successful economies. During his 22 years in power he adopted pragmatic economic policies alongside repressive political measures, and showed that Islam was compatible with representative government and modernization. Abrasive and outspoken, Mahathir emerged as a Third World champion and Islamic spokesman by condemning the West, not least for trying to impose liberal democracy and neo-liberal economics on developing nations. By raising living standards and winning international acclaim, he contributed to a sense of national identity, pride and confidence among ethnically diverse Malaysians. But in mixing business and politics, Mahathir encouraged cronyism and failed to prevent the spread of corruption. Authoritarian and impatient, he jailed opponents, sacked rivals and undermined institutions as he pursued his obsession with development. In retirement, he broke a promise to stay out of politics, falling out with his two successors while using all available means to protect his legacy.

PART I: The Making Of A Malay Champion Politicized by War and Peace An Early Introduction to Brutal Politics
PART II: Prime Minister for Life, Almost From Outcast to Presidential Premier The Vision of a Modern Nation A Volatile Mix of Business and Politics Scandal, What Scandal? Big, Bigger, Bust An Uncrowned King The Perils of a Pragmatic Islam A Strident Voice for the Third World The Destruction of a Designated Heir
PART III: Turmoil In Retirement A Bare-Knuckle Brawl of One Man's Legacy A Place in History

Barry Wain, a former editor of the Asian Wall Street Journal, is Writer-in-Residence at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. An Australian journalist who has lived in Asia for 37 years, he is author of The Refused, an account of the refugee outflow from Indochina after the Vietnam War.

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Read a sample chapter here

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