ACTIVELY BEING IRRESPONSIBLE

A lady in traditional costume travelling in the countryside.

Two parts:
The foreground
Lady potraying the "virgin" look by the way she cocked her head, the way she lifts up her dress a bit to prevent it from being dirtied, the way she held her cloak, the way she ties her hair, and the slightest hint of lip colouring that contrasted with her fair skin. Clad in non descript brown and purple, she looks like the flower of a village on the way back to her home.

The background
The lady is in a by the coutry beside a river or a waterfall within a thick conifer forest in a valley. Time is actually about 2-3pm (check her shadows) but colour of the picture is toned towards that of dusk time to match her costume.

Picture balance
Lady slight off to right side of the picture. Emphasizes where she is looking at the moment while giving ample room to show off the background. Background goes on to about 7 layers. Lady on the steep side of the rock gives the viewer the feeling of the lady is only stopping for a while before moving forward towards wherever she was looking at. You are almost expected to hear water gushing sounds and feel some water droplets spraying on your cheeks as you watch her. You will also think that she will look this way anytime now when she feels your presence.

I still remembered back in 2004 when this show was first shown in Malaysia in Astro. I came back one day and saw my mom watching this peculiar show and she said that it was new and very interesting. I dismissed it as just a regular Korean drama that was filled with tears and some very contemporary and unconventional story. Boy was I ever so wrong!




This is a story mainly about a girl in medieval Korea that tried very hard to achieve what she wanted and strived to become the first female emperor's doctor. In the time when the world considers women as the weaker sex and all the females in the palace belongs to the emperor, this is an epic tale of girl trying to clear her mom's reputation, weaving around the conspiracy and deceit within the palace, friendship and untainted true love.

The acting in this drama was superb to say the least. The characters development are really deep and you really feel the deep resentment and regret when Lady Choe turned from being a young and naive internal worker to a murderer later. Also for Geum-Ying where you could not help but to think she is one of the good guys in the beginning. Throughout the show, you can't help but develop feelings for the characters. The deep hate and anger that Jang Geum feels when she was betrayed by her friends, the untainted and traditional love (although not too plausible) of Jang Geum and the male lead, the simple joys of being in a family with Jang Geum's adopted father and mother and the feeling of being rewarded when all of Jang Geum's hard work and determination paid off.



The show was a whole phenomenon that sweep across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Canada, Chicago and Japan. In Hong Kong, it was the best performing foreign show with 40% ratings. It even had a "special edition" where they will showcase the many places, cultures and food/herbs in Korea that is presented in the show that might not be general knowledge to people outside of Korea.

Of course, the fans loved the female actress, Lee Young Ae, who is actually a veteran in the drama series first appearing on TV on 1993 and then regularly by 1995 in dramas as well as movies. She has the girl-next-door look and I would say that she is very very attractive even though she is already in her 30's. Strange enough, I share the same birthday as her, although 9 years removed apart. I also share the same blood type :P OK, I am getting creepy here. Currently this show has more impact to me than say, Star Trek:Voyager, my previous feel-good-inside fuel.

The most anticipated video of the year among hardcore gamers is out! FF VII (the game) came out in the year 1997 for Sony's Playstation™ and it surged up the charts to become one of the most memorable and beloved RPG game ever produced by Square Enix (Squaresoft back then).

You can get the movie either in the form of UMD (optical discs playable in Sony's PSP™) or DVD. Which one did I view? None. The only version that is out is the Japan only version. Being a typical Malaysian, I couldn't wait for the North American release and went to download a fan-subbed version found on the net. Alright, I 'fess up, I am a cheapo. Now on to the review!

The story takes place 2 years after Cloud and his friends defeated Sephiroth in a final battle that saw the planet's hidden energies, called Lifestream, stopped an earth-shattering meteorite summoned from space in the game. Everybody was supposed to live happiy ever after. Or so they all say.

Humans living on the now shattered planet began their long aching journey of recuperation. Cities were rebuilt, although they have left their old capital Midgar alone. But people were overcome with sadness. The Geostigma Symndrome. Even Cloud is affected by it, generating pain whenever he does battle using his inhuman speed, prowess and strength (to wield that freaking huge sword of his).


Hoorah to CG and big boobs! Tifa Lockhart on the phone

Tifa (friend of Cloud's, secret admirer) and the rest of the troop were leading separate lives and it was at the height of the spread of the myterious epidemic that 3 mysterious figures showed up. Kadaj, their leader, was going around intimidating people while looking for his 'Mother'. Of course, the 'Mother' that he was looking for was somehow related to the origins of Sephiroth and Cloud's existence. Project JENOVA. An inevitable clash is about to happen.


More sword than you can shake your stick at

Interestingly, Square Enix decides that this show is made in such a way that if you did not play the game (or at least hear your friends talking about it), it will be hard for a viewer to understand. There are some flashbacks and story telling involved but given the nature of confusing Japanese thinking, it only served to confuse the not-so-initiated viewer. There's very little talking in the first place to begin with.


...and one large Super Supreme. Make it pronto!

For the hardcore gamers however, this is THE show that you must watch this year. It will bring back memories of that fondly game we played back in 1997 during our younger years. Apart from the mind blowing CG, the viewer will be on the edge of his seat trying to consume the information presented (while trying hard to recall the 8 year old game) and be awed by the immensely complicated and seemingly unreal(but well choreographed) battles using swords, guns and *drools* big-ass cybercycles.

Watch this if you played the game. Watch this if you didn't play the game but you loved Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (FF:TSW). Watch this if you don't understand FF:TSW but you loved Aki Ross and the CG.

*There will be a surprise near the end as Square Enix rediscovers its roots at the art of making really scary and powerful villians that send chills down your spines.


Estuan Interius Iras Ne Vehementi!

Ok this pretty much describes me...

Alright, I have moved on to the less mainstream programs now.

First: Trillian
A messenger grouper of sorts. Logs on to my ICQ, Yahoo! and MSN all at the same time and merge all of my contacts together. Pretty nifty but you will have to forgo their emoticons, IMvironments and whatevernots that are only specific to that IM only...get it here @ Cerulean Studios

Pros: Reduces memory usage
Cons: No more IM specific stuffs...and where's Skype?

Second: Mozilla Firefox
I would say Tabbed browsing is wayyyy better than windowed browsing. I tried using Maxthon Browser (an IE skinner) and I quite like it. Still, it has all the IE funny bugs and security loopholes so I decided to switch to Mozilla's Firefox. It doesn't have as much features as the Maxthon browser but it is ok I guess and I can't get the set default browser going on nicely for Firefox....ugh. Get it @ Mozilla

Pros: No more loopholes and bugs
Cons: Webpage/browser compatibility, not as much feature as my previous IE skinner, freaking set default browser function not working like I wanted to...

Peace out...

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Originally uploaded by ycjoo.

Happy Birthday Shum! We had a GREAT time in Neway, Cheras. The buffet was good and the room is comfy. The sound system wasn't as friendly as other places but the customer service is impeccable. I guess that's their selling point cause it is slightly more expensive than other places. Attendees: Shum, Kenny, Yoke Han, Spencer, May and me. Missing is of course Szu King and Joshua. We really sang our hearts out and we even did Sexbomb! Next celebration we do something as fun (or more!) again!

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Originally uploaded by ycjoo.

Thank you god for putting this wonderful and scrumptious meal on my table. Thank you for those hot golden fries, for that bubbly gassy cup of cold soft drink, the deliriously delicious sundae and the nourishing and tasty burger. I also thank you that my budget allows binges like this and that I can still have some extra entertainment and lead a normal yet happy life even after purchases of food like this. Thank you too that my body is still whole and that I still have the necessary limbs for me to queue up and pick up this more than adequately sized and nutritious food for consumption. I thank Thee as well for letting me eat my food in peace without and annoyance from people or things that are undeniably but forgivably irritating. Lastly I thank you for this phone here that I am blogging from that it is still functioning optimally and did not create any problems that might disrupt this small prayer for this wonderful meal or the whole duration while the food is consumed.

I would say this past few weeks have seen me facing lots of ups and downs...as opposed to the current oil price which we only saw it moving one way: up.

More importantly, my mood has been swinging downwards as of late. Alas, there will be a couple of factors that lead me to my present state of mood.

First off, I faced another humiliating rejection again from the opposite sex. This time, it's because I haven't done enough homework. She is already taken. Sad thing was, my feelings for her was just only developing (early stages) and even though I don't really mind challenging another fellow male for a female of the species, I don't have the heart for it. I'm at the stage where I don't really feel like anything....yeap...my mood is that bad.

Secondly, I'm a slacker. I'll admit it here and now. I'm a slacker....there. It is out of the bag. I know I am one. I won't deny it. What can I do about it? Abso-fucking-lutely nothing. It is like the laziness is grafted unto me. Putting off things that are important. Lazying around on my bed. Skipping personal deadlines (own deadlines....not working deadlines....work is work). That doesn't really help on my mood either.

Also, seeing my friends happily coupled (on the surface, at least), seeing them getting what they want in life, my jealousy burns. Yes, my eyes are green with envy. So? I admit that I am quite loser-rific. I am also somebody who thinks he is so damn smart that he can skip the basics and jump straight to the juicy parts. Thing is, the world doesn't really work this way and whoever scrimped the basics will not be advancing any faster.

Pride, Lust, Anger, Greed, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth....I think I have ALL of the 7 deadly sins. And it doesn't help that the first letters of each sin forms the word P-L-A-G-G-E-S....whatever that means. Oh, and lack of sleep doesn't help either.

Luckily, on this day, my mood became better again. Thanks to my fellow colleagues and my good friend Shum, who is btw, much stronger emotionally than me and has way many more friends who appreciates him as much as he appreciates them. Kudos to you Shum! Also to my colleagues, who made my days here in this office a bit more enjoyable and a bit more fun.

Ending to a self-humiliating entry with something totally unrelated:

Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi, one of the most influential figures in modern social and political activism, considered these traits to be the most spiritually perilous to humanity:

Wealth without Work
Pleasure without Conscience
Science without Humanity
Knowledge without Character
Politics without Principle
Commerce without Morality
Worship without Sacrifice