Cool or what?

Makes you think - what are some of the best practice of hybrid products? Products that are essentially different but when combined, become an ingenious produce. If whatever that can be discovered had been discovered, founded had been founded, then I think it's time for mankind to embark on a hybrid journey. What that had been discovered and founded to be fine tuned to perform even more effectively with thoughtful usability.

*Original post here.

Chinese or what?

The Olympics ended spectacularly last night. I still remember the auspicious date of 080808, also the momentous night of the opening. Needless to say, I was impressed. It wasn’t just the Olympics, it was China’s way of showing the world, if this was what she can do for sports, imagine what she could potentially do for everything else. It was her way of getting back at those who undermined her since the less than popular Cultural Revolution days which happened almost half a century ago. With pyrotechnics of equivalent scale, launched simultaneously at the Tiananmen Square last night's closing ceremony, I’m pretty sure Chairman Mao would have rolled over to catch a glimpse too.

Closer to home, ever since the eventful night of lighting the torch of hope in that impressive nest, I’ve been hearing Malaysians commenting on all sorts. Mainly it was about them feeling proud of China and to be more precise, they were proud to be Chinese. Hang on, didn’t I just say Malaysians? Well, Malaysian Chinese to be more precise. I can’t help but wonder where then do our roots begin and where do they end? Honestly. I couldn’t help but feel some for form of emotions stirring in me too when I saw what China did with flying athletes and super visual projections. Yea, I was proud too. Just that I wasn’t sure if it was because I was Chinese or because after my accidental interest in studying about the Little Red Country while in university and no one can deny, they had come far. If my friends and I were proud of being Chinese, would that be considered as being disloyal to our native land? I don’t know. If we grew up without having to identify our ethnicity or to be more exact, without having to be identified through checking the relevant racial boxes every time we had to fill up a form, would we have proclaimed that we are proud to be Chinese? Well, here’s to you, Mr. Government, who can you blame when we were (and still are) being constantly reminded that we’re Chinese?

Well, no need to blow things out of proportion. What we felt was certainly some form of emotional pride (wherever that strange feeling came from). But beyond that, I think the most poignant moment came from seeing badminton silver medalist, Lee Chong Wei repeatedly kissed the Malaysian flag on his baju when he won against South Korean Lee Hyun-il in the Olympics semi-final. I think for any Malaysians regardless of racial segregation, that was what it meant to be Malaysian. It certainly brought some of us back to the glorified Thomas-Cup-Sidek-brothers-Foo-Kok-Keong days. I remember what it was like to stay up that night, gripping with the nation to see them rose as champions. I remember because the next day was a declared national holiday, so there was no school. The perk aside, I just hope we needn’t wait for every 20 years to witness something like that.

*Sparks salutes Lee Chong Wei regardless if he’ll be given datukship in Penang and hopes that he stays true to himself – a great sportsman – and that he will be willing to carry the responsibility of inspiring the young and creating significant change in our sports industry which was inevitably bestowed upon him with that Olympic silver medal.

**Photos from Telegraph UK and NST Malaysia.

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Can we drive an environmental car please?

Dubbed Honda OSM, this is the latest sports vehicle from the automaker that vowed to challenge current industry carbon emission standards.

Makes me wonder. All these great cars - the Civic Hybrid, Toyota Prius and the great FCX Clarity which, listen to this, produce ZERO emission - heck, you can even drink from the tail pipe! Why on earth are they so groundbreakingly expensive in our country?! Not to mention, we don't even have half of the models mentioned above. And we're not even refering to the Beemer Hybrid. They say, we, (ahem, as in Malaysians) are not ready. Or are we? Who isn't ready? The majority? They never will! It's up to the minority to drive them. And if these earth-friendly machines are not here, then what drive are we talking about!?

I've got it all figured out. For really practical A to B people, they should drive a Puyo, for sports lovers, they should get something like the OSM model, for performance junkie then it has to be the X6 Hybrid (Beemer - can't think of one yet from Honda), for the practical and performance and stylish people with an extremely heavy conscience, they should ride on the FCX Clarity. And there. The world is immediately a cleaner, greener and happier place.

The Green Chronicles.

Just started on a new project with DU called The Green Chronicles. Not sure if that name is apt for the research but I think it should work fine for the blog that was set up to keep up with the reports, activities and archives.

It's gonna be a lot of work but I think there will be a lot of fun too. Great things to come, so follow us on our journey there.

How to have a wardrobe of designer stuff and pay a fraction for it?

Is this possible? A designer clothing, shoes, bags and accessories bank? Shared by a group of friends? Good friends? Best friends? How do you avoid cat fights when you need the same pair of Blahniks that your bff decides to strut on to her company's party on the same night?

Inspired by a trail of fashion movies, chick flicks and lits, designer wear is now even more accessible than ever. Especially when you're talking about a segment of very independent female power (more on the spending, less on the will) that is growing in the middle upper class segment. Sure, they can afford a piece or two designer bags which cost RM5, 000 each but with the bombardment of media these days fueling this insatiable desire to carry the latest season badges, who can resist the addiction?

In UK I read, women (best girl friends) are sharing closets. They purchase bags and shoes of thousands of pounds at a fraction of the price because it's split between the 'owners'. The only setback is, your closet may not be living together with you for at least an agreed period of time. I think it has always been a common practice among sisters to share clothes and stuff especially if they're the same size and have similar taste. But among friends? What happens if one decides to migrate? How do we fight for the custody of our shoes? Do you think it's even possible for Malaysian women to do that? I think it is. Who would start first? Is it possible to do this amongst strangers? What about an online fashion bank? How would it be different from the rental concept? What can be shared and what cannot?

The Economist.

Instead of reviewing books, I've been reviewing a fair share of magazines lately. Well, that's because that's what I've been reading of late. Well, it is certainly a quicker feat compared to digesting thousands of words in font size 7 and another hundreds of pages.

Anyway, I've been reading The Economist and it is certainly a news magazine serving the very intellectual and the very politically concerned. I bought a copy because I was researching on this 'Green' movement and they had a very comprehensive special report on future technologies. However, other than the special report, I had trouble concentrating on everything else. Maybe I wasn't the target audience (I was 'accidental'), still overall I found the magazine to be rather dry. I don't know, maybe this is a magazine read by the Bushes and the Howards and the what nots, it certainly isn't what I would consider a weekend read. Great for research but... I shall leave it as that.

So far the only one with a real sense of humour.