Well well, looks like we Malaysian have more to be proud of. Our petrol prices officially increases again, and instead of a 10 cent increment like before, they decide to drop a nuclear into our wallets and increase it by a whopping 30 cents! Just FYI, we are currently paying RM1.61 for our petrol, but as of tomorrow, it is RM1.91. But I’m not that worried. I mean, our government is very rich. We can afford RM1.55 million paintings to be hanged inside MAS office. We also have big racing tracks and we have imbeciles working the government offices, what is there not to be proud of? Oh, that is not the only happy news. I also read some complaints by users in lowyat.net that the water in their house smells like rotten feces. As if our shit doesn’t smell bad enough, they want us to bath in smelly waters so our body will smell like shit too, nice.

There you have it, 2 very happy news, petrol price increment and shitty waters. It looks like we have to rethink so stuff for the next general elections.

A few months back, I wrote this piece about how the new guy that was chosen to front the new James Bond movie is the ugliest James Bond ever. And also, I got a few not so nice comments because of that. Well, it looks like I am vindicated when this little news makes it into the World Wide Web (and also into some publishing’s) a few days ago, and I am so happy! For people who have been living in the cave, here’s the snippet from that news that I got from Yahoo!:

"EON Productions angered fans around the world when they fired Pierce Brosnan at the height of his popularity as Bond," said a statement on the site. "To add insult to injury, EON cast a short, blond, odd-looking Daniel Craig in the role of Bond.

And that is not the most insulting thing they can say about Daniel Craig. The worst is yet to come:

"Craig, described by The New York Times as having a 'pale, flattened face and large, fleshy ears' is a terrible choice for Bond. If EON Productions and Sony Pictures will not accept they've made a big mistake, then Bond fans promise to boycott 'Casino Royale'! "

I am particularly thrilled with the bolded sentences. And that just proves that Daniel Craig is *not* James Bond. If possible, they shouldn’t have fired Pierce Brosnan because that guy is one of the best James Bond ever, next to Sean Connery of course. No one can upstage Connery.

I won’t be boycotting Casino Royale. Just because I hate that Daniel Craig, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt. I love James Bond and I won't allow a "pale, flattened face and a large, fleshy ears" guy ruin it for me. Let’s just hope the movie does not turn out to be a dud. I have faith in Martin Campbell because I think Goldeneye is one of the best Bond film (the last few ones is kinda crappy, especially Tomorrow Never Dies).

Because of this dude, I always get depressed when the calendar reads 14th February every year. He is the mastermind behind this Valentine’s Day fiasco, and because of that, I wish I could travel through time, and kick his ass! It is sickening, seeing couples going gaga over Valentine’s Day. Flowers, chocolates, flavored condoms, it’s like enough! I think we should just abolish this Valentine’s Day. Shouldn’t we love everyday? Why only once a year? Why not we have Valentine’s Day everyday, spread the love instead of strapping bodies with explosives, or draw caricature to insult other people’s religion.

And yes, I am of course extremely jealous at people who can celebrate the Valentine’s Day with their love ones. You will feel what I feel if you have been single for the past 23 years.

If you guys manage to catch the Grammy Awards a few days ago, you would have known that Madonna and Gorillaz are the opening act for the award show, and it was awesome! It surprised at how well Madonna’s Hung-Up chorus blends with the guitar piece from the song Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz. And when Madonna came on stage to sing her part, I thought it was really her there, but it was actually a screen with her dancing with the virtual characters from Gorillaz (Damn, those DLP screen is very clear!). That was my favorite part, when Noodle start to pluck his guitar and Madonna dancing around Murdoc, Gorillaz bass player. Everything was flawless. I wish that they make an official release for the track, like what Jay-Z and Linkin Park did. You know the mash-up. It just would be awesome, Madonna/Gorillaz mash-up of Hung-Up/Feel Good Inc.

Why the Muslims all around the world are is making a big fuss about these drawings from the Danish newspaper? Burning buildings, flags, boycotting Danish products, it is all so stupid. Let me tell you why:

1. Burning embassies – Those embassies has got nothing to do with the drawings
2. Burning flags – Those flags didn’t make the drawings
3. Boycotting Danish products – Unless they got hands, I don’t think those butter cookies and Lego blocks can draw

And I’m not telling them to go into denial either. As a Muslim, I am offended and outraged by the drawings, but I express it in more subdued manner. I condemned whoever did the drawings for the sake of “freedom of speech”. The drawings is definitely not “freedom of speech”, it is a full frontal attack of the religion and very distasteful. We Muslims do have sense of humor. We are not uptight. But of course, there are limits.

But I am more appalled with how the Muslims around the world respond to this matter. Seriously, what is wrong with them? Storming buildings, burning them, torching flags? It will not solve the matter. It just shows that we Muslims are barbaric. Can’t we take a hint? The drawings are a way for them to provoke us, see what can tick us off, and they just won. The Koran explicitly said that we must be calm in whatever situations we are in, but it’s only been like less than a week since the drawings made it into the Danish newspaper, and people are already dying around the world. Yes, because of some stupid drawings, and extremism, and the lack of common sense, people have to die. The Muslims have to understand that there people out there that still have negative views about Islam, and they just have to accept it. There are 6 billions human being, you don’t expect all of them to believe what you believe are you? Compromise, understanding, and moderation, this is what we need to live in peace. You want people to take you seriously? Stop burning buildings and flags and try to understand other people’s beliefs. And you want people to stop burning buildings and flags? Stop insulting other people’s beliefs in a way you see fit.

I am so happy! Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson posed nude in the new Vanity Fair! But damn that Tom Ford gets to nibble on Keira’s ear! Damn it, that’s why you become gay. Gay people are so lucky. Isaac Mizrahi played with Scarlett Johansson breast during the Golden Globe, and now Tom Ford gets to pose with both Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson who are both naked! Just look at the photo. Lucky bastard! Anyway, I’m running off to the newsstand tomorrow. Hope they got a copy of the latest Vanity Fair already.

Most of films released in 2005 deals with controversial subjects. From terrorism to Middle East oil policies, filmmakers really take chances in 2005. One film in particular, Brokeback Mountain, has been getting a lot of attentions because of its controversial subject, which is homosexuality. Directed by Ang Lee with screenplay by Diana Ossana and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry, Brokeback Mountain tells the story of the 2 cowboys who works in a ranch together. Along the way, the get two know each other more and the relationship became more than just friends, they explore each other both emotionally and physically.

When I first read about Brokeback Mountain a year ago, I thought Ang Lee is losing his mind. After the box office bomb, Hulk, I can’t believe he is actually tackling a homosexual film. I was hoping he make more of those action films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But when the film won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, I knew I have to watch this film to see what the fuss is all about. I am in for a surprise. It is a very, very, very, very, very good film. The last film I watched that shook me to my very core is Gaspar Noe’s I Stand Alone, which I find very good but extremely disturbing. Brokeback Mountain did that too, but it is not at all disturbing, it is emotional, moving and almost make me broke a few tears with some of the scenes in the film. It tells the story of 2 cowboys, Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) who finds love when they were working together herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain. Their love for each other lasted 20 years. In between those 20 years, they would meet up a few times on Brokeback Mountain for one of those intimate moments. For people who are homophobic, the sound of that is a little bit disgusting, but most of the time they would sit there, and talk about how they miss each other, how they can’t live without each other. Both of them are married so they have to hide their relationship from their spouses.

The best thing about this film is the story. It’s not so much about homosexuality. It’s more towards relationship, the ups and downs, and the challenges that they have to face. So do not expect to see 2 cowboys heating the screen up with physical actions because there are none. The acting was amazing. Heath Ledger and Jack Gyllenhaal did a few romantic scenes in the film and they don’t seem uncomfortable at all. They are very professional, considering that these 2 actors are straight. They even got Oscar nomination each for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. And the actress in the film is not bad either. Michelle Williams, who portrays Alma, Ennis’s wife, is amazing. She is also nominated for an Oscar, Best Supporting Actress. Anne Hathaway did an amazing job as Lureen, Jack’s wife. Most of the supporting actors did in amazing job portraying their characters. The cinematography in the film is also amazing (I used a lot of “amazing” didn’t I? That is because the film is amazing!). The lush jungle setting, the huge mountains, and the river that runs blue, it is hard not to fall in love with the film because of the setting. The film was shot in Canada even though the story is set in Wyoming, America. And of course, all of this might not be possible if not because of the director, one of the most underrated filmmaker, Ang Lee. I think the film kind of vindicate the mistake he did with Hulk.

Now I understand why this film got so many awards (including Academy Awards nominations a few days ago where it got a nominated in 8 categories including Best Picture) and if you are still asking yourself whether you should see this film or not, then the answer is yes, you should. One of the greatest love story of our time, albeit a homosexual one that is. You can’t catch this film in the Malaysian cinema, because of the storyline but there’s always a way. I won’t tell you though because you already know what it is. I’m giving the movie a THIS MOVIE ROX!!!!! - 5 Stars