Nylon Pink's "Ice Cream" (HyunA cover)

Nylon Pink's did another cover of my favourite piece "Ice Cream""! The lyrics is dirtier than the Korean original. Some notable lines include "Come on and lick my cone," and "A scoop of me/ mouth full of glee."

Check out other covers and originals on NylonPinkOfficial channel.

Dirty can be beautiful too.

Bikyaku Jidai attempts to be the Japanese Girls' Generation

Bikyaku Jidai, a 7-member Japanese girl group that is supposed to be the ‘Japanese Girls’ Generation‘ are receiving attention. 

The ladies of Bikyaku Jidai are set to debut on October 24th, they have an average height of 171cm (5’7″), and keep a strict diet of 1500 kcal per day, which is known as the ‘Girls’ Generation diet’. It is also reported that the members will be kicked out of the group at any point if they cannot maintain their model like bodies. 

‘Bikyaku’ was a word used to often describe Girls’ Generation (whose Japanese name is Shoujo Jidai) and their long legs, so fans immediately noticed the similarities. Not only so, but their choreography includes very similar moves to the trademark moves of “Genie“. 

In an interview, they said, “We want to do a live in harmony with Korea’s Girls’ Generation. We don’t want to fight them, and we’ll go through struggles together. We’ll co-exist.” 

However, netizens felt uncomfortable about the new group and think they’re a blatant copy. They said, “What happened to their pride?“, “Girls’ Generation may be famous, but this crosses the line“, and “I’m at a loss of words“. 

taken from allkpop.com

Not long after clicking "Play" at their MV Perfect Imagination, I immediately laughed out loud. My heart knows that they couldn't make it in the industry. 'Bikyaku' is translated into "beautiful legs" in Japanese. Before Girls' Generation debuts in Japan, they were featured in magazines for having "beautiful legs". They have good vocals, good dancing skills and awesome talents but having nice legs was used as an attention bait??!! LOL. Believe it or not, such was the publicity used to introduce Girls' Generation to Japanese fans.

   

Another EPIC FAIL to imitate Girls' Generation.

Nylon Pink's "Gee"

What an absolutely perfect rendition of Girls' Generation's "Gee"! Nylon Pink has decided to pay homage to my favourite Korean girl group with an English cover. Having been an SNSD fan for some time, it's a song that I instantly recognize.

#Bersih 3.0 birthday

It was my birthday.

 What started out as my trip to the city to fill my stomach with brunch, ended up as a meaningful day to connect with my beloved Malaysia. Doing Honours in Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has left me with little time to catch up with Malaysian politics. I shouldn't be bothered with Malaysian politics? I am still a Malaysian in my heart. It's a sense of belonging that no one can take it away.

Initially I wanted to have brunch on my own. There I met William Ng; I joined them to the rally at Federation Square.

Bersih is now in version 3.0 in such a short time frame. I wondered why. Lack of action since last year has brought the movement to a new level. I remembered chanting about "Fair and Clean Elections NOW" last year. The message was loud and clear. I clearly remembered the eight demands made for a level playing field. After one year, what have we got? Usage of indelible ink. I can laugh, one demand met out of eight is better than nothing at all? The crux of Bersih is to conduct a fair election right from the heart. It's useless to leave the exterior of a cup clean while leaving the interior filthy. The government has showed signs of giving in to the demand but I see no sincerity in their move. It's all but window dressing.

If so much the current administration fear fair and clean elections so much, they must have so much to hide.
So they hide behind the cloak of authority.

I was touched by a speech that mentioned about staying overseas and never come back, considering that the country is going down the drain. The truth is, the country is literally going down the drain. If it's not demanding for a clean system now, it's never. We have to do our children a service now. Now.

Back home, the significant landmark called Independence Square was cordoned off. The people are colonialized by their own government. Not one managed to set foot on the square. Independence was refused to the people.

Our independence lies in the humble ballot on polling day.

Propose like a scientist!

Guy propose marriage to his girlfriend while she was touring an electron microscope at Molecular Foundry, Berkeley Lab.

Meme Proposal Parody

The proposal video of Timothy Tiah to Audrey Ooi was so touching that it inspired another piece. Wait, I thought you're proposing to marry me?!

Electronic Engineering @ La Trobe University

I visited La Trobe University at Bundoora, Melbourne to have a look at final year projects by Electronic Engineering students.

La Trobe University provides state of the art facilities for the best learning experience. Graduates of La Trobe enjoy high employment rate for their up to date knowledge.


Microscope used for viewing delicate electronic components.


A toy car with a LCD display panel. Remote controlled via Bluetooth.


An all terrain Insectabot capable of navigating rough surfaces and harsh surroundings.


Rubik's Cube produced using 3D printing technology. Made of plastic. You can produce 3D objects as you desire.


An Android smartphone.


A toy car balanced using a gyroscopic algorithm programmed in its electronics.

Students making these final year projects go on to exciting careers with well known corporations like Nokia.

The university uses an innovative teaching method when you enrol in the course. Instead of traditional lectures, you course is organised into modules with extensive hands-on learning in labs. This allows you to learn on your own pace and spend more time on one on one consultations with lecturers until you understand something. It's up to you to explore the topics.

Visit Department of Electronic Engineering website at La Trobe to know more.

miss A - Touch

The music video of "Touch" has finally been revealed after a few days of teasing.

Biracial girl group miss A is back with gothic concept. It's bound to be a visual treat!

They achieved all kill on music charts before they performed this on music shows! Isn't that exciting? I'm looking forward to their stages of "Touch" and hope they achieve the top position with their latest song.

Not forgetting that JYP Entertainment included English subtitles in the MV to cater international fans! You can turn on the subs by clicking the CC button.

One Valentine by DanKhoo Productions

When Love and Career come at the crossroads, which one will you choose? An illustrious career away from a person you treasure, or a romantic love that bears fruit?

How far are you willing to go for either, if so you choose?

Starring:
Joseph Germani
Sandra Tock

Producer:
DanKhoo Productions (Facebook page)

Teaser:


Video:

Sexy & I Know It (Hakka parody)

Kids, go and learn Hakka by watching this!



The Hakka sung in the parody resemble Fui Chew Hakka. I grew up exposed to two dialects of Hakka from my paternal and maternal families. My dad has a Fui Chew background while my mom speak Tai Poo Hakka.

I can tell apart Fui Chew and Tai Poo Hakka by pronunciation differences in certain words - 到 is pronounced as "dou" in Tai Poo Hakka and "dao" in Fui Chew Hakka; 好 as "hou" in Tai Poo and "hao" in Fui Chew.

Links:
The Star: Hakka CNY clip ala LMFAO goes viral online
Wikipedia: Hakka language

B.A.P.'s Warrior is #badass!

B.A.P. for Best, Absolute, Perfect is one of the highest anticipated debut in K-pop. All these while, three of the members were known - Bang Yong Guk, ZELO and Him Chan. Bang and ZELO showed us their capability in singing and rapping while Him Chan is host of MTV The Show together with Hyeri of Girl's Day.

B.A.P. is TS Entertainment's first boy band and one of the most ambitious project by the company to date. The band consists of Bang Yong Guk (leader & main rapper), HimChan (sub-vocalist, rapper), (Daehyun) (main vocalist), Youngjae (lead vocalist), Jongup (main dancer) and ZELO (lead rapper, lead dancer & maknae).

Teaser for Warrior showed us that the music video will be a #badass. I am not disappointed! Just as teased. All of them don't look like rookies.



Not only I like B.A.P. very much but TS Entertainment marketing strategy for their new boy band is commendable for building the most awaited debut in history.

Annoying Mandarin Orange wishes everyone Chinese New Year!

Wow Naga DDB introduced us to the long lost cousin of Annoying Orange. Speaks a different language but still as annoying as its Western counterpart.

Guess what? It's year of the Water Dragon! *This New Year, a lot of waterrrrrrrrr!*

Valentine's Day Contest by Creative Visual Studio

Good day readers. I had a chance to visit my friend FeeqSays' Creative Visual Studio in Puchong. What he has in store?


Tadah! A contest is going on! Here's your chance to win BIG!





In conjunction with Valentine's Day, Creative Visual Studio will be giving away prizes worth RM 4000 in total.

First Prize (worth RM 1570)

• Photoshoot up to 3 hours - worth RM 500
• Custom album/photobook - worth RM 400
• Valentine hamper - worth RM 200
• Computer card design + printing
• Exclusive photo frame
• Unlimited edited photos
• Printed photos

Second Prize (worth RM 1320)

• Photoshoot up to 3 hours
• Unlimited edited photos
• Valentine hamper
• Custom album
• Printed photos

Third Prize (worth RM 1110)

• Photoshoot up to 2 hours
• Unlimited edited photos
• Custom album
• Printed photos

How to participate in Valentine's Day Contest?

STEP 1. Tag yourself and your partner in the poster posted in this album Do inform Creative Visual Studio if you face any technical problem.
STEP 2. Take a photo of yourself and your partner and send it to contest@creativevstudio.com. Please include your name, your partner's name and contact no. Your contact no. will not be published.
STEP 3. Your photo will be uploaded into this album. Ask your friends to "Like" your photo.
STEP 4. Wait for the winners announcement on 1st of Feb 2012. The photo with the highest "Likes" wins!


How to vote for your friend?

STEP 1. "Like" Creative Visual Studio Facebook page.
STEP 2. Get into this photo album and click on your friend's photo.
STEP 3. "Like" the photo. You've cast your vote for your friend!
STEP 4. Don't forget to spread the news.

Terms and Conditions:

• Photoshoot will be based in Klang Valley depending on the organizer.
• Custom album can be collected 1 - 2 months after the photoshoot session.

Bang Yong Guk & Zelo First Asia Tour in Malaysia

I was excited to attend Bang Yong Guk 方勇国 and Zelo's fanmeet in Sg. Wang Plaza.

Yong Guk's rapping talent was featured in his labelmate Song Ji Eun's solo track, Going Crazy. It propelled him to fame - hence it's no question that Yong Guk is a rookie to watch this year!



We heard Yong Guk introduced himself in Malay "Nama saya Bang Yong Guk *spazzzzz*

They played mini games with lucky fans!



Yong Guk revealed names of other members in his band. They are Daehyun, Jong Up, Him Chan and Yong Jae.

More photos (taken from B.A.P Singapore Facebook):







Fancams:





Before they left for the day, Yong Guk thanked fans in Malay and Chinese!

I had a memorable K-pop fanmeet in my home country! Thanks to Inspire.ME and Latina Marketing for making this possible.

Related links:
Bang Yong Guk & ZELO Asia Tour in Malaysia
Bang Yong Guk and ZELO to visit Malaysian fans in January - JonYKT.com

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2011 for quasicrystals

Nobel Prize isn't all about following the hard and fast rules of Nature. When you come across an observation that's not explained by existing rules, you gotta find a new explanation, no matter how long the journey is. You just gotta believe your eyes provided that everything has been done right. Not only that, you have to fight hard to prove your point, because people don't have good forgeteries, as Peter Mitchell (pioneer of chemiosmosis theory in mitochondria) said it.

Dan Shechtman Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011 was such an example.



When he observed a sample of alloy consisting of aluminium and manganese, he saw this in the diffraction pattern:


A concentric ring of dots. It has a regular pattern but they do not repeat themselves. Hence, atoms in the solid are arranged in a regular but never repeating pattern. For this reason, it's called a quasicrystal.

Colleagues put him down. He was even asked to leave his research group for defending his findings. He was called to be "wrong according to the textbook. One of Dan's fiercest critic was Linus Pauling (Nobel Prize in Chemistry & Nobel Peace Prize laureate). Despite this he never gave up and worked to have his discovery published in a journal.

Eventually, Dan's findings was reconfirmed by other scientists. The discovery of quasicrystal even compelled the International Union of Crystallography to change the definition of a crystal from "a substance in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating three-dimensional pattern" to the broader "any solid with a discrete diffraction pattern" to accommodate future discoveries.

How to explain a structure with a regular but no repeating pattern? Islamic art has done it a few centuries ago. With a minimum of two types of tiles, you can create a pattern that never repeats itself.



I'm sure more substance with the attribute of quasicrystal will be discovered along the way. Who knows advanced materials with properties we've never thought before come from this?

You may call it strange or impossible. Quantum mechanics was called impossible at first, but without it we'll never enjoy computers today.

Subjects in my final semester

Good day, folks. I have finished my third year at University of Melbourne but I have not blogged about the subjects I've taken. I'm so excited about beginning my final semester, it was the last chance to put my scholarship into good use.

Cell Signalling and Neurochemistry: Just like humans need to communicate to form a society, cells in our body need to communicate with each other to keep the organism functioning. Growth factors and hormones are key to coordinate activity of cells. What are the inner mechanisms to interpret messages received from exterior of the cell? This subject covers it in great detail. Cell-cell communication plays a big role in disease processes such as cancer, neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders. The central theme of this subject is all about cellular machinery for communication :)

Protein Structure and Function: Proteins are the workhorses in our body. After proteins are made, they need to be formed into appropriate shapes in order to function. This subject covers patterns found in molecular structure of proteins and their biological functions. Interested to create a protein that has a function not existing in nature? This subject will teach you the gist of that too.

Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology: Introduces you to how plants function at the molecular level and application of biotechnological techniques to manipulate plants for novel purposes. Topics covered include photosynthesis, cell wall synthesis, RNA interference, genetic engineering, salt tolerance and disease resistance.

Out of all subjects, my favourite was Cell Signalling and Neurochemistry. I didn't have the freedom of fee-paying students getting to sample additional subjects until I find them useful; as my tenure of scholarship has a limited time I have to make no mistake on my subject choice. I have chosen what I've always wanted to do - molecular science, taking all subjects offered by the biochemistry department has served this purpose. All subjects offered by the department are demanding - they want to teach the best things to you and they want the best out of you.

Communication is key whether you're a whole organism, a single cell or a protein inside a cell.

What taught me about passion?

I have been hearing so much of compliments for my academic achievement but very few actually know the experience that made me one. There is no secret about doing well in school.

Before Standard 4 in primary school I was taught to get things right. I knew nothing about passion. All I knew was teacher being "fierce". During Standard 3, my ranking dropped significantly because I was distracted.

What pulled me back?

My exposure in science (and other subjects) began in Standard 4. I was interested in science (even my parents knew and expected that I would do well in it). My good performance in science boosted my class ranking to second place, something that I least expect.

The significant improvement in my academic ranking gave me a moral boost to improve my other subjects. Next, I claimed the first place of my cohort.


Keeping the standard is still my concern but ranking is unimportant to me now. Nevertheless, the experience taught me about the power of passion. With a burning passion, you'll naturally do well.

Instagrams - Gorgeous Girl's Day apparel sponsor

I spontaneously created these in my iPod touch with Labelbox and Instagram apps months ago.

Having reach to fame, Girl's Day members regularly model for fashion brands. Photos can be found in girlsdaydaily.com

Sojin:


Jihae:


Are you new to Girl's Day? Search for their hit tracks Nothing Lasts Forever, Twinkle Twinkle and Hug Me Once to get started. You'll be in love with their talents in no time.

Going Crazy - Teen Top

Teen Top is back with an addicting track Going Crazy. What a great way to start year 2012.

Fierce and manly concept as opposed to flower boy since debut. It's a great leap.





Video:


LIKE!!!

Girl's Day Yura 유라 acting cute

Act cute!

Yaritagariya-san - SDN48

Yesterday, Eric Yong posted this as "Music video or.... SOFT PORN?". The MV was titled only with a hyphen making everything a mystery.

It's SDN48! They're a large girl group based on the adult idol concept. Produced by the same boss as AKB48.

Want some behind the scenes?



Want to watch video that make you nosebleed max? There's always something for you :)

DJ Masa - Good Bye Party K-pop mashup

DJ Masa is back with his K-pop mashup for the second half of year 2011!



Are you looking for mashup for first half of the year? Come here!

From the video description:

The song tells the story of a girl who's heartbroken because she broke up with her boyfriend. So she goes to a club and try to forget him saying her goodbyes but still reminisces about the relationship, struggling to have fun and overcome the sadness.

Vocal samples (40) in the mashup:

UV - Itaweon Freedom feat. JYP
U-Kiss - Neverland
Brown Eyed Girls - Sixth Sense
Rania - Pop Pop Pop
Sunny Hill - Midnight Circus
Super Junior - A-cha
KARA - Step
MBLAQ - Mona Lisa
Tablo - Bad
2NE1 - Hate You
Girls' Generation - The Boys
Miss A - Good-bye Baby
Ft Island - Hello Hello
Infinite - Be Mine
T-ara - Roly Poly
2NE1 - Ugly
Kim Wan Sun - Be Quiet feat. JunHyung
After School Red - Into THe Night Sky
Yoon Mirae - Get It In
f(x) - Hot Summer
Super Junior - Mr. Simple
Block B - Tell Them
SISTAR - So Cool
Orange Caramel - Shanghai Romance
JYJ - Get Out
2pm - Hands Up
Jang Wook Hyuk - Time Is [L]over
2NE1 - I Am The Best
Hyunah - Bubble Pop
Wonder Girls - Be My Baby
Secret - Love is MOVE
G.na - TOP GIRL
Troublemaker - Troublemaker
Heo Gak - Hello
Kim Hyun Joong - Break Down
A Pink - MY MY
Crispi Crunch - Thumbs Up
Boyfriend - I'll Be There
CHI CHI - Longer

Instrumental samples (3):

Hyunah - Bubble Pop
Troublemaker - Troublemaker
David Guett@ - Little B@d Girl

Do you like this? Follow these links:

DJ Masa's homepage: http://www.masamixes.com
Twitter: @masamixes
Facebook page: Masa

Year 2011?

The year wasn't good for me in terms of health. I've been down with health problems with relapsing episodes causing me unable to work; I could do nothing but lying on bed till the symptoms disappears (read: palpitations).

What did I gain in year 2011?

• I began my third year of university life under a scholarship, majoring in biotechnology and biochemistry & molecular biology
• My stint as Chief Information Officer for Malaysian Aspiration Program and Marketing Secretary for ASEAN Student Games 2011
• God intervened for my health a day before my first day of final exam, Semester 2 - My palpitation dragged my health down, it was so bad that I could have collapsed in the exam hall without intervention. Thank you Jesus!
• Crowned best timekeeper at NCG Debate 2011
• Winning an iPod Touch 8GB by a lucky draw. Loaded it with apps and music!
• Winning the title of Planetshakers Mamak Idol and brought home a Nintendo Wii as my prize
• BERSIH rally at Federation Square, Melbourne - I never regret standing up for a better Malaysia
• Nuffnang Blogopolis 2011 in Melbourne! I have waited so long for a chance to take part in a blogger's conference
• Discovered so much about K-pop.
• Ballarat one day trip!

There was much to gain!

Welcome to 2012!

It was business as usual at Low Yat Plaza on New Year Eve. The mall was filled with shoppers and shopkeepers calling out wares for end of the year discounts.

I brisk walked through floors and floors of shops I missed dearly and tried to recall memories of shop appearance they once were. Apart from a few landmark shops, some spots have changed so much that I barely recognise where I stood.

Knowing full well that a significant impending event was coming to all of us, the streets of the KL Golden Triangle appeared more interesting than retail outlets indoors.