Britain's Got Talent 2009 - Special Highlights

This year's "Britain's Got Talent" show took a big turn in its popularity when several participants shocked the world with their unexpectedly outstanding performances.

The first impressions presented the moment they stepped onto the stage were literally signing themselves off the qualifications. You can see judge Simon Cowell showing "the face". But things took a big turn when they opened their mouths...and so did Simon!

And the judges...especially Amanda Holden...amazing! You know what I mean? Though she is already 38 this year but she is still quite a magnet for attention. Piers Morgan is sweet and humble and projects that caring image. Simon is, of course and still is, everybody's "best friend".

Here are a few popular ones that will guarantee to blow your minds off. Click on the links to jump to YouTube.

Susan Boyle - 47 year old spinster who lives with her cat. Poorly dressed, utterly unimpressive...until she opened her mouth.

Diversity - A 10-boys (I think) dancing team with some very imppresive dance moves that even shocked Simon Cowell.

Hollie Steel - Started with some boring ballet moves but turned everything around when this 10-year old girl began to sing "I Could Have Danced All Night" at 1min 37sec.

Shaheen Jafargholi - Simon said "no" to his first song but gave him another chance that qualified Shaheen a standing ovation from the 3 judges!

And here are some for a good laugh.

Greek Dance - Father and son attempt. Silly but damn funny.

Clare Morton - Now, this has to be the best of the worst award. Clare, 47, wants to cut an album one day and perhaps hit the Top Charts with her songs. Check out her dance moves and how she "missed" her entry cue on the first few notes. She got 3 buzzes to stop!

The 335i Coupe - Beauty Of Its Own

Don't you just love it? Simply awesome and beautiful...the interior of a BMW 335i Coupe.

When can I have one laaaaaaar?!!!

Schwarzkopf 111 Years (Updated)

Schwarzkopf's Professional Division just hosted its "Advanced Product Information" demo-cum-product launch event on Tuesday at Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Schwarzkopf sells professional hair products like high-end "professional-series" shampoos, color treatment and color management stuffs, wax, clay, styling moose, gel, cream, etc. Their clients are generally the upper market professional hair salons. Just like Loreal, Schwarzkopf is an "all-hair" products company. And the name tells you that they are from Germany.

Shooting for Schwarzkopf has always been a pleasure because there will always be good food and stunning models. And most of all, they pay me in time! But somehow, the models this round was only "so-so quality"; they looked very "normal". Anyway, as usual, they always start their events with sumptuous food and this time was no exception. Buffet lunch was provided by Hilton KL. The afternoon's product launch and demo event was from 2pm to 5:30pm. After that, everyone was invited to another sumptuous dinner at Courtyard Garden! Naturally, I was also invited to dine together. Awesome lar this company!

Anyway, let the pictures do the talking...

The product showcase at the foyer of KL Hilton's ballroom.

Huge banners on the left and right side of the ballroom walls. Very powerful decors.

The main stage.

The Schwarzkopf (Malaysia) boss himself, Mr Stefan Zimmerman with his clients. The guy on the left, in white, who is also a Schwarzkopf customer and owner of a pro hair salon, drives an orange-colored Nissan Fairlady 350Z with 20" rims! Cool.

The photo wall at the foyer where every guest were encouraged to have a photo.

They had the similar photo wall thingy in their European event.

The marketing manager, Joyce Lee, presenting her topic.

A live hair demo. Personally, I felt it was a lil boring this time, maybe because I didn't understand what he was talking about. Haha...

Unlike last year's hair demo where it was filled with excitement and you can really see the model's hair actually getting fixed! But then again, that was a hair show while this year's was a product launch.

Makan times are always very happening. But I had no time to eat...was busy shooting! Somehow, buffet lunch was just some 2 hours ago and still, people stuff their stomachs with more food during tea breaks. I have not seen an event where participants don't respond to tea breaks.

This is Rick Lee, creative director of Sense Studio, a professional-class hair salon. He is also Schwarzkopf Professional Division's Product Ambassador. Nice fella, cute looking too. Maybe I should, one day, let him have a go at my hair! Keke...

I would think that this was the most "model-looking" model. I mean, the rest were very much "normal looking", with a hair design just like any other girl on the street. At least this one has a mushroom growing on the left side of her head, tied up with a tri-colored ribbon! The stage lighting was just 12 boring non-colored parcans. Lighting was flat with shadows from my flash light.

But last year's catwalk was far more interesting simply because there was a real catwalk stage to parade on. And the stage lightings were more exciting with moving heads effects.

Now that's what I call a "hair show". This was what they had in Europe!

Rick Lee explaining about the new hair products used to create this fresh look.

All the models this year. The girls on the far left and far right are the only two "model-looking" models. The 3rd one from the left (in shorts) look like my neighbour's daughter, while the middle two girls are basically under-tall.

The models line up from last year was more interesting and more appropriately dressed.

The group photo of all the participants. This is probably Schwarzkopf Malaysia's many top stylists and salon operators.

Dinner was at the rather beautifully renovated Courtyard Garden at Lorong Dungun, Damansara Heights, KL. Its basically a huge old bungalow converted into a restaurant.

The environment is nice and peaceful...with lots of green everywhere.

You get to dine in a "garden" environment surrounded by trees and plants. There is even a "mini river" that flows through the restaurant. The only possible set back is mosquitos!

Food was simply sumptuous and awesome!

Mr Zimmerman again, cutting the Schwarzkopf birthday cake, marking the company's 111 years in the business.

They had a far bigger cake when they had the event in Europe! Maybe if I had used a 12mm lens and shoot the cake from a close up angle, I might get the same effect on the size of the cake. Haha...

The Son - The Sacrifice

Excerpt taken from an interesting and touching story. Read on, its worth your 5 minutes...

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you and your love for art." The young man held out this package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"

There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice angrily shouted, "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!" But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting..." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!"

This is exactly what the Bible says about Jesus. Whosoever receives the Son, receives everything that God had promised. Jesus had already sacrificed and died for the forgiveness of our sins some 2,000 year ago. The work in done. Now it is up to us to choose to "receive Him".

May God bless the reading of this story.

"INFLUENCE 2009"

The Influence 2007 was really exciting and Influence 2008 was a blast! Now, its time for Influence 2009. Happening this year on July 24-25 and kindly hosted at Glad Tidings Church, PJ. It will be another exciting time to get together and fellowship, and learn about strategies for today's times of trials and challenges.

The theme for Influence Conference 2009 is "Challenging Times". We want to explore into what God says about such times, on how and what one can do to "survive" and most of all, emerge victorious from the challenges.

Panel of speakers consist of :

1. Rev Clement Wong - Director of Youth Alive Malaysia. He is a fun (yes, he really is) and energetic speaker, filled with a passion to sow into the lives of young people.


2. Benny Ong - Founding director of a very successful financial advisory firm in Singapore. One can learn great insights from him on "money matters".


3. Dr Timothy Sng - A consultant neurologist. Wondering what a neurologist is doing in a "Challenging Times" conference? Come and find out.


4. Dato Daniel Tay - Senior partner and consultant to Tay Ibrahim & Partners, and director of IRCB (a public listed company of the main board in Bursa Malaysia).

Registration fee per person is only RM70 before June 22, 2009. After that, its RM80. Closing date for registration is July 13, 2009. All are invited, Christians and non-Christians!

You can also check out more details of Influence Conference 2009 at its official blog or Facebook!

The Sunday Breeze

Lately, as in these last few months, I have always been looking forward to Sundays. I mean, who wouldn't, rite? But mine is a lil bit different cause almost everyday seem to be a "Sunday" for me. I have not been shooting much lately and somehow this has become a trend over the last few years; February to June, are always slow months and very few shooting jobs. The momentum picks up sometime in June and we'll see October to January being busy.

OK, back to my Sundays. With my rather free schedule, I am at home most of the time, thus its a "Sunday" almost everyday! But I get this sense of guilt when I stay at home doing nothing much (besides surfing the net and doing some readings) and when everybody is busy at work or at least having something important to do. So, I get restless on weekdays though I don't actually have much to do.

And when the actual Sunday comes, I feel happy...cause its a SUNDAY!!! And everybody is not working, so I don't have to feel guilty! Saturdays become the prelude to my happy Sundays because I have church services on Saturdays. I teach drums classes on Saturdays. I have jam sessions with my band. Of course, we get into the Word of God. And after all that, we all adjourn for dinner fellowship and chit-chat till night! Knowing that the next day is a SUNDAY!!!

And today...is a Sunday. And I am enjoying every moment of it. Just came back from dim sum brunch, actually lunch lar since it was at 12:30pm. Woke up at 11:15am. Watched TV a bit and drove off for dim sum lunch. Got home and was undecided if I should read yesterday's newspapers or watch Astro or maybe a DVD movie or maybe surf the net (I am currently doing a "study" on Apple's products; the MacBook Pro, iMac, the Airport Extreme Base Station and some of Apple's softwares commonly called "applications"). I decided on the later...surf the net and blog.

Couldn't resist to but share with you guys my latest readings...BMW catalogs! My hands got too itchy and cannot tahan liao, so I made a visit to Sapura Auto, a BMW car dealer (Auto Bavaria's main competitor). Wanted to go see the 335i Coupe, sit in it and "feel" it. I also wanted to find out more about the M3 Coupe and 645i Coupe (but now no more 645i but a 650i). Unfortunately, the only car in my list that was in display was just the 320i Coupe; same body size and interior with the 335i Coupe.

Brought home some catalogs and the new 2009 price list. These are great reading materials for my long toilet sessions. It encourages the mind and stimulates the bowels to "perform". 80% of the time reading with 20% of the time actually "performing".

The weather this afternoon is cloudy, looks like its gonna rain...again. Nice strong breeze with a great view from my 17th floor condo unit, reading my catalogs! I wonder when I can actually go place my order for a 335i Coupe. Hmmm... Sunday is a good day to dream...

Will go catch a DVD movie now. You have a nice Sunday too.

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The new BMW catalogs...335i, M3, 650i and the X5. My new reading materials.

High quality glossy pages. Printed in Germany.

The new 2009 price list. The 335i Coupe @ RM499k; M3 Coupe @ RM729k, 630i Coupe @ RM789k and the X5 3.0 @ RM569k.

The balcony of my condo unit, 17 floors up into the sky.

Britain's Got Talent 2009 - Susan Boyle

You've gotto watch this to believe it. Simply unbelieveable and shocking, at least it shocked all the three judges (including Simon Cowell of American Idol fame) and literally everyone at the hall. 47-year-old Susan Boyle wows the judges with her performance in the auditions for Britain's Got Talent 2009, singing "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables.

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You'd be forgiven for judging the book by the cover when you meet Susan. Having never married, sharing a flat with her cat has given her a cheeky sense of humour, and even the judges were ready to write her off, until...that is...until she began peforming her rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream".

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Watch it here.

Forbes Hottest Young Royals

Forbes did a survey on young royals or commonly known as "royal kids". The list ranks royals according to power, measured by international Web and media presence and family wealth. Forbes only considered unmarried royals between 18 and 35 years old. The 10 young royals on their list belong to five noble family lines and represent nearly USD75 billion in combined wealth.

While their fortunes have been affected by the global downturn, the majority of the families have significant wealth in property, jewels and art. Though in recent years, critics have been quick to point out that much of a monarch's personal wealth should be counted as a public asset, since most royal families receive annual allowances from the state.

Whatever it is, they are still damn rich. Here is the rundown of the "top 10" with two coming from Asia, the top 3 of the list coming from the United Kingdom and the rest mainly from Europe!

No.1 Prince William, UK.

The eldest son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. While the British royal family has considerable wealth, the prince's place is primarily attributed to his international popularity and the media's habit of chronicling his every move. The 26-year-old is currently training to become a military helicopter pilot and recently made headlines for his reported desire to go to Afghanistan.

No.2 Prince Harry, UK.

Prince Harry, younger brother of William, is the more rebellious of the two, at least according to the press. He attracts constant attention for antics usually involving bar hopping and alcohol. Since breaking up with his girlfriend of five years in January, there has also been rampant public speculation about his latest amours.

No.3 Zara Philips, UK

Zara Phillips, the 27-year-old known for her riding skills, is 12th in line to the throne. Phillips is the only daughter of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips. She was slated to ride in Beijing last summer, but was forced to withdraw after her horse Toytown was injured. Last December, she fell from her horse and broke her collarbone. Her considerable press attention earned her the third spot on the list for the second year in a row.

No.4 Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Rashid al Maktoum, Dubai

As the current crown prince of Dubai, Sheikh is the first in line to be the city's next Emir. The prince moved up two spots this year and is the only young royal to surpass a British royal according to our measure of influence. He's known as a leader, as the chairman of the Dubai Executive Council and the president of the city's Council and Autism Centre, and as a poet. Cool.

No.5 Princess Beatrice, UK

The 20-year-old daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York is known for her fiery mane and her famous friends (Madonna and Victoria Beckham, among others). Though still fifth in line to the British throne, she slipped a spot on the list since last year after falling in both Web buzz and media mentions. One possible cause...her spotlight-stealing younger sister Eugenie, who has garnered significant attention since becoming an official adult in March 2008.

No.6 Princess Sirivannavari, Thailand

The fashion designer princess, who showed her 2009 spring collection during the first day of Paris Fashion Week last September. Up from No.16 last year, she received significant international press from her fashion show. The royal family has been under intense scrutiny this year as the newly installed coalition government threatens to change the royal succession.

No.7 Princess Eugenie, UK

The younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York has been attracting significant attention in the last year. The 19-year-old is quickly becoming a royal wild child after reports of smoking, running naked on school grounds and frequenting a pole-dancing club made headlines. She's currently on a trip around the world to fill her gap year.

No.8 Andrea Casiraghi, Monaco (my personal favorite)

Sexy looking Andrea, the eldest child of Princess Caroline of Monaco and Stefano Casiraghi, is second in line to the throne. Should his uncle, Prince Albert II, die without children, it's likely that Andrea will become the prince of Monaco. The 24-year-old's relationship with heiress Tatiana Santo Domingo is widely covered in the international press.

No.9 Charlotte Casiraghi, Monaco

Charlotte is the only daughter born to Caroline of Monaco and granddaughter of Grace Kelly. She attracts attention for her good looks, as well as her taste. She is a regular at fashion fêtes and shows and is often photographed palling around with noted designers such as Valentino and Karl Lagerfeld.

No.10 Prince Azim, Brunei

Prince Azim, fourth in line to the throne of Brunei and one of 12 children, is well known for his "playboy" ways. He garnered press mentions in the last 12 months for reports of paying Amy Winehouse to perform at a November bash last year and for his relationship with reality star Jane Goody, who died earlier this year from cancer.

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Source : Forbes

Starbucks, My New Office

Since early last week, I have been spending my every afternoon at Cheras Leisure Mall's Starbucks, normally between 1pm to 6pm. I frequent this place so often, that today, when I wanted to placed my order at the front counter, the baristar recognised me and read out my order before I could tell her. And she was right, spot on...ice grande latte with low fat milk!

Time passes so fast, it is now more than a week since my internet line went down. I have gotten used to surfing the net using shared wifi line at Starbucks and cybercafes. The internet speed, of course, is much slower since 10-15 people share the same connection. But I have gotten the hang of it, not opening too many browsers at one time but to open them "one at a time".

Today is the 8th. Another 6-7 more days to my project's payday! I think I can live the next one week without anxiety and to have full faith that there will be no more delays. There are so many things to look forward to...my new Macbook Pro, the new Apple iPhone, maybe a new Nikon D3 and new FX lenses, a Canon G10 with underwater housing for my scuba diving trips (will have to start taking up diving lessons) and most of all...maybe...just maybe...the 335i Coupe!!! Woohoo...

Maybe I should just take the next one week to "day dream"! Anyway, here is my workstation at Starbucks and a picture of the Canon G10 in a UW housing.

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My trusty HP Pavilion laptop with my Ice Latte at Starbucks. My make-shift office since last week.

The Canon G10 (a high-end digital compact camera with manual exposure functions) housed inside an underwater housing. The camera cost around RM2,000 while the UW housing is around RM4,000.