New Movie: Real Steel

I feel that Transformers is getting a bit old. The 3rd installment of the movie is coming out on 1st July 2011 but I'm hardly excited. However, this movie, starring Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman, looks more captivating. Like Transformers, it also features robots fighting each other. It is set to debut in Oct 2011.

Michael Jackson's and Akon's Hold My Hand song was actually completed a year before MJ died

Michael Jackson may have passed away in late June 2009, but it seems that the late King of Pop is still producing hits even past his death. The latest single from Akon and Michael Jackson, Hold My Hand, has only just been released on radios and is very popular. Contrary to belief, "Hold My Hand" is actually a 2-and-a-half year old song. It was completed in June 2008, a year before Michael Jackson died.

Starbucks to sell wine and beer, age limit rules apply, jacking up of prices to follow

Starbucks has started selling wine and beer in their flagship store in Seattle, USA. It's an experiment to try to draw a bigger evening crowd. The 40-year-old coffee franchise is one of the largest coffee chains in the world. It is also the first to introduce "premium prices" for a regular cup of coffee and the idea that you can drink large amounts of coffee at any time of the day.

New Music: Shayne Ward - Gotta Be Somebody (Video)

Shayne Ward released this single early November 2010. It's actually a cover of Nickelback's Gotta Be Somebody back in 2008, which I absolutely loved ever since I first heard the song on the radio. While I like some of Shayne Ward's songs, I very much prefer the original Nickelback's Gotta Be Somebody to Shayne's cover. There's no denying that Shayne Ward has an fantastic voice, but for some reason, he chose to go with a deliberately over-processed electronic voice in this one, very evidently present when he sings the first line in the song. This ultimately disappoints fans.

Overall, the song is rather high-pitched, a very big contrast against the low Nickelback's version. Shayne's version is still great, with energy and a catchy beat, but it is just not as powerful as the original. It should be out on Singapore radios in the coming weeks.


Shayne Ward - Gotta Be Somebody (2010)





Nickelback - Gotta Be Somebody (2008)

New Music: Rihanna ft Eminem - Love The Way You Lie (Part 2)

When I first heard "Love The Way You Lie" by Rihanna and Eminem a couple months back, I sort of have a feeling that there would be a follow up because of the way the song ended. Now it looks like there indeed is a continuation. Rihanna and Eminem have returned with part 2 of the hit song. This time, the song is slower and emotionally more intense than the previous, with Eminem really venting his anger out in his rap. Expect this song to hit local radio in the coming few weeks.

New Movie Trailer: Green Lantern (Video)

Come 2011, yet another comic book character is hitting the giant screen. Just a couple months back, at Comic Con 2010, . the Green Lantern movie was officially announced. Among comic book fans, a Green Lantern movie is highly anticipated, proven by the loads of fan-made Green Lantern movie trailers found on YouTube (admittedly, some are pretty impressive).

So DC Comics and Warner Bros have teamed up to bring what the fans wanted. Here's the official debut of the Green Lantern movie trailer. Hit the main post for the trailer.

Titanic 2 is neither a sequel or a good movie (video)

There are some movies that should be made and others not. Unfortunately Titanic 2 is of the latter. While its name may fool people to think that it is a sequel of the 1997 James Cameroon's Titanic, this movie is of no relation to that most successful blockbuster of the 90s. The movie was released in August 2010.

She-Hulk crashes into Marvel vs Capcom 3: FTW, the latest in a line of unexpected characters (Video)

The Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds developers have been slowly releasing teaser videos of their characters and gameplay every now and then ever since it was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year. The latest video features the official debut of She-Hulk.

Watch your head... And hands... And legs as you enter the ETAF Automatic Door (Video)

Doors can be as simple as a piece of wood and a handle or as complex as the ETAF Automatic Door. This door consist of 35 rows of 5cm metal bars that are split down the middle. No matter what size you are, the ETAF Automatic Door will always fit.

Study: Hypertexting and Hypernetworking teens more likely to engage in drugs, sex and alcohol

The American Public Health Association just recently published the results on a study performed by researchers from the Case Western Reserve University with 4257 local students. What they found was that teenagers that hypertext and hypernetwork are more likely to engage in sexual activities and consume drugs and alcohol, with the majority of them being female minor students.

3D designs are everywhere, but not everything is made in 3D

In a world where computer generated images (CGI) can easily be found on every advertisements and posters, it is easy to assume that if a picture looks too "nice and clean" to be real, it had to be made in 3D. The picture as shown looks like lots of other phones poster out there. The difference is that it is not made in 3D at all, what you are seeing is a real photo and not a computer generated image of a phone.

Creative Releases Their Creative Ziio Tablets

Ever since the Apple iPad went on sale and created a new market, big and small companies alike have tried to bring their own version of the tablet computer into it. Ranging from S Korea's Samsung and their Galaxy Tab and LG Electronics with their Optimus Tablet to Taiwan's ASUS and their EeePad to Canada's Research In Motion and their BlackBerry PlayBook and many many more. And now the latest to join in the tablet market is Creative from Singapore and their range of Ziio Tablets.

VLC App finally shows Apple how videos should be played on the iPhone/iPod Touch and why you should get it!

Applidium, the company which brought the widely popular, play-it-all VLC Player to the iPad has finally made a version for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The new version supports more video formats, which is the base of the popularity of the player and a much faster decoding process. It was a surprise to the fans since it was thought so that this app would not make it through Apple's ultra-strict apps-approval process. The number one issue is that this app is a direct competitor of Apple's native Videos app on the iPhone/iPod Touch.

So when the news broke out that the app is finally approved on 25 Oct 2010, the world rejoiced. Including me. ^.^

The new VLC Player App is able to play most video formats and has a faster decoding process. It is only available for iPhone 3GS, 4 and iPod Touch 3G and 4G.

NEW MIX! DJ ManFred - Fireflies and Airplanes (Music)

Features SHINee, SNSD, Miss A, Katy Perry, Flo Rida, Lil Jon, Timbaland, B.O.B., Owl City, Cascada, Ke$ha, Taio Cruz, Jay Sean and many more!

I didn't quite like the last mix I made, Shake Mix and Bake. It's not the songs, but rather the overall feel of the mix, I felt that lots of the transitions were shabbily done. So, I set about to create this mix to try again. Once again, I added a few korean songs to some requests. If you would like me to mix a song of your choice, let me know in the comments below. Thanks. =)

If the song above doesn't load, go here to listen.

Megapost: Windows Phone 7 Makes A Hot Debut! (Lots of Photos) [Updated 10:15am SGT, Lots of videos too]

After building lots of anticipation of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has finally debuted their new WP7 OS and phones on Oct 11, 2010. There have been images and videos of phones bearing the WP7 OS since the official announcement of it earlier in Feb this year. Not to be confused with Windows Mobile OS, Window Phone 7 is set to take on the smartphone world.

NEW MIX! DJ ManFred - Shake Mix and Bake (Music)

Features Super Junior, Hyun A, 2NE1, Justin Bieber, Akon, David Guetta, Wonder Girls, Katy Perry, Adam Lambert, Ludacris, Agnes, Taio Cruz and more!
Track Duration : 42 min 50 sec
If the music widget above doesn't load, just refresh the page. Otherwise, listen to it here.

I just made a new mix. Unlike all my previous mixes, I decided to mix in some korean songs for fun cause I thought they sounded nice. Feel free to listen and download the mix above. If you like the mix or want to hear a particular song in my next mix, let me know!

Full track list below:

Facebook To Start Hi-Res Photo-Sharing, It's About Time!

Facebook is a great social network. It allows you to share photos and videos. While video sharing is adequate, I find that the photos is the exact opposite. Although Facebook allows you to upload high-resolution photos, it downsizes them to a 720pixel high photo, meaning at a lot lower resolution.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Promo Video Released, Pokes Fun At iPad's Lack of Flash (Video)

Since the iPad was announced, there were plenty of imitators that released their own version of the tablet, running either Windows 7 or Andriod. However, none of them was as hyped up as the Samsung Galaxy Tab. There are supposedly two sizes available, 7in and 10in, but the 10in is not being released yet.

Need An Extension Cord? How About Pulling Out The Powerpoint Instead?

We've all encountered and hated that the powerpoints sockets are always just barely out of reach when we need them the most. The usual drill thereafter is that we either mutter some vulgarities and fetch an extension cord or just grumble and move nearer to the powerpoint. If both aren't possible, then a big sigh of disappointed, probably followed by more cursing. The team at Yanko Design (Japan), however, had a different approach. So instead of being verbally provocative, they provoked their brains. The result, why not build an extension cord into the powerpoint itself?

"Michael Jackson The Experience", Minus The Glitter Glove, Plus The WiiMote (Video)

Game companies will do anything for money, especially when it comes to exploiting a celebrity (think Hannah Montana). Now that Michael Jackson has passed on and his legacy is very much alive, Ubisoft was quick to take advantage and made a MJ-dancing video game for the Wii. Check out the trailer in the main post.

Non-Newtonian Liquids, They're Much Cooler Than The Name Suggests (Video)

Newton, especially in physics, is an important word. The father of physics and the SI unit of force. Issac Newton is so respected in the physics world that his name is synonymous with physics itself. While generally everything in the world obeys the laws of physics, there are always some that don't. In this case, non-newtonian liquids.

NewsDay iPad App Ad, Shows That An iPad Can Indeed Be Used For Everything (video)

Apple iDevices are always touted as being able to do everything, even to the point of saying "there's an app for everything". NewsDay, a newspaper app on the iPad made this interesting advert to show that the iPad can really be used for everything. The only drawback is that the device may not work as intended after that. "Read more" to view the video.

Megapost: LG's World's Thinnest TV and Optimus 7 + Some Info About OLED and WP7 (Video)

LG is usually not the first name you think of when you talk about mobile phones and televisions. But that doesn't mean that they are not trying to be ahead of the curve. At the ongoing IFA Consumer's Electronics show in Berlin, they have unveiled some new products and technology, including a prototype Windows Phone 7 and the world's thinnest OLED TV.

James Cameron Talks About His 3D Camera and Re-Release of Avatar (Video)

Director James Cameron had a guest appearance on G4TV's internet series, Attack of the Show, on which he talked about his 3D camera rig and the re-release of Avatar Special Edition.

Portal 2 Intro Gameplay Video Surfaced; Darker, Creepier Than The First Game [Video]

Portal 2, the sequel to the wildly popular Portal, has been announced back in June and will be released in 2011. I can't wait for this game, absolutely enjoyed the puzzle solving in the first game. Few videos on the game have surfaced since June, but most of them were demos on the new features in the game.

Photoshop Can Do Wonders, Even Cook Food For You [Video]

In the world of design and multimedia, learning how to harness the power of an image editing software like Photoshop is a must. Photoshop can do just about anything, from drawing to painting and visual effects.

But that didn't stop Stephania Rota from using it to cook food, with a bit of creativity of course..

Manfred 2.0 Will Be Right Back (In A Few Days)

Hi all. I'm busy with my work these few days, so I'll not be posting as frequently as the past few weeks. Anyway, thanks for viewing my blog. As of this writing, I've have had past 200 views in nearly a month. It's the most I've had so far since I started my blog 2 years ago, or rather, since I started updating my blog regularly since June. Haha. I'd never imagine that my blog would even have so many views.

Since most people are logged in to Facebook while surfing the net, my blog included, I've added Facebook "Like" and "Share" buttons and Facebook commenting system within each post page. I hope you click the the "Like" button if you enjoyed reading the post. Don't worry, the "who and who liked this post" part is PRIVATE, so only the names of people who are friends on your Facebook will appear and vice versa. Otherwise, it would appear as "Manfred and 3 other people liked this".

Also, for the Facebook comment form after each post, you can choose to log in with your Facebook account to post a comment or comment anonymously, by not logging in. You can also check the option to have your wall reflect your comment post. ie "Manfred has commented on so-and-so post." You can discuss about the post or write random stuff or ask me questions there, I'll reply duly. If you don't see the commenting form below the grey Comments sub-header, simply refresh the page until it appears. =)

So check back on my blog once in a while to look out for updates! Please interact with my blog, it would be nice to see who are reading my blog. You can give me any feedback on my tagboard too! ^.^

This Razor Blade Can Cut Hair, Straight Down The Middle! (Video)

You've always seen cartoons showing that a blade, be it axe, sword or knife, is so sharp that it can split a strand of hair in half. However, in reality, such a sharp blade doesn't exist... Until now.

GFD, Germany, a leading company in the field of micre-structure diamonds has developed the Diamaze PSD (Plasma Sharpened Diamond). The blade takes advantage of the extreme hardness of diamond to create an outrageously sharp cutting edge. It is so sharp that it is now possible to actually slice hair down the middle.

Watch the video below for proof. The blade actually slices the hair more than 5 times! Just as you thought human hair is already so thin, watch it being sliced multiple times.

Microsoft Adaptive Display Keyboard - Now You Can Look At Photos While You Type In True Multitasking Style (Video)

This Adaptive Display Keyboard is only a prototype and won the Unified Structured Inventive Thinking (USIT) Student Innovation Contest. It is said to be an extension to the monitor, with a strip of touchscreen above the keys. The thing is that each individual keys are also displays and can be changed.

Why should you care? Because it is just too cool. Check out the videos after the break to see why you would want one connected to your desktop computer.

Dyson Air Multiplier, A Cool Bladeless Fan (Video)

Every now and then, there'll always be a new take on an existing product. Usually it'll be better and more efficient than the original. But the Dyson Air Multiplier takes the good old electric fan to a stunningly high level.

We Have 5 Senses, Right? Yes... But...

It's been commonly understood that we all have the 5 senses: Sight, Hearing, Taste, Touch and Smell. This has been brought forth by Aristotle back in the BC years. However, scientists have said that the human body is so complex that these 5 senses aren't enough to describe what it can do...

A Fireworks Machine Gun? Ultimate Coolness! (Video)

What do you get when you mix fireworks and a machine gun together? This group of guys decided to do just that. You'll find the answer out in the video below.

A Turntable and A Camcorder = Lots of Interesting Hidden Animation! (Video)

If you like optical illusions, you've probably have heard of the zoetrope before. Zoetropes create the illusion of movement through rapid spinning of the images and viewing through slits, designed to give a strobe like effect and the perception of motion...

Ultra Cool Light Projection DJ Mixing (Video)

When you see a DJ spinning, chances are there are 2 turntables, a mixer and a whole lot of wires. And maybe an Apple laptop. This DJ apparently has moved on with times, abandoning all that heavy set up for just a glass panel with a projected image of a virtual DJ mixing software. Needless to say, it is touch operated. Is this the future of DJ-ing? Watch the video and see for yourself.

Video after the break.

Brilliant "Light Warfare" Video, Takes Light Painting To A Higher Level (Video)

Light painting, or drawing with light while leaving the camera shutter open, is gaining popularity due to cheaper DSLR and compact cameras with manual shutter controls. There are many stunning light painting photos available on the net. There are, of course, some people who decided to take it another level and do light painting videos. However, since you can't get the light painting effect without leaving the camera shutter open for at least 1 second per frame so that you can draw an image (something impossible on a video cam), the only way to do a light painting video is painstakingly take many photos and combine them into one video. It's tedious, it's tiring and demands a lot of patience, not surprising then that there are only a handful of such videos..

Michael Jackson's Anti-Gravity Lean (Video)

I grew up to Michael Jackson's music. And I like his music, but I especially loved his dances and performances. He's just so innovative in his dancing. He popularised group synchronised dancing, before that, there was very little group dance routines where everyone is dancing in sync. He has also pioneered many iconic dance moves in his performances, such as the moonwalk, robotic dance and the anti-gravity lean, which in my opinion, is the coolest....

Use 3D Glasses To View in... 2D? (Video)

With all the rage about 3D displays and glasses these days, it took a while before someone realised that you can use the 3D glasses to share 2 different shows on a screen at the same time.

As 3D TVs are being rolled out to consumers, people with the technical know how can actually modify the accompanying Active Shutter glasses such that a pair of glasses can view only the left eye image and another pair to view only the right eye image. In other words, you can have Ben 10 cartoon and Death Race movie showing on the same screen together. With one pair of glasses, your cuddly 10 y.o. cousin can watch the harmless Ben 10 cartoon, while you have the other pair of glasses and be able to enjoy all the blood and guts and human slaughtering of Death Race at the same time, with only 1 TV. Of course, without glasses on, all you'll see on the screen is a huge mess of colours. There is also no 3D effect as you're only taking in a left/right view.

Video after the break...

See True 3D Without Glasses!

Ever since the success of Avatar, 3D has been gaining a lot of hype. Everything is now coming out in 3D, from movies to games, from TVs to laptops and even handheld consoles like the Nintendo 3DS, due out next year. No matter what hardware or software is used, the main objective is to provide the user with a feeling of depth. Currently, there are a few methods (Real D, Dolby 3D, Active Shutter, Polarisation, Anaglyph, Autostereoscopy, etc) used to give the viewer the 3D effect. However, they either rely on special viewing glasses or in the case of autostereoscopy, a special screen.

A "Real D" 3D glasses, which are used in Shaw Cinemas here in Singapore.

A "Dolby 3D" glasses, used by GV and Cathay. It is heavier and not as comfortable to use as the Real D one.

But did you know that there is a type of 3D that can be viewed on your monitor or screen right now? That requires no special glasses at all?

Medal of Honor Trailer ft Linkin Park (Video)

The Medal of Honor franchise has now moved into the modern warfare era, first started by Call of Duty and later followed by Battlefield. Now M.O.H. usually has a sub-title to differentiate their games, but this time, they're just putting this game out as Medal of Honor. Why? Maybe they're trying to move away from their past games. I don't know.

Well anyway, this is their feature trailer. It is set to The Catalyst by Linkin Park, one of my favourite bands. I'd say the trailer is nicely set to the music and seeing the gameplay footage makes me kind of want to play this game. ^.^

Video after the break.

Java Tea Party App for iPhone and iPad

Java Tea Party is an application for both the iPhone and iPad, which allows the two devices to interact with each other. While it may seem interesting, the use for this app is mostly for novelty purposes only, and I bet you'll only play with it a couple of times before the fun wears off. Let's hope that this app is free cause I think it is kind of redundant. Lol.

Watch the trailer above for some laughs.. Their expressions are just so priceless. Hahaha.. I really wonder how some people can act in commercials for such products.

It Is Legal To Jailbreak iPhone

If you have recently heard, the Library of Congress has very recently reviewed issues pertaining to DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), which makes it an offence to temper with the digital locks set in electronics, such as DVDs and phones.

Every three years, the Library of Congress would review complaints about the system. And one of those issues is about jailbreaking the iPhone. Apparently, after explaining to Apple about the "4 requirements" to be protected by copyright laws, it is found out that Apple's locking down of the phone has nothing to do with copyrighting and protecting sales, but merely as to protect their digital eco-system. Also, jailbreaking attempts have only altered around 50 bytes out of the 8,000,000 bytes of iPhone's copyrighted code, or 1/160,000, which makes it legal.

Their final shot is that when a smartphone has locked out applications that can be operated on it, due to disapproval from the App Store, jailbreaking the iOS such that it allows the usage of that application is considered "fair use" and it is not against the copyright act.

All in all, the Library of Congress has made it legal to jailbreak the iPhone, based on the current jailbreak iterations. Sounds quite far-fetched isn't it? Read more here.

Here's a joke about this issue. It shows Microsoft Bill Gates consoling Apple's Steve Jobs. It's really funny. Hahaha.

The Buyer's Remorse Effect

There's this effect in life called the Buyer's Remorse Effect. Basically, it is the feeling of regret after buying something. The effect is usually stronger when the product in question costs more. There are a few reasons for feeling the regret. One is that you realise that the item you bought is not worth the money or at a wrong price, especially knowing that there are better and cheaper alternatives or that there is a newer model coming up. Another is that you have impulsively bought the item. The third is that you know that you have been persuaded into buying the item when you previously had no intentions of getting. The fourth is that you have bought something that is not acceptable to the people around you. And lastly is that you simply bought the wrong product.

There are a few ways that people who regret their purchase tend to do. One way is to simply renounce the purchase and return it for a refund. Another is to accept the product as it is and use it to the fullest. And the last and most destructive is to fool yourself into thinking that the product is indeed the best and start to belittle people around you.

An example would be that you have bought a gadget that is significantly more expensive than other brands. Therefore, you think that because it is more expensive, it should be better. However, after buying it, you realise that there are actually better gadgets with more useful features and at a much lower price. The positive, and harder, approach is to simply admit that "hey, I didn't do my research properly, I made a mistake in buying this. It's my own fault" The negative, and more common, approach is to try to justify your purchase by discounting the arguments and tricking yourself into thinking that the naysayers are ignorant and just jealous of your spending power and your premium product. You start saying that the product you bought is actually the best and anyone who disagrees is wrong. Worse, this attitude may actually cause you to strain relationships with people close to you. Although this is a scary thought, it is actually happening more frequently that we think.

Cockroach Candy

I came across this article about strange candy. Apparently, Fear Factor made this candy shaped and coloured like a cockroach. From what I read, the cockroach wings are crunchy icing and the body is soft gummy. So it will feel like you are really munching on a cockroach, except that it doesn't taste like a real one would. But still, yuck!

The Pokemon Scene That Admitted 700 Children To Hospital

I suddenly remembered this. Close to 10 years ago, I was all crazy over the pokemon TV shows. Then one day, there came news that there was an episode shown in Japan, featuring Porygon, that caused 700 children there to experience seizures. This prompted Singapore to ban that episode and I never got to see Porygon!!!

Back then in 2001, there was no YouTube or any widely used video streaming sites to find that episode. And I only had ADSL internet connection, making it difficult to stream high quality videos even if I could find it. Well anyway, with the wonders of YouTube. I managed to find that clip.. =)

Turns out, it is only a short scene in the movie, where Team Rocket launches some missiles at Porygon and Pikachu came out and thundershocked them. For some reason, the artists decided to flash red and blue screens rapidly for that particular thundershock effect. It only lasted about 5 seconds, but it still hurts the eyes.

I've included the clip below should you wish to view the flashing screens. As far as I know, this video is recorded on a lower frame rate, so the flashing effect is actually less intense. The flashes from the original episode was at 12 times per second. So I doubt you'd get a seizure by watching the clip below, though you may feel uncomfortable. But if you really want to, watch in full screen, high quality and bring your eyes closer to the screen. =P

**The flashing scene begins at the 15 seconds mark.**


If you would like to read more, here's some kids science website comments on it.

BlindType - It's Difficult To Type Wrongly With This Keyboard

This is BlindType, a soft keyboard for iOS and Andriod device.

What's so great about this keyboard is that it is able to correct your inaccurate typings even if none of the letters you type is correct. And with that ability, you can type extremely fast on a touchscreen. The software even allows you to type anywhere on the screen (even at an angle), with an option for the keyboard to adjust to your thumbs' position after every word in both position and scale. There's even a setting where you can type without any keyboard visible on the screen. And you may be thinking, how is that even possible? That's where the video comes in. Watch and be stunned at how accurate this keyboard is. =)

Apple is the Best, in Software Insecurity..

This graph shows that Apple was in second place until 2010, when it jumped to number 1.

Most people will tell you that Apple computers have the least crashes, viruses and errors than Windows PCs. That conclusion is true, many years back. The counter by PC-lovers was that Apple supposedly had a much smaller user base, therefore less people reported errors and less virus authors targeted Macs. Mac-heads then said that it was a baseless argument. Well it turned out that it could have been true after all.

Welcome to present time, when more and more people adopted the Macs for their advertised system stability, ease of use, no viruses, etc etc etc.. And guess what. New research has been done and now look at who is the leader in all the key areas it was supposed to be strong enough for a Windows user to switch to the Mac. So if you've people coming to you and saying that Macs are the best, this is the article you would want to show them. The arguments that they will use against Windows PCs are now defunct. Just in case you don't want to read the actual article, it also says that Apple is the leader and Microsoft stands in third position. Kind of funny that Windows, with a huge user base (~70%), is actually behind Apple with a much much smaller user base (~20%).

Regardless, I would still agree that Apple products have the good looks, both hardware and software. But functionality-wise, there's really not much advantage over Windows, no matter how much better they look.

ArsTechnica Source Link

Religion Resulted From Astrology?

**This video is not easy to watch if you are weak in faith**

This video is trying to prove that most religions comes directly as a result of astrology. While it is compelling to believe it, we must also remember that there is more to Christianity than what is said here. And it is really coincidence that the stars happened to be related to religions. It only seems reasonable because the author has twisted the words to fit his hypothesis and presented in a very convincing way, totally bypassing a lot of evidence that disagrees with the notion.

"Singapore Car crash manfred!!!!"

Alright, this is just creepy.. I happened to be surfing YouTube videos to search for clips to use for a video project when I encountered this video titled, "Singapore Car crash manfred!!!!". For a quick moment, my heart just dropped. Lol. I have had a car accident way back in Dec 2008. So the first thought that came to my mind is "who recorded my accident..?" Turns out that the video is nothing in relation to my accident.. Whew.. So coincidental that another Manfred in Singapore also had a car accident. O.O

The Chicken Came First!

It's a popular debate: "Did the chicken or egg come first?"

The answer is the chicken came first, according to some British researchers from the universities of Sheffield and Warwick I do not know what motivated them to try to answer the question but apparently, they found that the egg could not have come first because the shell could only be produced by proteins found in a chicken. Therefore, the chicken must have been around first to lay the first egg, thus putting this age-old conundrum to rest.

Check out the source if you really want to read about the scientific stuff and the protein that makes the eggshell.. The Chicken Came First

The "Perfect Handshake" Formula

Ok, this is not a joke. Scientists of the University of Manchester were hired by Chevrolet as part of some PR training workshop and they came up with this formula as a guide to perform a "perfect handshake". But honestly, a handshake is just a handshake. LOL. If you have some free time, feel free to decipher the formula below. Have fun! =P


PH = (e² + ve²)(d²) + (cg + dr)² + π{(4< s >2)(4< p >2)}² + (vi + t + te)² + {(4< c >2)(4< du >2)}²

Where (e) is eye contact (1=none; 5=direct) 5; (ve) is verbal greeting (1=totally inappropriate; 5=totally appropriate) 5; (d) is Duchenne smile - smiling in eyes and mouth, plus symmetry on both sides of face, and slower offset (1=totally non-Duchenne smile (false smile); 5=totally Duchenne) 5; (cg) completeness of grip (1=very incomplete; 5=full) 5; (dr) is dryness of hand (1=damp; 5=dry) 4; (s) is strength (1= weak; 5=strong) 3; (p) is position of hand (1=back towards own body; 5=other person's bodily zone) 3; (vi) is vigour (1=too low/too high; 5=mid) 3; (t) is temperature of hands (1=too cold/too hot; 5=mid) 3; (te) is texture of hands (5=mid; 1=too rough/too smooth) 3; (c) is control (1=low; 5=high) 3; (du) is duration (1= brief; 5=long) 3. 

The Chronicles of Narnia - Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Coming out 9 December 2010.

The official trailer of the Chronicles of Narnia - Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released a couple of weeks ago and already I'm all excited to go watch the movie. I admit I've not read the story books or anything, but I don't need that to enjoy the movie when it comes out.

**Warning: Geeky stuff below**
I really love the trailers for the Narnia series, especially the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe one. However this trailer really struck me because, unlike the Prince Caspian trailer, used the same elements, which I absolutely loved, as the first one. From now on, I'm only talking about the similarities between the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe trailer and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader trailer..

The title animations such as "This Christmas", etc etc, used the same fly in style with snow background and a small flare right at the end when it sets in. Also, the end title reveal where they show the movie title, uses the same music as the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe trailer title reveal. The format is also the same for both trailers, with Aslan roaring before the title flies in and the Narnia logo is constructed, followed by the subtitle twirling in by the individual letters..

I also like Aslan's voice.. Really cool. Haha. Yup, if you had read thru all that, I think ur expression would be (O.o)

How iPhone 4 Makes People Ignorant

Barely 3 weeks since the iPhone 4 officially launched in the US, users have already been plagued with numerous problems when using the phone. The most prominent being that the phone reception is mostly unstable when held in the most common way. Since this phone builds the antenna around the body, unlike other phones in the market now, when held as you would a normal phone, your hand would disrupt the reception, thus causing the signal to drop drastically. While most people would think, "nah, it can't be that bad", I would say do a little google search about this issue. It is that bad that even an influential gadget website, Consumers Report, straight up recommended people NOT to get an iPhone 4.

However, with all these problems, the iPhone 4 has sold over 2 millions devices already, however, at least 1.7 million were sold within the first week of launch, meaning that the reception problem wasn't widely reported yet. Regardless, most people nowadays go wild when they hear an iPhone and think of it as if it's the best phone ever made, at least this year. There are many comparable phones out there released earlier this year that have already surpassed the new iPhone 4, namely HTC EVO 4G, Samsung Galaxy S and Motorola Driod X. The video below, though funny, actually shows how a typical person can be easily influenced into thinking that the iPhone 4 is the best phone even though it is, in reality, an already outdated phone when it was released.


The second video is a test done by ifixyouri.com to see how the Apple's proclaimed 30-times-stronger than plastic screen hold up when being dropped. As shown in video, regardless of whether the road has much debris or the phone wasn't dropped properly, etc etc.. One thing is for sure, that the supposedly "very resilient screen" breaks as easily as any other smartphone out there.

"Understanding GIRLS"

"What the heck did I just watched?"

This will be your reaction after you check out this video, supposedly to teach you a bit on understanding GIRLS better. While some minute parts of it kind of make sense, the overall video is actually quite pointless. Her humour seems like the teenage kind of comedy videos that we see so rampantly these days, sadly isn't really very engaging. Well, at least she had fun making the video.

New Music: Iyaz - So Big

One of my favourite RnB artist, Iyaz, is back with So Big. I really feel that his voice has a kind of uplifting feeling, especially so when you're feeling a bit down. You just feel more cheerful after listening to his songs.

Motorola Driod X Preview: Huge Powerful Phone

Here is a sneak peek of the new Motorola Driod X, successor to the popular Motorola Driod. These days phones have larger and larger screens, with the largest seen on HTC Evo 4G and Samsung Galaxy S at 4 inches, diagonally across. Then comes the Motorola Driod X at a HUGE 4.4 inch screen.

 But enough about the screen, what's good about this phone? The phone is running Andriod 2.1 with a modified version of Motoblur, Motorola's solution to integrating social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter into one place. It has a 8MP camera and records 720p videos.

The guys at Engadget did a quick review of this phone. Their feedback is that this phone is by far one of the snappiest phones around, with the apps and keyboard loading almost instantly, comparable with the iPhone. Transitions are very smooth and the multitouch screen is responsive and tracks the fingers very accurately, among the other Andriod phones around.

By far, this phone is quite promising. I'm not too sure if Singapore will see it, but its good to see that Motorola is coming back strong into the smartphone market.

Nintendo 3DS Announced. Very impressive!

Nintendo unveiled their latest handheld device. Its to feature their venture into the newest trend, 3D. At their E3 press conference, the Nintendo 3DS is shown for the very first time to the world. It was such a special moment that it was lifted onto the stage on a shiny pedestal, complete with smoke and lights. And who else was there to introduce it but Nintendo's CEO, Satoru Iwata.

Ok. So basic specifications about the new Nintendo toy.
Features include:

• Similar design to NDS XL, 2 screens
• A large, 3.53 inch, 800x240, autostereoscopic 3D non-touch top screen (don't need glasses)
• A smaller 3.02 inch touch screen for the bottom.
• 1 front facing VGA camera like NDSi
• 2 outward facing VGA cameras to take 3D photos
• Collapsible stylus
• New analog stick above the D-Pad.
• Depth slider control to adjust the 3D view or turn it off
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Backwards compatible with NDS titles
• and many more...

As Nintendo explained, they basically combined technologies from both the Wii and NDS and the new 3D, into one handheld device. The 3DS has an improved graphics chip to take on more visually demanding games, and I think also to supplement the 3D. With the 3D screen, the 3DS allows you to watch 3D movies on the go, with companies like Disney, Warner Bros and Dreamworks already pledging support for the 3DS.

And of course, there's the games. Logically, the games cannot be demo-ed on the big screen (for obvious reasons). But Nintendo has assured us that many big name companies have already started developing games for the 3DS, to ensure that there are already a sizeable library of games to purchase when the device goes on sale later in the year. By the way, you can turn off the 3D if you want and view it as a normal 2D screen.

Just to get you excited, these are some of the games that are publicly announced at the press conference.

• DJ Hero 3D
• Assassin's Creed Lost Legacy
• Final Fantasy
• Kingdom Hearts
• Metal Gear Solid
• Resident Evil Revelations
• Fifa
• Madden
• Nintendogs + Cats

And these are some of the companies that are currently developing games for the 3DS.

• Activision
• Hudson
• EA
• Harmonix
• Square Enix
• Konami
• Capcom
• Ubisoft

Thus, looking at what's to be offered, I would say that the Nintendo 3DS has a huge potential in the gaming world. It currently allows you to play almost all kinds of games, both 3D and 2D, utilising the d-pad, analog stick, touch screen, accelerometer and gyroscope. That's a lot of possibilities for game developers. If all goes well, this is the device that would revolutionise handheld gaming yet again. Nintendo is out to prove that they are still strong in the gaming world.

PS: I'm guessing that you may start to see many iPhone games migrating over to this 3DS as this provides the same functions as the iPhone (with the touchscreen, accelerometer and gyroscope), except with more physical controls and a 3D screen. However, many games are free to download on the iPhone. Not too sure if it will still be free for 3DS. Nonetheless, those are only casual, on-to-go games, which is not what Nintendo is really aiming for.

Metal Gear Solid Rising - Amazing New Cutting Mechanics

At E3 2010, Konami's Hideo Kojima, known for his Metal Gear Solid franchise, revealed the latest installment, Metal Gear Solid Rising.

He explained that in this game, the gameplay is moving away from the stealth elements that the series is famous for. However, to make the action make interesting, a new physics and offense mechanic has been developed. And that is cutting mechanics. You will wield an all powerful katana and you can choose how you want to slice your enemies and environment. What makes this new is that for the first time, you can choose exactly which angle you want to slice and the victim actually falls apart. Instead of me trying to explain, just watch the trailer video below. Haha. You'll love what you see, if you're into these games, that is.

Microsoft Kinect (aka. Project Natal)

Xbox controller-less motion control is officially announced at E3 2010. It used to be called Project Natal when it was unveiled last year at E3 2009. It is now called Kinect. It has a rotatable camera to detect your movements and a microphone for voice controls.

With Kinect, you can control the menus by simply raising your hands or by speaking. Some examples of voice controls, to pause a video playing, say "Xbox, pause", to resume, say "Xbox, play", to stop the video, say "Xbox, stop. Sounds futuristic? But it works, as shown in the E3 2010 demo. You can also do video chatting and the camera will track your body so that if you move out of the frame, the camera will pan along to keep you in the frame.

Kinect comes with a few games, such as Kinect Sports, Kinect Joyride, Kinect Adventure and etc. Looking at the demos, I would say that Kinect is quite responsive and can register movements very well. Playing Kinect games would require the gamer to move the whole body, this will encourage players to be more active when playing games. And in my opinion, these kind of motion control games are more suited to family titles and fun-filled games. Most of the games unveiled for Kinect are mostly fitness-related and family fun games, which Nintendo Wii has already done, except that its in high definition now. I wonder how hardcore games like first person shooters and realtime strategy games would work with Kinect but we shall keep an eye for such demos. So far, Kinect has been demo-ed for driving, running, yoga, hip hop dancing, light saber swinging, etc.

**Edit** Forza (racing game) was quickly demo-ed to show how Kinect is used to add interactivity into the game. For eg, you can "walk" around a virtual car, like at a car show room, by leaning left and right.

Controller-less motion control is a first in the world and we hope that Microsoft will do a good job. The games, however, may not be so original since we have seen many similar games on the Nintendo Wii. The only selling point for these games is that they are in high definition. Kinect will officially go on sale in Nov 2010.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 MTV Trailer

The MTV release trailer of the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 will come out on 18 Nov 2010.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 will come out in July 2011.

FYI. The first Harry Potter movie,  The Sorcerer's Stone, came out in 2001. Could it be a coincidence that the last movie is to come out in 2011? So that the Harry Potter series comes a full ten years? Or is it that the studio just wants to prolong the excitement? Regardless, the Deathly Hallows movies look set to create an epic ending. Its definite must watch for both of them.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Can't wait for this movie to come out. Watched all 3 of the previous ones. ^.^

New Music!

Hi! These are some of the music that I think are worth a listen. They are mostly hip hop/club music. I'll pick songs that new and might catch on. On top of that, I'll try to pick songs that are not released on local radio, otherwise, that's what the radio is for, isnt it? =P

NB: Clicking on the song names will lead you to the youtube video of that song. If there are any broken links, just let me know. =)

Posted: 14 June 2010
1. Taio Cruz - Dynamite **HOT**

2. Katy Perry ft Snoop Doggy Dogg - California Gurls **HOT**

3. B.O.B. ft Hayley Williams of Paramore and Eminem - Airplanes (Part 2)

**Not On Radio**

4. David Guetta ft Leah - Sexy Bitch (Female Version)

Posted: 23 May 2010

1. Charice ft Iyaz - Pyramid **HOT**

2. Charice - I Love You **Not On Radio**

3. Shontelle - Impossible

4. Chris Brown ft Ester Deans - Big Things

Posted: 18 May 2010

1. Chipmunk ft Esmee Denters - Until You Are Gone

2. Taio Cruz ft Ke$ha - Dirty Picture

3. The Black Eyed Peas - Rock That Body

4. Taio Cruz ft Ludacris - Break Your Heart (Remix) **Not On Radio**
5. Christina Aguilera - Not Myself Tonight

Posted: 14 May 2010

1. Britney Spears - Telephone **Not On Radio**

2. Flo-Rida ft T-Pain - Zoosk Girl

3. Git Fresh ft Flo-Rida - Arch Your Back **Not On Radio**

4. Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)

5. Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Pussycat Dolls - Down Boy **Not On Radio**

6. David Guetta ft Kid Cudi - Memories

NB: I copied this over from my Facebook profile tab and I shall continue updating here. To view future posts, just click on Music link from the View By Categories on the top right menu.