Hilarious

Just watch this video and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

British Winter Time

… is here! This means that British Summer Time is gone! (duh!!)

It just feel weird having 25 hours in a day today. Usually I wake up at around 0715 hours and today I woke up at 0700 but the difference was the sky. Yesterday, the sky was dark at 0715 but today, the sky to already so bright! Well, of course I would expect this when all clocks has slowed down 1 hour.

So now, I’m no more 7 hours later than Malaysian time, it’s 8 hours now! So people, next time you wanna call/text/message me on MSN or whatever contact you wish to have, please remember it’s 8 hours now not 7.

It’s fun having 25 hours in a day once a year. It gives me an hour longer to complete my degree, an hour longer to sleep in bed, an hour longer to complete my assignments, an hour longer to have some leisure. There’s so many things I can do with this extra hour I have today! Well, I’m off now to use my extra hour of the day…

Discussions

Sometimes it’s just hilarious reading discussions of what people from all over the world has to talk about.

This link here, is a place where people come together to discuss the world’s oldest countries. As the discussion becomes more and more detail and debates betting more and more heated up, people tend to go off the topic. They’re supposed to discuss about the oldest country in the world but at the latter part of the discussion, people start saying that the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Sumerians are the world’s oldest country.

I guess people do get confused with what is a civilization and what is a country. Some even started claiming that Iran/Iraq is the oldest country in the world because Persia was there. Like hello? Persia WAS there. Past tense. So Persia IS gone. No more, non-existent, vanished. Then some started with Etiopia because some of the oldest human skeletons were found there. What does that got to do with the founding of countries?! It doesn’t mean that if a country has the oldest skeleton, the country is the oldest country in the world! What rubbish!

It’s also hilarious how some people claim things that they think is right. For example, some claim that India was once part of Persia. India was NEVER part of Persia. The Persian empire may have stretched out around the lands of India but not into India. the closest it got was until modern day Pakistan.

The list of the oldest countries in the world listed in the site are: San Marino, France, Denmark, Portugal, Andorra, Switzerland. If I were to pick out of the list, I would definitely say San Marino is the oldest standing country from the list. However, everyone there is just focusing so much on Europe and ancient civilizations, they totally forgot all about Japan. Japan has the oldest reigning monarch in the world. Founded in 660 B.C. However, the longest ruling monarch isn’t Japan. It would be China but it was overthrown in 1912, so it isn’t the oldest reigning monarch anymore. Japan’s monarch has been ruling the country since then and slowly evolved from a monarchy to a constitutional monarchy of what is modern day Japan today. (correct me if I’m wrong). Japan was never invaded and ruled by another power, so Japan, in my opinion should be the oldest country in the world.
Anyway, it’s a good laugh reading opinions of other people all around the world arguing on a single topic which every now and then slants out of topic. It’s just surprising how shallow some people’s knowledge on history can be.

Here’s the link again. Click here.

5th November

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…

So here’s the kick. The 5th of November, a day where Britain celebrates the day where a terrorist plot which nearly took place but didn’t 401 years ago. The story goes like this:

Guy Fawkes & the Gunpowder Plot
Words of “Remember Remember” refer to Guy Fawkes with origins in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. He was tried by Judge Popham who came to London specifically for the trial from his country manor Littlecote House in Hungerford, Gloucestershire. Fawkes was sentenced to death and the form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practised (hung ,drawn and quartered) which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason.

The Tradition begins…
The following year in 1606 it became an annual custom for the King and Parliament to commission a sermon to commemorate the event. Lancelot Andrewes delivered the first of many Gunpowder Plot Sermons. This practice, together with the nursery rhyme, ensured that this crime would never be forgotten! Hence the words ” Remember , remember the 5th of November” The poem is sometimes referred to as ‘Pleased to remember the fifth of November’. It serves as a warning to each new generation that treason wil never be forgotten. In England the 5th of November is still commemorated each year with fireworks and bonfires culminating with the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes.

excerpt from rhymes.org.uk

People here celebrate this day just like other countries celebrating Independence Day. Judging by the fact that England doesn’t have an Independence Day because there isn’t a reason why they should celebrate the day the monarchy was overthrown, although it was overthrown in 1649, it was restored in 1660, so it’s the same monarch ruling the country. If there was one, they would have been celebrating it since the Romans left the land around the 5th and 6th century A.D. That’s like 1500 years! Probably one of the oldest surviving monarchs in the world with Japan being the oldest, officially founded in 660 B.C. I guess they have all the reason to celebrate a failed terrorism plot to kill the king and all parliament members one night in 1605.

*hoping to see fireworks in Sheffield but I highly doubt it*

Christina Aguilera - Hurt

Another nice song by Christina. Wonderful lyrics, touching music and excellent video.

Hurt by Christina Aguilera

Seems like it was yesterday when I saw your face
You told me how proud you were, but I walked away
If only I knew what I know today
Ooh, ooh

I would hold you in my arms
I would take the pain away
Thank you for all you’ve done
Forgive all your mistakes
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
To hear your voice again
Sometimes I wanna call you
But I know you won’t be there

Ohh I’m sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn’t do
And I’ve hurt myself by hurting you

Some days I feel broke inside but I won’t admit
Sometimes I just wanna hide ’cause it’s you I miss
And it’s so hard to say goodbye
When it comes to this, oooh

Would you tell me I was wrong?
Would you help me understand?
Are you looking down upon me?
Are you proud of who I am?

There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
To have just one more chance
To look into your eyes
And see you looking back

Ohh I’m sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn’t do
And I’ve hurt myself, ohh

If I had just one more day
I would tell you how much that I’ve missed you
Since you’ve been away
Ooh, it’s dangerous
It’s so out of line
To try and turn back time

I’m sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn’t do
And I’ve hurt myself by hurting you

Live performace during the VMAs.

My Room (updated)

It’s the 18th of November, this means that it’s my 1 month “monthniversary”. So of course living in my room for 1 month, of course there will changes made here and there throughout the room to personalise the room to make it more comfy for both me and guests. Earlier pics of my room looks bare, empty and stagnant. Now, after 1 month, my room is now more vibrant and more towards my personal taste. So here are a few before and after pictures plus a little more this time.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Of course the view outside my room will still stay the same! It’ll change during winter but now it still looks exactly the same as it was 1 month ago.

More pics!

So here are some “unrevealed” pics of my room…

Well although there are a few abrupt changes in my room, compared to the local brits here, they brought their entire house along. They got their own television, fridge, desktops, radio, heater, clothes rack, hi-fis, even bedside tables! Basically, they brought everything. Well, at least I tried to make my room as close to theirs but it’ll never be as close… ever.

Endcliffe Park

It’s the weekend and as usual everyone in the hall mysteriously disappears. No where to be found. The meal lines I see on weekdays are non-existent on weekends. The hall becomes a deserted place, leaving a handful of brits and of course all the international students. It’s unfortunate that we international students can go back home every weekend like the brits here. The loneliness and boredom creeps in eeriely every weekend.

But this weekend was different. This morning, I had a walk into the Botanical Gardens and found a wonderful spot under the trees to revise my subjects. Had a very productive 2 hours of study under a tree in the freezing cold autumn breeze plus lunch which was nothing but a blueberry muffin and a bottle of chilled mineral water.

Later in the afternoon, Karen and I went to Endcliffe Park. We were walking around the area after dinner yesterday and found the entrance to Endcliffe Park. I knew it was a nice place to walk around because it was a huge green lung smack in the middle of Sheffield near my hall. Plus the view from Google Earth was very promising. It was getting late and dark and cold yesterday, so we decided to postpone the visit today.

So today, equiped with our scarfs and coats to fight the freezing winds and cameras to capture the moments, off we went to Endcliffe Park. The walk there was down hill. Nice quiet little road with beautiful houses.

So here’s the entrace to the park. Doesn’t look that grand at all. (just don’t look at the rubbish bin at the side). But there are many gems stored inside yet to be discovered.

After walking a while, we came to a pond. There were ducks swimming around and people feeding them. Doves, pigeons and gulls were also present all around the pond.

Later we walked down even further and came to a huge flat open ground suitable for all kinds of activities. Further down, there were winding pathways leading deeper inside the park.

Streams and creeks criss crossing through the entire park with small waterfalls and tiny rapids. A bronzse statue of Queen Victoria was also erected in the park.

Oh, look how wide this trees is. Imagine how many hundreds of people can get shaded under that tree!

We also found the foundation stone of the park. The park was there since 1887! Thats 113 years ago!

There was this carving on a stone we saw in the park, it looks pretty new and it looks very refined too. I wonder who did it.

A view of the woods at the edge of the park.

Whoever that lives in these houses just opposite the park are the luckiest people. It’s such paradise.

Some other randoms pics of the park.

Look Ma!

I won a lava lamp!

All I did was answer all 3 questions correct and I won a lava lamp! So simple! Btw, it’s only for university students that were handed the special decoder thingy, so I’m sorry, you guys reading this can’t participate…