Tuesday, December 25, 2012

[Chap’s Lumia Travelogue] Hauling Them Books at Big Bad Wolf Books Sale 2012

I’ve heard of Big Bad Wolf Books’ legendary sale for quite some time since lots of my mates and colleague have visited the sale. However, due to my current economy status – I just got myself the new Nokia Lumia 920 which is pretty costly I must say – and I don’t have my own transport, I refused to go at first.

But fate seemed want me to be there so bad (HAHAHA) - my sisters decided to drag me to the venue last Friday and boom. ALL MY MONIES, THEY ARE GONE.

So, here’s our journey into what claimed to be as the world’s biggest book sale. Oh, and welcome back to Chap’s Lumia Travelogue – now featuring pictures from my new Nokia Lumia 920. :D



Saturday, December 22, 2012

[On Heavy Rotation This Week] Hujan's Lonely Soldier Boy / Andy Koyama's Mospeada Theme Song

While I'm familiar with Inspektor Ramos - thanks to its awesome video - I didn't actually listen to the rest of Hujan's Lonely Soldier Boy till earlier this week (yup, another case of slowpoke me). I was then really hooked to the album's title track due to its strong Japanese vibe...I don't know how to explain it but lets just say I felt the same vibe whenever I listened to Japanese bands such as Tokyo Jihen and Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

After some Google-fu, I've learned that the song is actually a Malay cover of Ushinawareta Yume o Motomete (translation: In Search of Lost Legends) - the opening theme of Genesis Climber Mospeada. No wonder the song sounded so familiar; I did watch several episodes of Mospeada (as itself and part of Robotech Saga) on TV when I was in primary school.

After I found that out, my respect for Noh Hujan has just increased ten-fold - got to tabik his ability to give a perfect set of Malay lyrics to the Japanese song.

The track appeared once again in Hujan's latest album - Sang Enemy - which was released earlier this year but this time, the song was recorded in its acoustic form together with the appearance by the original singer of Ushinawareta Yume o Motomete, Andy Koyama. MIND BLOWN.

"Cahaya mentari, kan datang kembali..." - Lonely Soldier Boy, Hujan.

[Images: ManggaOnline and MyAnimeList. Vidya sauces: Hujan and TheFunkyteru]



Thursday, December 13, 2012

[Swoosh] Meet The Nike Basketball’s LeBron X: Made For The King

Chances are, you have heard of LeBron James. Currently playing for Miami Heats, “King James” as some might call him is one of the greatest basketball players that ever graced the game with achievements such as NBA champion and NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for 2012.

Not to forget, 3 times NBA MVP, 8 times NBA All-Star, 2 times NBA All-Star MVP and NBA Rookie of The Year. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of LeBron and Nike Basketball which resulted in the arrival of the new LeBron X which is designed based on the specifications and the needs of the man himself. Here are what Nike Basketball have equipped into the new LeBron X:



Wednesday, December 12, 2012

[WTF] The Sad State of Harimau Malaya’s Training Ground in Bangkok

Now, I don’t know if this is intentional by the opponent (don’t think they are going to admit it anyway) but seriously, Thailand? According to local sports site Sports247.my that is in Bangkok for the upcoming 2nd leg of AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 semi-final match between Thailand and Harimau Malaya, only a half of the field was usable for training.

Why can’t the FA of Thailand source a proper venue – maybe in one of the stadiums that are used by Thai Premier League’s teams? As a comparison, the Thai team was given access to Maybank Sports Centre in Bangi as their training venue which is proper and conducive (obviously). Totally ridiculous...then again, FA of Thailand doesn't have a good track record as of recent anyway – according to its Wikipedia page.

Anyway, judge the condition yourself by checking out the rest of the photos at Sports247.my.

[Source: Sports247.my - (1)(2)]



Monday, December 10, 2012

[LOL] - When Kobe and Messi Ended Up On The Same Flight...

So...one day, world renowned basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and football maestro Lionel Messi somehow ended up in the same flight. This what happened on that flight...

The lesson here is that no matter what happened...ice cream rules. :D



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

[Swoosh] Nike GS 2 Football Boot Arrives Today: Exclusively At Match Up, Mid Valley Megamall

Said to be company’s lightest boot to date at 160 grams (for a size 9 boot), the new Nike GS2 football boot has arrived into to our shores today – exclusively at the newly opened Match Up, a football specialty store at the 3rd floor of Mid Valley Megamall. Priced at RM 949, this boot is the follow-up to the original Nike GS (which stands for Green Speed) that was revealed to the world earlier this year but unfortunately, didn't make it to Malaysia.

So, what’s the biggest difference between the GS2 and the original GS football? That would be GS2’s All Conditions Control (ACC) technology – an all-weather layer which was applied to the boot’s upper area in order to help it attain consistent level of friction regardless of dry or wet condition. With that, GS2 owners should able to maintain consistent ball control in either condition.

I was told that the new Nike GS2 boot is available in limited amount quantities; so, to footie fans out there, head on to Match Up (that's the store above) to check out the boot personally. For more, head on to Nike Football Malaysia's Facebook page.



Monday, December 3, 2012

[Rants] WTF: Apple iPhone 5 Is Coming Yet Still No Signs of Nokia Lumia 920

I never ranted about a phone before as much as how I ranted about Nokia Lumia 920. There is a good reason to it though - I wanted it. I wanted it so bad.

However, I'm very frustrated at how Nokia took its own sweet damn time to release it here in Malaysia. Imagine this: it was announced before iPhone 5 and till the day that Apple actually announced the iPhone 5's launch date for Malaysia, the device is still nowhere to be seen. What gives?

Thankfully, there is a media session coming later this week. I hope that the info will finally be spilled out at the session or else...guess who is going to spend his weekend in Singapore?

[Image from Obefiend's Instagram. Pinjam kejap yek, Obe. :D ]



Tuesday, November 27, 2012

[Swoosh] Nike Lunar Force 1: Finally, The AF1 30th Anniversary Edition Worthy of ME GUSTA

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the iconic Nike Air Force 1 (AF1) line of shoes, the folks at Nike have come out with a number of special AF1 releases. If you can recall, I've discussed one such release before - the first Year of The Dragon AF1 which was launched in the market earlier this year. Since then, quite a number of XXX AF1 have arrived into the market but the timing or pricing wasn’t right for me, so I’ve to forgo them.

But this one, the Lunar Force 1 – which will be available in select Nike Sportswear globally on 12/12/12, not sure about Malaysia though – is not something that I will let go. I just have to get my hands on it.



Monday, November 26, 2012

[Balls of Steel] KL Tower and Petronas Twin Tower Fly-Through By Red Bull's Wingsuit Flyer

If you have not yet familiar with how Red Bull loves to project their themselves to the world, you must know that they loves to do extreme stuff. Felix Baumgartner’s recent supersonic jump projectRed Bull Stratos – and the glute crunching Red Bull 400 are just two of many crazy projects that the people at Red Bull have embarked on.

Here’s another recent one and in fact, this actually took place right here in Kuala Lumpur. Three of Red Bull Air Force’s wingsuit flyers have visited our capital with the intention to “fly” through the city’s tallest buildings – KL Tower and Petronas Twin Tower:

From what I heard, the fly-by was done guerrilla-style which is not surprising really - considering Red Bull's long history of bad assery. I wonder though how the folks in both building felt like once they saw the flyers flew by...

[FlySauce: Red Bull]



Thursday, November 15, 2012

[Swoosh] - Supreme x Nike Air Force 1: The NY Streetwear Powerhouse Takes On AF1

If there is any other Air Force 1 release that really got my eyes this year apart from Lunar Force 1 (more on that tomorrow), it would this one: the Supreme x Nike Air Force 1. This is not the first time that the New York-based skateboard-shop-turned-to-streetwear-global-powerhouse collaborated with Nike but most of their collaborative pieces usually involved Nike SB products.


Mmmm...gotta catch them all?

Available in three different colorways – black, camo and olive – the Supreme x Nike Air Force 1 is made from a highly durable and water resistant material called NYCO which is usually used for military gears. With a gum sole as well as the famed Supreme logo in several sections of the shoe, it is no surprise that many sneaker heads out there are feeling hot and bothered right now...


Supreme...Supreme everywhere.



Wednesday, November 14, 2012

[Recent Acquisition] The 2012 Malaysia National Football Team Home Jersey by Nike

After much rumors and speculations, the latest Harimau Malaya’s home kit has finally been launched by Nike earlier this week. To debut at the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 in less than 2 weeks’ time, the home jersey will be the first one to be made available at major Nike stores and retailers across the country starting from tomorrow onwards.


Your truly in the new Harimau Malaya's home kit!

I was fortunate enough to be able to check out the launch event myself few days ago and also managed to obtain the jersey way before it hit retail store tomorrow. Now, let’s get through the changes that our new home jersey has to offer for fans of Harimau Malaya out there.


Nike's Harimau Malaya home kit: 2010 and 2012 side-by-side.



Saturday, November 10, 2012

[Balls of Steel] Cockpit On Fire While Racing? Ken Block Doesn't Give A F***

Most of us know Ken Block from his crazy stunt in his world famous Gymkhana series but the DC Shoes co-founder and big kahuna actually raced professionally in many rally series such as World Rally Championship, Rally America and Global Rally Cross (GRC) with the Monster World Rally Team.

Here’s one of the recent race he participated, where he was forced to retire in the final race of the competition due to engine problem. But before the engine finally gave its life way, this was actually happened inside Ken’s car:

NOT. A. SINGLE. BOTHER. WAS. GIVEN.

[GilaBabiSauce: Monster World Rally Team]



Thursday, November 1, 2012

[Hooning Addicts] Need For Speed Most Wanted Live Action Advert: Don’t Try This In Real Life

Recently, the long-running Need for Speed racing game series has received yet another new iteration called Need for Speed Most Wanted. While the name might be identical to the one released in 2005 (which is one of my favorite NFS title), the 2012 edition is a different game altogether as the game is developed by Criterion Games – the people behind another legendary driving game series, Burnout.

Hence, it is not surprising that the Burnout’s DNA is quite apparent in the game (I played it briefly few days ago) and to some extent, the attitude of the game is awesomely captured by this live action advert that EA produced:

The most entertaining part of this video got to be when the Ford Focus ST [here’s my article on the car at Lowyat.NET - yup, the car is actually available in Malaysia] comes in and gives a middle finger salute to all. One of the finest hooning I’ve seen – even though it is staged. Too bad you can’t do it in the game though, lol.

[Gungho Sauce: Need For Speed YouTube channel]



[AwsmSauce] Airline Safety Video, Middle Earth Style

One of the standard routine of traveling via air is going through the airline safety instructions. However, since most of the basic safety instructions are generally identical from one airline to another, some passenger especially frequent travelers might be bored by it but I don’t think that would be the case for this airline safety video by Air New Zealand below:

Since The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is filmed at New Zealand just like the Lord of The Rings trilogy, it is not surprising that Air New Zealand is on board with WETA Workshop and Peter Jackson once again. On another hand, I wonder what kind of magic stuff that fuel the Boeing 777 featured in the video. :p

[Source: Air New Zealand, via a friend’s Twitter]



Saturday, October 13, 2012

[Running] Nike We Run KL 2012: Gearing Up For The Big Day!

If there is a period that I’m really looking forward to in the standard routine of participating in a running event (other than registration and the actual race day, of course), that would be the race kit collection week and for the Nike We Run KL 2012, it took place throughout last weekend. It was an interesting occasion as there were a little bit more to it than just grabbing my race pack.

One, it was the first time I actually see the Nike We Run KL 2012’s race route. There was slight change as the finish line has been moved from Dataran Merdeka to the nearby Padang Merbok but apart from that, the route looks pretty good to me especially with Ampang – KL Elevated Highway (AKLEH) is right there on the centre of the route. This is not the first time that Nike included AKLEH in its We Run KL route though as I’ve also went through AKLEH during Nike We Run KL 2010.

Second, just like last year’s race pack collection week, Nike Malaysia brought along couple of side activities for runners to check out. The foot scan (held at nearby Nike Store) and product showcase made a return this year but they do add another one to the mix: the 1 Minute Running Challenge.

Runners can tried on the new Nike LunarGlide+ 4 Shield (plenty of them around) and hop on one of the four available treadmills to participate in the challenge. An iPhone loaded with Nike Running app was then strapped on the runner to track his or her run which is also displayed on the huge display in front of the treadmill. Once done, runners will then be given the Super Runner patch for them to hot press it onto their Nike We Run KL 2012 running top on the spot.

Really love the setup – wish local Nike Store could obtain it so customers can actually choose their running shoes by actually testing them in stores as well as to easily demonstrate Nike+ technology.

As for the Nike We Run KL 2012 race kit itself, the contents are pretty standard such as the compulsory Dri-Fit race tee, the D-tag timing chip, a Nike water bottle and discount vouchers for selected Nike Store as well as Zalora. There are also wrist band for the finisher’s tee and I received an extra wrist band for access to VIP area (jangan jelly :p).

Well, now that my outfit for the race is already here, can’t wait for Nike We Run KL 2012 to start later today! Rain or shine! :D

Follow my Twitter (www.twitter.com/chapree) and add me on Instagram (ID: chapree2277) to check out live status and scenes from the Nike We Run KL 2012 today!



Friday, October 12, 2012

[Running] All Over Again: Training Day 4 – Nike We Run KL Training Run @ KLCC

Interval is the name of the game for this particular day of training and damn, it was hellish. Now, interval run – whereby you basically you run then rest and then run again - is not a foreign method to me since I read a lot about it in Runner’s World but it was never in my routine (which pretty much just consisted of distance run).

The timing for the session was pretty nice: it took place after rain and it was overcast throughout the run although the venue was a little bit wet. The venue - KLCC Park - was also one of my personal favourite parks to run since it has soft, cushiony surface which made running easier on the foot and it has a mix of flat as well as hilly areas.

The training session today required us to hit 1.5km which then followed by a short 30 sec break and resumed with another 1.5km. We hit two set of this routine which equivalent to 6km of distance. The session starts with Nike Training Club drills which were aimed to increase our heart-rate as well as a pre-run warm-up. As usual, runners were first separated into groups according to pace and off we go!

The distance wasn’t my main concern…the pace proved to be a killer. Not long after the run kicked off, I found myself slowly dropping to the back of my “average” group (which wasn’t so average after all) as I did my best to keep up. It was pretty obvious from timing as tracked by my Nike+ SportWatch GPS:

Despite that, I found that interval runs are very fun. Apart from the obvious benefit from intense work out, I also learned my actual limit in number. Hence, this is not going to be the last time that you will see me doing interval runs.

Meanwhile, I managed to check out the new all-weather Nike LunarGlide+4 Shield edition - part of the newly released Hypershield pack and was the featured trial shoe - at the training session. That being said, I didn’t get to use it though as I choose to use my existing working horse - the Nike Free Run+ 3 – instead. Its ok…turns out I get my chance soon enough. :D

Up next…I was hit by another bout of idle days bug again. As hard as I tried to find time to run, my training session only took place a week after the session above - at the final Nike We Run KL training session which took place at The Curve. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Stay tuned for that in a bit.



Monday, October 8, 2012

[Quads of Thunder] Red Bull 400: The Uphill Highway of Hell

It might be just a 400m run which is rather short in flat line (equivalent to one full lap in a typical track setting) but then, it is not going to be a Red Bull - who loves crazy stuff – event if it just a plain old 400m run. God damn…just look at that incline. All 36 degrees of it.

At this particular Red Bull 400 event at Planica in Slovenia last month, 164 runners from 9 countries braced the slope and tried their best to conquer it. This is an excellent recap video of the event:

I can see that majority, if not all of the participants looked superbly fit. Guess I need to get off all these fatties from my body before I can even dream of attempting this event or something similar to it. Then again, I heard it is not that hard to hike Bukit Broga in Semenyih…think I just found a perfect reason to get myself a trail running shoe. :D

[Source: Red Bull via Kin Meng]



Thursday, October 4, 2012

[Recent Acquisition] 2012 Malaysia Nike Dri-Fit T-Shirt: Is The New Harimau Malaysia Collection On Its Way?


The front graphic.

The story goes that I visited Nike Store at Mid Valley Megamall after work two days ago to grab a head/hair tie since I’ve mysteriously (oh lol) or rather successfully misplaced all my hair ties. At the same time, since I haven’t visited the store for quite some time (true story, bro), I also went around to check out some of the latest Nike products that have just arrived at the store.

As I stopped by at the football section, this Dri-Fit t-shirt caught my eyes. I believe that this very t-shirt is part of the new Malaysia national football team collection for 2012 and the first to be released into the market as I never seen them at Nike stores or other sports store before.

The back graphic. Not a fan of that map, I think it's somehow out of place. I prefer to have just texts there.

As you can recall, the last national football jersey was launched in 2010 – just before AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 which Malaysia ended up as the champion of the tournament. The tournament will be making a return this year and words in the air that Harimau Malaya might be receiving a new set of kit this year. With the arrival of this new t-shirt, I think we are on to something here.

Also available in blue, this t-shirt is priced at RM 119 – a rather hefty price tag, I must say. Apart from the price tag as well as the tiny Malaysian map at the back, I really love the design especially that little touch on the left sleeve. Can’t wait for the rest of the collection (especially the new jersey) to be available in the stores!

The graphic on left sleeve. Gotta love this one.



Wednesday, October 3, 2012

[Running] All Over Again: Training Day 3 – The 7KM After 4 Idle Days


YOLO! Herp derp de derp derp...[image: AllTheRageFaces.com]

For my Twitter followers and Facebook friends, they might already know about this but for the five or so of you that are reading this blog, these were my thoughts as I went through 7km of wet, morning run last Friday as part of my on-going training for Nike We Run KL 2012:

1km: Malasnya...
2km: Woraits, getting in the groove.
3km: Biasa jer ni...
4km: Chap, what r u doin.
5km: Chap, stahp.
6km: Almooosssttt thereee HNGGHHHH
7km: HNGHHHHHH FINALLY. NEED DRINKKKK

Despite the remarks above, I’m actually quite satisfied with my run as I still managed to pull off an average pace of low 7 min/km. Plus, I did it in the morning which is quite amazing since me and early morning virtually don’t co-exist together.


Stats from the run, as tracked by my Nike+ SportWatch GPS.

Nevertheless, here I am again – bitten by the “idle days bug” as I like to call it. 4 days are not that bad actually (5 days would be my benchmark) but I still felt the symptoms such the lingering lazy feeling, loss of focus and of course, not feeling really fit.

However, I wasn’t really concerned about it because my training continues the next day with Nike for another round of We Run KL Training Run series which focuses on…interval training. If there is one word to describe how that training session went, it would be: HELL. Check back soon for the next chapter of my training diary. :D



Tuesday, October 2, 2012

[Running] All Over Again: Training Day 2 - 5KM and Reaching The 1000KM Milestone

November 2009 – September 2012: after almost three freaking years, I’ve finally reach the milestone. One thousand kilometres. AWWW YEAAA~

Three years = 1000km that was accumulated through close to 200 runs in four different continents. Wow. I couldn't believe it myself too.

A lot of things have changed since the day I started running again in November 2009 but thankfully, running is one of those things that has remained as a constant in my life. Obviously, I’m already looking forward for the next 1000km and beyond. I mean, if the first 1000km has been this good, I’m sure it will just get better as I go further. Rest assured, I’ll not stop until the time comes.

Meanwhile, the exact run that brought me through the 1000km milestone actually happened on a treadmill at my usual gym. Anti-climax, I know.

I figured that since I’ve already run on the road the day before at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa during the first Nike We Run KL Training Run, I would like to shift the gear down on treadmill taking advantage of the machine’s softer and constant surface. Well, turned out I actually went pretty fast (by my standard) with an average pace of low-6 minutes per km.

Here's the breakdown of my run, as recorded by my Nike+ SportWatch GPS:

It really looked like I might already on to something here but then...I let few days passed by before my next training run. Woopsie. Check back soon for the next chapter of my training diary in which once again I learned about leaving too many idle days between runs.



Sunday, September 23, 2012

[Running] All Over Again: Training Day 1 - Nike We Run KL Training Run @ Titiwangsa

Group photo of Nike We Run KL Training Run @ Titiwangsa participants.

Two weeks have gone since I completed Adidas King of The Road 16.8k and I’ve pretty much lounging around doing nothing ever since. No running, no exercise, no workout…yup, nothing. I’ve decided that I had enough and since the Nike We Run KL 2012 is going to take place in less than one month time, it is a high time to get back into the groove.

Coincidentally, the first session of Nike We Run KL Training Run series starts yesterday and the distance for the session was quite short at around 3km (yeah, the actual distance was shorter than they first announced). A good starting point, I guess.

"Find Your Greatness": Mid-run motivation.

Held at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa under a cloudy weather, the participants were divided into three groups according to pace level and I (naturally) decided to join the “slow” group. It turned out that the “slow” was not really slow as you can see from my Nike+ SportWatch GPS stats below that our average pace was around low 7 min/km which was kinda fast for me. Nevertheless, it was good to be back on that pace after pulling out the turtle-ish average pace at KoTR.

Nike+ stats for the first 2.4k.

Around half a click before we wrapped up the run, the group stopped to do sets of forward lunge, squats and combo of both. The lunge + squats combo got my attention – now, why I never thought of that? We then pretty much finished the remaining 0.6km at slightly faster pace.

Nike+ stats for the remaining 0.6km. I rarely able to go 5min/km and in fact, I believe I can maintain it for a least a full click. ME GUSTA x 9000.

Post-run, I actually expected them to put us through the Nike Training Club (NTC) drills (it might be designed for women but the drills are are god damn intense - been through them twice previously) but kinda relieved that they didn't. That being said, I do wish for it since the drills are very useful.

So, there you have it – my first day of training for Nike We Run KL 2012 as well as other upcoming run till the end of 2012. My feet were damn restless last night, so I can’t wait for subsequent training days as well as the second (and longer) training run session with Nike at KLCC Park next Saturday. More to come!

The badge that I received at the end of training session.

Meanwhile, there are still few more photos from the training right after jump. Just click on the link below to check them out.



Friday, September 21, 2012

[What’s Up] H&M Lands In Kuala Lumpur; First Look and Scenes From Grand Opening Night

The renowned Swedish fashion label - H&M - has finally landed in Malaysia via its first Malaysian branch in Lot 10 over at Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. A special grand opening event was held last night and boy, what a blast it was.

It felt like almost all of the who’s who of Kuala Lumpur was there - from entertainment industry to fashion to music to lifestyle and of course, the media folks. From LYN's side, both Tech (me + my editor - obviously for a casual visit) and Lifestyle (Hype, Lipstiq and Wanista) team were there to check out what kind of hype does H&M brings to Malaysia.

Check out the crowd!

Judging from my brief time there, the Lot 10 store caters to everyone from infants to adults (including pregnant ladies); both male and female. The store has pretty much everything – clothing (formal, casual and leisure), undergarments (and lingerie *cough*), accessories and shoes.

Just a very small section of the men's department.

That being said, the store is mainly made for ladies as two floors are dedicated exclusively for them while for guys, they have to share the same floor with kids and maternity clothing. Pricing-wise, I would say that it is slightly cheaper than Uniqlo although the differences aren’t really huge.

AWWWW YEAAA.

So, what I actually ended up with from last night’s opening then? A cozy blazer (my first blazer ever!) priced at RM 259 and an el-cheapo belt that cost me RM 19.90. There were couple of other things as well that attracted my attention but I’m going to save them for next subsequent visit to H&M Lot 10.

Obviously, I snapped hecktons of images from last night’s grand opening which you can check out after the jump and if that not enough, my colleagues have also posted their own take on the new H&M Kuala Lumpur store over at Lipstiq.com and Wanista.com. If you like what you see, just make your way to the new H&M Kuala Lumpur store in Lot 10 which will be officially open for business starting from tomorrow, September 22 at 11AM onwards.

Thanks to Mandy for all her fashion advices and tips on that night. Hope you enjoy your new clothes and shoe from H&M! xD



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