[Music Monday] Hari Baru by RAN

"Jangan pernah lelah berlari
Mengejar asa yang kau cari

Keep holding on pada mimpimu
Terus kejar tanpa kau ragu
Keep moving on, biarkan yang berlalu
Sambut hari baru" - Hari Baru, RAN.

As we enter May 2014, it has been one hectic journey.

The Lowyat.NET team is getting really busy, trying to keep up as fast as we could with all the tech and consumer electronic world have to offer especially now that there are plenty of new products are heading into the market as we getting to the end of 1H of 2014.

Additionally, the whole Lowyat MSC itself is going through transformation, which you guys should be able to see sooner or later.

Hence, I'm slightly tired...but I'm not down. Please. Far from it.

I can't be down. I only do so little...if I'm down, where can I hide my face from my team then?

Also, there are still a lot need to be done here. ^_^v

Meanwhile, as for the song. I discovered RAN when I was listening to Nokia MixRadio on my Nokia Lumia 1020 through one of the band's earlier song called Pandangan Pertama. I really like the band's mix of smooth RnB, funk, pop and neo-jazz which essentially equals to what I usually call "feel good music".

I went through all of RAN's four albums and all of them have the same feel good vibe. As you might know, the vibe from the music that you listens to can affect your mood; so, that's why I've been listening to a lot of RAN's music lately.

Just to keep the feel good vibe going. You know, just to keep moving on. :)

[Image: Jazzuality dot com @ Flickr, used under Creative Commons license. Video: Ran's Official YouTube Channel]

[NOMS] Magnum Gold Is Crap, Enter The Magnum Infinity!

 

It is hard not to notice Wall's Magnum Gold ice cream, thanks to the expansive campaign that Unilever has provided for the ice cream. Obviously, since I love Wall's Magnum especially the Almond flavour, I give it a try and...

...it's awful. The gold-colored milk shell tasted flat, and same goes for the (rather thin) sea-salt caramel that swirls around the inner vanilla ice cream. If I would need to put it in my Magnum's list, Magnum Gold is in the bottom of my list which is topped by the Almond flavour.

All in all, IMHO the Wall's Magnum Gold doesn't deserve all the hype that Unilever has thrown at it. You want to know what's good? This: the Magnum Infinity that I tried in Jakarta recently while I was covering the regional launch of ASUS ZenFone for Lowyat.NET.

This particular variant of Chocolate & Caramel flavour of Magnum Infinity is made of dark chocolate shell and within it is a chocolate ice cream with caramel (that tasted better than what Wall's put inside Magnum Gold to me) touch. Mmm, very naise. :3

But still couldn't kick Magnum Almond off my list though. :3 Do check it out if you are in Indonesia...and I believe its available in UK too, so yeah.

[Magnum Gold Image: Yukino Miyazawa @ Flickr, used under Creative Commons license. Magnum Infinity image is my own, available on my Instagram feed. :3]

[Humour] Dear, Why You Sleep So Late?

A girl realized that her boyfriend looks tired for the past few days. So, she asked him:

GF: Dear, why you looked so tired?

BF: Well…been sleeping late for the past few days.

GF: What was you doing till you sleep so late then?

BF: Mmm…been practising for World Cup.

GF: *rolls her eyes*

LULZ.

Okay, the above lawak hambar which I've been telling my colleagues at office is partially based on a true story.

While I slept late almost every day mainly due to work (so many stories to tell, so little time in the world), a small part of my time especially just before I sleep was taken hostage by the free version of FIFA 14 on Windows 8/RT and Windows Phone 8. :p

Couldn't help it when you have a large phablet like Nokia Lumia 1520 to play the game, you know. :p

…and yes, welcome back to the blog. :3

[Image: Albert Choi @ Flickr , used under Creative Commons license. Nokia Lumia 1520 is my own, thanks to Nokia Malaysia...or should I say Microsoft Mobile Malaysia now? :3]

First Blog Post of 2014: Right From The Top of A Hill

So, I start 2014 with something that I never done before. Actually, it's more like I don't want to because I thought it is a monumental task. Turns out, I did it alright and I actually enjoyed it: riding my bike to Genting Highlands.

Yeah, I know I made it sounds so dramatic and all but I'm actually scared to do it. Really...I bought the KTM 200 Duke just for me to get around. Truly, I'm not much of your typical "biker" here.

That being said, my friend from Singapore recently came down to KL with his Aprilia RS 125, threw the idea, and insisted we go there. So, challenge accepted loh...

Fast forward to today, 4 January, here I am at Genting Highlands once again. There's a good reason why but that's a story for another time. Since I'm here, thought of writing the first post of the year on top of the hill. Macam poyo...well, memang poyo pun. :3

So, 2014. I want to write more on this blog. I don't want it to lay dormant any more and I want to write more personal posts.

In general, I feel that personal blog have become unpersonal and "commercialized". Additionally, I feel that I have been caught in the hype as well. So, I want to get more personal once again although you can still me blabbering about my love for Nike, KTM bikes, Red Bull (and their shenanigans), and plenty of other random things. That one...can't be helped, they are just things that I love, to be frank. :3

All in all, I just want to write more for 2014 on this blog. Think of it like a new year resolution. One of many, actually.

Anyway, happy new year to everyone and may the odds will be in our favour throughout 2014. :D

[Swoosh] Dare To Be Brasilian: No One Plays Like Us

FIFA World Cup 2014. Brazil. Right at the home of 5-times World Cup champion. Should be interesting to see the football giant trying to win the most prestigious football tournament in the world in front of the home crowd.

In fact, I expect Brazil's journey will be quite bumpy especially having Crotia, Mexico, and Cameroon as their opponents in the group stage. Then again, this is World Cup - anything is possible.

Meanwhile, the folks at Nike Football - being one of the major partner for the team - have not only come out with a brand new jersey for Brazil to wear at the tournament but also, a short film featuring some of their major players such as Neymar, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Paulinho, and Bernard. Even the team manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari also appeared in the 90-seconds film (this is not his first appearance in a Nike's production though).

Apparently crafted to celebrate the world-famous Brazilian style of football, the film blends fiction and reality in order to bring viewers into the mind and personalities of these individuals as well as their approach to the game. Well, I'll just let the video say for itself:

P/S: Look out for a cameo appearance by a certain Brazilian football legend. I think he is following Cantona's footsteps...:3

[Swoosh] Nike Football Hi-Vis Boots Collection Are Heading To Malaysia, Expect To Arrive Mid-Oct

Since their decision to equip their athletes at World Cup 2010 with boots in visually striking colours, such colour theme seems to become a norm in Nike Football family of boots these days. Hence, the new Nike Football Hi-Vis (which actually stands for High-Visibility) Collection might be seen as yet another repetition of the theme but that is not actually the case according to the people at Swoosh.

Apparently, the colorways on Nike Football Hi-Vis boots are made for the year-end winter season where the condition are darker and having such visible football boots might be able to help players on the field. Phil McCartney, the Vice President of Nike Football Footwear explains further:

“In a game that’s more congested and faster than ever the small percentages are becoming more important. If a player can get that flash of colour in their periphery, and see a teammate make a run, that could be the small difference between timing the pass perfectly or not taking advantage - that’s the sort of moment that can change the course of a game at the top level.” - Phil McCartney, Vice President, Nike Football Footwear.

Well, we don’t have winter over at this part of the world but nevertheless, I guess the highly visible nature of Nike Football Hi-Vis boots might be able to help football players out there gain better successful passing rate with their fellow teammates. Of course, this is in addition to techs that are readily existed in all four boots in the collection.

Priced at RM 799 and RM 780 respectively, the Hi-Vis version of Nike Hypervenom and Mercurial IX are draped in Electro Purple and Volt combo with black detailing. Meanwhile, the Hi-Vis Nike Tiempo IV and CTR360 comes in Volt, Green Glow and Electric Green combo also with black detailing together with a price tag of RM 549 and RM 649 respectively.

All four Nike Football Hi-Vis boots are expected to arrive in Malaysia by mid-October.

To learn more, do head on to www.nikefootball.com.my or www.facebook.com/NikeFootballMY.

[Vroom Vroom] KTM 1290 Super Duke R: Wheelie In Any Gear

189kg.
180HP.
0 to 200km/h in 7.2 seconds.
Wheelie in any gear...SAY WHAT?

So, KTM 1290 Super Duke R a.k.a "The Beast" is finally official. Even though it is obvious that I'm not able to afford it (maybe for now), I'm still looking at it with much interest especially being an existing owner of the smaller KTM 200 Duke.

One thing for sure: it made me much more eager to obtain the full B license. Vroom vroom. :3

[Source: KTM]