Love and Peace

Thats why Sara Bareilles makes music.I have to say sorry to my blog for ignoring it for such a long time even during a holiday. Anyway, after many many hours of downloading, I got to watch Sara Bareilles perform live in the historic Fillmore. Originally I saw it in Amazon and even thought of buying it, 17USD without freight was slightly exp. Oh yea, I am a very big Sara B fan so I got really excited over it. Here's the cover and back. Courtesy of Amazon.

There's only two songs she has never officially performed before and the others were from her album Little Voice which is stunning, 4th best selling album this year. I read this somewhere and I agree, the DVD is not much different from her songs, but there's some story in between songs which she tells why she made those songs and her amazing journey. It's quite a story people hasn't known about her. My take on her based on what I saw was something very natural and extraordinary. From the way she performs, I could really see her "owning" those songs , not many artists have that. I could feel those songs when she sang it and the comfort level she was at was great.
The type of songs she sings like Fairytale, Vegas and Gravity was just so different and I just felt more in love with it. A little hiccup would be her little jokes weren't funny, lol and the use of some words which would be a bit inappropriate for some of the young people watching. "I'm f***ing with you". It definitely wasn't literal(she meant I was fooling with you) and some were a bit stunned (awkward silence)... But it wasn't going to overshadow the brilliant performance she delivered, she got a lot people teary with some of her songs...oops.....
Her band was very very enthusiastic and talented , liked it very much. Plus, a lot of insight what she does off-stage.

The list of songs she performed.
Bottle It Up - Not one of the songs I like but she rocked it.
Vegas - My favourite song in the album, she improvised and made it memorable.
Morningside - She addressed the crowd in the uplifting song.
Love on The Rocks - Her performance made me realised how good was the song. The music is just so damn nice.
Between The Lines - About liking someone and not being being liked back. Emo song.
Fairytale - She calls it a female anthem. Apparently after watching Cinderella, she imagined what happens after the story. Her imagination of what they did lead her to the song. The use of Disney characters and imagining them in the way she thinks. Funny too.
August Moon - She played the guitar on this one. First time shes performedthis.
City - She slowed things down with this.
Love Song - Who doesn't like this song. It was written in anger.
Many The Miles - Nice one to sing along.
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Originally done in 1968 by Otis Redding. Did it only by the piano.1st encore song. She also performed it during the credits with only the guitar.
Gravity - The perfect closing, wonderful.

Rating is 9/10.
You can get the mp3 HERE and the video HERE. A must watch for her fans.

Merry Christmas.
~deyao~

Amazing Taylor Swift !

Exams are done and finally I can do the review on the new Taylor Swift album. Been listening to the album since the release and oh my.... this girl is insanely good. Still days away from turning 19 and she just delivered an incredible album. I thought her debut album was already unbelievable, and now her sophomore album Fearless is at the next level and the world has done nothing wrong for doing this..

I made some screenshots from Billboard and it appeared like that.Yes, the fans all made this happen. Top of the Billboard 200? You can't be serious. I wasn't expecting that either. Now she is top of the world!
So here's the list from the album.

Fearless - The opening song and it is definitely an opening song. Great song.
Fifteen - Taylor teaching someone to love? Not a good idea.
Love Story - Romeo and Juliet theme with a happy ending.
Hey Stephen - Taylor's plain jealousy.
White Horse - This song blending with Grey's Anatomy's scene and Taylor Swift crying over the excitement her song was played, can really feel the song
You Belong With Me - One lucky guy I suppose which is similar to Mr. "Teardrops on My Guitar"
Breathe - With Colbie Caillat, but it was not quite the duet I expected. But it went well.
Tell Me Why - Probably the best song of the album.
You're Not Sorry - The title tells the story.
The Way I Loved You - Another guy...
Forever & Always - Song for that bloody Jonas guy.
The Best Day - Song for her family especially for her mum. Very sweet song.
Change - Written for the US Olympics team

Recommended: ALL tracks.
This album is arguably one of the best albums I've listened to. The songs are just very different and every song just gives you a story. The instruments in most of the songs also just wonderful. Yes, many of the songs about the guys in her life and imagine at the age of 18, there has been so many of them. Lol. I just ran out of good words describing the album...

Rating : 9.8/10

Some pictures to end.

I just can't get enough of those curls.




TAYLOR SWIFT IS TOURING AUSTRALIA !! THOSE IN AUSTRALIA, PLS GO!! I AM GOING INSANE HERE.

~deyao~

Hot N Cold by Taylor Swift

Here's a video posted by Taylor with Kate Perry's Hot n Cold.
Check the rest of her videos at her
MySpace Video Channel

They are really funny, she does really good acting. A good experience what goes behind the scenes.

You change your mind like a girl changes clothes.


Philadelphia :)


Ending part was good.

~deyao~

Who Needs Joe when You Can Have JT!

Taylor: "This makes it all better.."
Album review is coming up in a week.

~deyao~

Win or Bust November

1st quarter champions, Liverpool and Chelsea. Arsenal , six point behind. The bad news....................Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea have all played each other and Arsenal have played none of them. Bad enough.No actually, title is always decided among matches between the top four. Could it get any worse? Yes. Arsenal lost 3 matches in the entire of last season and finnished 3rd and this season they have "used" up all three matches. And lastly the most beautiful fixture list.


Stoke City - Lost
Fenerbahce - Did not win despite winning away
Man Utd - Champions
Wigan - Nothing will change if we win the Carling Cup.
Aston Villa - One of the better teams with Young, Gabby, Carew and Barry
Man City - One word : Robinho
Dynamo Kiev - Formality
Chelsea- Easiest match of the month?

November or Bust as I say. With injuries to Ade,Theo, Gallas, RVP's ban of 3 matches, and the yet to be impressive Silvestre, daunting seem a nice word actually. Not even the best players are on the pitch to save us.

Squad prediction for-Arsenal against Man Utd


Technically we're doomed. No one is going to score really unless Bendtner gets on a header or an unlikely long range shot from Nasri, Fab or Diaby. Only Walcott may deliver some surprise. Vela may come off the bench and give Bendtner some support or some miracle Wilshere(16) and Ramsey(17) come on for the match of their lives. haha.

If we do make something out of November, at least when we meet Liverpool in December it would mean something. God breathe some life into the Gunners and the suffering fans

~deyao~

Awaiting Fearless Taylor!

In a week's time, Taylor Swift would be releasing her new album Fearless, her second album. Love Story , Fearless and White Horse all have been released as singles and surely the rest would be as good. Previously in my review, I heap praises for her unbelievable debut self-titled album. She is so talented and I am very certain her album would be nothing but top notch again. Not mentioning her great personality too.
Cover of the album
I also can't wait to listen to her duet with Colbie Caillat, one of my other favs recently. It's called "Breathe". Found a pic from Coco's(Colbie) MySpace with her and Taylor during their writing session. You won't find this pic anywhere else.haha.
I love them both! Awesome musicians.

The release is on 11/11/08. Make sure you catch if you can. You are assured of great music. I'm done here......

~deyao~

Capricorn

First impressions on Jay's music always failed me. The last time I heard "Niu Zai Hen Mang" (first song from the previous album), I was like this is a complete disaster, what has happened this time. Then, at the end it turned out to be a great album. The previous album had great hits like Cai Hong, Yang Guang Zai Nan, Wo Bu Pei and the wonderful Zhui Chang De Dian Ying. I've been proven wrong many times and this time I threw first impressions out the window. I told myself, listen to the whole album first. The negative comments were there to be proven and damn hell they are all untrue. The Capricorn album is great! Every song was "very Jay" and he definitely has not lost any of it. Negatives to rest...
So here's the new addition to the collection.


His ninth album so far....erm wait.....did I lose count again....ok...it's 9!
This album has not many surprise elements, as I said it's still very Jay. Maybe a few songs might sound weird at first, but surely it becomes nice as always, don't know why.
Recommended tracks. My translations are bad, so I'll leave it.(edited: translation by JCNET)

2. 給我一首歌的時間 (Gei Wo Yi Shou Ge De Shi Jian) 4.花海 (Hua Hai) - Ocean of Flowers
6. 說好的幸福呢 (Shuo Hao De Xin Fu Ne) - Where Is Our Promised Happiness?
7.蘭亭序 (Lan Ting Xu)
8.時光機 (Shi Guang Ji) - Time Machine
And of course
9.稻香 (Dao Xiang) Paddy Fragrance -How can anyone not like this song I imagine.

The rest are not bad, but are not the ones you can sing along too, so that should be reason.
And also, my Jay collection is complete. Thanks Bin, Sylvia and Loon Hung for the gifts.

They got me Fantasy and Jay. The collection is done. Yay.Wondering how I should arrange all of them for a shot. I'll do it soon.

And finally, an unexpected addition this week.

Marie Digby Unfold Japan version. Never thought I could get it, only available in Japan. Thanks to my Ah Chi (cousin) and her connections, or else I wouldnt think of getting it. 2100yen is like Rm80. Nice booklet and pictures with a another booklet with translated lyrics for the Japan people. Acoustic version of Traffic, Spell, Miss Invisible and Unfold are included compared to the normal version. And obviously a full Jap song called "Kolewa" concluding the album. Sounds a lot like Utada Hikaru and due to her proficiency in Japanese, sounds completely like an ordinary Japanese. haha.

I might have a America's Next Top Model review when the show ends but definitely not the usual long post due to my dissatisfaction with the last season. Lauren Brie has a crazily stunning face but lacking personality =(. Astro is doing a very fine job, showing the current season, very surprising. Interesting week ahead, last week in uni sem 1, US elections, Arsenal vs Man Utd (trouble). And whether the RBA cuts the rate this week.


~deyao~

Investing in Gold

This has become one of my research throughout the year. How does a piece of metal and a world economy be linked to each other. It's quite puzzling but gold has been bought by many not only to preserve their wealth but also to make some $$.
Here are a few Q and A's you may want to know.



Q1:Why do people buy gold?

Gold is been long regarded as a safe-haven for an economic downturn or crisis when people lose confidence in equities and paper money. This is because gold does not lose much of its real value in most of the situations. Furthermore, trading gold involves only a small spread as small as 2.8 % which is attractive. Gold is highly demanded and almost anyone would want to buy gold and even have ready quoted prices for buying gold. Thus, there's little risk for holding it.

Q2: Can people really profit from buying gold?

Yes of course. Gold would be regarded as a conservative investment as people always turn to it many economic situations and demand for gold is strong from emerging countries. Gold can be quite volatile and thus if you have the foresight, you could easily make some good money.

Q3 :What affects the price of gold?

I would say three factors. The US Dollar, inflation rate and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). It's simple economics actually and makes common sense. When the US Dollar appreciates, people gain confidence in the dollar and would demand less of gold and thus its price would fall, vice-versa. Gold has also been called the "inflation" hedge. When inflation rates are high and paper money is losing its value, people turn to gold to conserve their wealth. Thus, inflation pushes gold prices up. And example is when crude oil prices rises indicating inflation, people normally turn to gold and thus these two commodities may be seen rising and falling together. This however does not always happen.The DJIA is the equity index in the US and this is also very similar. Confidence lost in the equity market, people jump to gold or cash. Of course, when money market rates are low and inflation is eroding paper money's value, gold is the option. Hence, gold rises.

Q4: You previously said when people lose confidence in equity, they jump to gold. Everything from commodities to stocks are tumbling now? How can this be right?

The credit crisis at the moment is worse then anyone could have expected and the lack of credit in markets are forcing people to liquidate anything they have. When the bailout bill was tabled, gold soared at a record overnight level because people feared for the collapse in equities and jumped into gold as safe-haven. Now, the situation is worse than expected causing central banks to bring down rates and governments to pump in money into the economy, thats how bad it is. Now, people are even selling gold to get cash. The huge sell-off is causing the huge drop in gold.

Q5: How much is gold's real value?

This should NOT be the main reason people should buy gold. But estimates based on the increase in money supply (M3) in the economy over the years, gold is worth ($20,000) compared to $ 700 now. But this is based on that measurement and it is quite impossible that sort of amount will be reached. However, this goes to show the amount money increasingly printed.


Q6: Will the price of gold go up?

The amount of money injected by governments into the economy would suggest inflation will have its place in the near future, and gold comes in again as the "inflation hedge" and a rise could happen. However, if the slowdown persist and demand is still slow, gold will not rise and we could be headed for some trouble.

Q7: Will gold match its $1000/oz record ?

Personally, the situation is terrible and I had many predictions gone wrong so I wouldn't give a yes or no. What I would say is by 2009 January , 900/oz.

Q8: Can I invest in gold by buying jewelery?

The term investing involves returns and gold does not pay any form of dividends or interest for holding it. You only make by trading. Jewelery prices are at 30% above market price for gold obviously for its premium in design and workmanship. Thus, investing by jewelery is out of the topic. People do invest by buying gold coins and bars can be easily traded with bullion dealers and banks.

Q9 : How about other metals such as silver and platinum?

I have not much knowledge about the two metals and I cannot make a fair judgment. But the fact is both of them has lost more than half of its value in the past year from their record highs and gold only lost about 20%. I hope I don't have to spell out which metal is in demand.
Here are some numbers based on 1 year
Silver : High $ 20, now 8.90, change : -55.5%
Platinum : High $ 2252 , now 798 , change : -64.6%
Gold : High $1002 , now 735, change : -26.5%

Q10: How do I track gold prices?

Most of the financial websites do quote the prices. Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, Kitco are examples.

~deyao~

Taylor Swift and Grey's Anatomy

One is my current craze in music and the other is the best series I've watched yet. Why are they on the same title? Read on... As big tv fans welcomed the return of Grey's Anatomy Season 5 on Friday, I barely knew where was I. In short, I was really sick, accumulated sleep for the day was abt 16 hrs, quite sure I screwed up my presentation in marketing as I was preparing it in "fever shivers", the "fastest thing that takes me down"(Tag Post). Then Saturday came, things improved, opened up EZTV and was like "Grey's is back?", so unlike me, I even wrote the date down on my previous post. This shows how drained I was. So downloaded Top Model as usual too. Havent watched the last 2 episodes. Seriously I can shelve Top Model anytime now, I haven't missed it on week to week basis almost ever. And since the show has showing dwindling signs that it is really deteriorating, I am just not that interested as b4. Coupled by the last season's winner, a friendly conclusion would be 'Fashion experts make mistakes too'.


Grey's Anatomy is back with a 2hr premiere and producers of the show should really do a better job than pretending to kill Derrick!! I was like yea yea, just an imagination. Then....hey this imagination looks pretty long for an imagination. Then when you get the first signs of worry they snap you out of the imagination. Conclusion, they mostly likely caught you out being worried. bloody hell.



So here's the point, as usual when you watch shows you get songs and you'll be concentrating on the shows rather than the songs unless its a familiar song. We almost never remember what song was played. It was a 1 hr and 24 min show so it must have been a little tiring. But it came this moment where just 3 secs of this person singing, I was like "HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON", I told myself "THAT IS SO TAYLOR SWIFT!, FOR SURE". I've listened to enough of Taylor Swift for the past many weeks to sing any of her songs. She is just so talented. 43 secs of the song was played.
True enough, I looked up her MySpace Post and bingo. The song is called White Horse which will be in her upcoming album Fearless. She must so happy being a big Grey's Anatomy fan.
3 days of productive time used. Back to work again...have a nice day.


~deyao~

Tagged by someone in the UK

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves..
RULE #2 Tag 5 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.
Tagged by you know who la

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
We'll sort things out like Ashley Cole and Cheryl.

2. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be
There's too many. Let's start with poverty eradication.

3. Whose butt would you like to kick
The person who tagged me. But very far away lah.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Buy a nice piece of Berkshire Hathaway and donation of course.

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
I don't think so.

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Of course someone loving you.

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you really love?
I must say I am a very patient man and it could be long.

8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
Do nothing unless I really know and 'love' the person.

9. Is there anything that has made you extremely happy?
Sara being back in Prison Break !!

10. What takes you down the fastest?
Fever. haha.

11. How would you see yourself in ten years time?
Happily married with kids.

12. Who do you miss the most now?
Family in Australia, All my L3 mates, Besties and bros (you know who you are) and Li Min.

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
A really good bro.

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Married and poor. But can get rich after that right?

15. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?
Get out of bed immediately as I am always late.

16. Would you give all in a relationship?
Definitely.

17. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?
Why are these questions so subjective. Intuition and instincts would get me there, no worries.

18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing the someone has done?
Depends how serious it is. But definitely not as simple as forgive and forget.

19.Do you prefer being single or having a relationship?
Never been attached before, wouldn't know.

20.List 5 people to tag
Forget it.

The Q & A 2nd edn

The summer transfer window has officially closed for the now till January. So here's a Q & A, both by me, on the highlights of the transfer activity which happened all the way from July till minutes before the window closed at midnight of 1 September.

Interviewer - Neutral
Pundit - Arsenal fan

Q : We'll start of easily, which club pulled of the "coup" of the season?

A: Hands down Man City with Robinho as the main reason, but Spurs would be a close second if that had not happened. Robinho with Wright-Phillips, Kompany and Jo would be enough to convince me that they have come up tops in terms of signing players.

Q: How about overall in terms of buying and selling?

A: This one would go to Spurs. Modric, Dos Santos, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, F.Campbell and Corluka form a pretty impressive line-up of signings. I must say they too did a fantastic job in terms of selling players, 31 mil for Berbatov and 20 mil for Keane, that's good business. Plus, they got rid of Kaboul , Robinson and Lee which I felt were poor and the reason Spurs conceded so many goals last season and had only few clean sheets to show for. My hat is off to Ramos, I could really see that he is in control. He sells two tops strikers and brought in three where one of them is experienced and the other two has so much potential (Santos and Campbell) and is left with Darren Bent at his disposal as well. The Spurs team is really taking shape, they got Bentley and Modric playing the creative role , they got Bale and Lennon pushing down the flanks, Zokora holding and an added strength in defence with Corluka. I don't think Man City is the only team to look for this season.

Q : How about Liverpool, one of the big 4s that hasn't won the title for a very long time. How'd you think they fared?

A : This season again I am asking many questions of Liverpool. Where is the quality coming from. I still do not see it. They got Keane who could do the job for more goals which is the only improvement I really see. Ngog, Degen, Flora and Riera...I actually have not heard of any of them before so I am neutral . Back to the question, who are the big players? I really just see Torres and Gerrard again frankly. Based on the team's performances in the first 3 matches, the outlook doesn't look that bright to be honest. I might be wrong but based on last season's play, it doesn't really look much improved.


Q : Man Utd with the one and only signing, your take?

A : Actually it's two if you take into account Tevez' permanent deal. Two signings for a cost of 63 mil pounds is no small amount (B:31m + T:32m). Judging teams based on their signings is just 1 angle you can look at this. A really good analyst would look at things like this:Man Utd has kept their double-winning team together and added more quality upfront. Now they have I would say the BIG 4 (Berbatov, Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney). Could you find a better combination of attackers? Certainly not in my book. Selling Silvestre, Pique and Saha. I don't think it would affect much, they weren't the main contributors to their success last season. I don't think there should be any criticism for keeping a winning team.


Q : Now to your team , Arsenal. Let's hear an overview.

A: I am actually reasonably satisfied with what we got except for a defensive midfielder which I have been hoping since Flamini, Diarra and Gilberto all departed. I've analyzed this team long enough this entire summer and I have an idea why Arsene hasn't made major changes. The defence is reasonably well-equipped. Sagna, Clichy, Gallas, Toure, Song, Djourou and Silvestre would be good enough for defensive covers. Now this is the part many people fail to see in this team. I call it hidden quality. The signings were Ramsey, Nasri, Bischoff and Vela.
Why haven't we bought a striker? Did you know we have Adebayor, Van Persie, Eduardo, Walcott, Bendtner and Vela as strikers?
Are 6 of them enough?

'Top scorer' Adebayor - Power, creativity, towering presence
'Flying Dutchman' Van Persie - Shooting, crossing
'Fox in the Box' Eduardo - Finishing and intelligent play. His conversion rate last season was amazing.
'Pacy' Walcott - Pace and drifting on the lines
'Confident' Bendtner - Heading from set-pieces, physical presence
'Creative' Vela - Cameo role
I don't see a need for a striker if you asked me.

Midfield - Fabregas , Rosicky , Nasri , Eboue, Diaby, Ramsey, Denilson, Bischoff
This list shows the weakness of the team. The defensive midfielder is lacking here unless Diaby steps up and fills that difficult position. He might do it if gets injured less often and does less of two-footed lunges. Bischoff and Song can do the DM job but not at the highest level I feel. On the brighter side, Fabregas , Rosicky and Nasri are the really dangerous prospects. I like to call them independent players. This means if they had make a run through a few players and make a shot on their own, they could do it. They technically have the abilities to do it individually. When the score is at a stalemate, the game is relatively open and one moment of magic is required, these 3 could deliver.
I know many gooners are really disappointed with the lack of big names, but keep faith, this squad is capable.

Q: Does Wenger's policy annoy you?

A : Sometimes.I'm sure he knows what he is doing but at times he could have done a bit better. I'm quite sure Flamini would have stayed if he was paid a bit more and this would have solved so many problems. Another thing would be reading "Wenger's 40mil warchest", "Wenger brings his cheque book to Euro 2008" and stuff like "Wenger vows to spend". I know they weren't promises but he hasn't given fans the confidence. This season spending amounts to 17.75 mil and return from sales amounts to 15 mil + 6 mil from the compensation from David Bentley. This means out net spending is NEGATIVE 3.25 mil ! Is the transfer market for making money? Which club has that sort of cash flow from the transfer market, you've just seen the only one. This means we have plenty to spend and yet I am not seeing my long awaited defensive midfielder either in the form of Veloso or Alonso. I really wonder sometimes what is on the professor's mind.


Q : Players to watch out for in the BPL?

A : Everton broke their record for Marouane Fellaini for 15 mil which I really got no clue about. I have mentioned Robinho and Deco in my previous Q and A. We'll have to see how Berbatov does at Man Utd. As for the rest who moved within the premier league, it's a pretty long list to mention. sorry.

Q : Last one for you , title hopefuls?

A : Despite everything I said, the big 4 stays realistically in the top 4. The most under threat would be Liverpool.

Q: Positions ?

A : (Takes a deep breath)It's a very hard one. Competitiveness is down to the wire. Last season it was all the way till the last day. I'm kicking myself for saying this.
1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Manchester United
4. Liverpool

~deyao~

Fall Season!

Every September is exciting times for TV shows addicts, the fall season signals the return of shows from their breaks. As usual, the four shows I look forward too every week.
The delicious line-up
Tuesday - Prison Break (Season 4 Premiere)
Wednesday - Boston Legal (Season 5 Premiere)
Thursday - America's Next Top Model (Season 11 Premiere), Private Practice (Season 2 Premiere)
Friday - Grey's Anatomy (Season 5 Premiere)

Every day is a day to look forward too....after coming back from college. I shall reward myself by watching them every day for a day's hard work.
Btw, the dates for these returning series are

Prison Break - 1 September
America's Next Top Model - 3 September
Boston Legal - 22 September
Grey's Anatomy - 25 September
Private Practice - 1 October

So I guess things would be at full force by the end of the month. So which of the these shows I just can't wait to start watching. Next Top Model? hmm..predictable at times and after 7 seasons of watching this series, definitely not this. Boston is quite hilarious but not the kind of excitement you would virtually countdown the days for the next episode. Grey's Anatomy, this one would be one to look out for. Interest is still fresh for this show so I'm quite excited by it. Private Practice is relatively is relatively new, but the second season of shows usually gets more attention from viewers. We'll see how much better it does.So this just leaves one show left I am totally excited about. It had the worst season ever the last time. Prison Break ! Time for redemption and the first stride has already been taken even before the show has started.
Photos gives better descriptions. So here is it.

The Return of Sara !!! Looking hotter than ever.
Cast for Season 4!
How glad am I to see her in that picture. I had the worst feeling in the world when we first 'lost' her. Btw, I don't think I see Whistler in the picture...hmm..
Main points from last season's finale.
1)Michael , Whistler, Mahone and McGrady escaped from Sona.
2)Sucre is now trapped in Sona with Bagwell and Bellick.
3)T-Bag has the 'bird' book.
4)Whistler and Mahone seem to have known each other before.
5)Sophia has left James Whistler.
6)Michael found a file on "Jason Leef"

there's just so much to look forward to, with new characters and more information on what The Company wants, it has to be promising. Hopefully it lives up to expectations after a disastrous season 3.

~deyao~

The New Face of Country Music

It's been rather long since I had my last music album review. I wanted to do this review for some time now but I just haven't got real "spare time". University hours may be short but damn hell it takes a lot more of any free time. I don't think I could even manage 1 post per week for the moment, but hopefully things settle a little more and I can post more often.

That aside, this young and fabulous country singer has really surprised me. I knew her for awhile now but only recently I got to experience her entire album, which was a wonderful experience. When it comes to modern country today, I would say Carrie Underwood rules most of it. Carrie came out with her Some Hearts album and it sold like mad, not sure how many platinums she got for "Before He Cheats". But she has tremendously successful. But now comes a new artists and I feel she IS the new face of country. Already nominated for "Best New Artist" in the Grammys, she is no other than Taylor Swift. Her first album and it is already brilliant. There's just not enough words to describe this album. I'll start with Fantastic? For those who like country music , Taylor Swift would be at the top. Not at the at Trisha Yearwood, Leann Rimes or Faith Hill level yet. But believe me, her songs are unbelievable for a new artist turning 19 only at the end of 2008. There's a huge lag between this album's release and this review. But it's definitely worth it.

Let's go to the album, here's the cover.
It is a pretty nice cover. But pictures aren't audible so you really gotta check the album out.

Now to the songs. We all heard Teardrops on My Guitar. Some of us felt it was quite nice and some may have thought it was bad. I can't represent anyone's view but I liked it.

The album is like many of the new albums around, the young and ambitious ones.
Here's the list of the songs. The ones highlighted in ORANGE are the excellent ones. The others are rated 8/10. Check out the videos too.

1. Tim McGraw
   
2. Picture to Burn Video link
   
3. Teardrops on My Guitar
   
4. A Place in This World
5. Cold as You
   
6. The Outside
7. Tied Together with a Smile
8. Stay Beautiful
9. Should've Said No
   
10. Mary's Song
    
11. Our Song Video link
    

I have listened to it about 5-6 times on repeat to make sure it was how I thought it was. Our Song , Should've Said No has already made it big on the charts. Those songs are just wonderful to listen to. The lyrics are very creative too. It's really amazing for a new artist to start off at such a high level. I am totally impressed. Songs are very uplifting, vocals are powerful and everything in this album seems to just fit in perfectly. Anyone has to check this album out.
My rating would be 9.3/10.

I'll leave it here with some pictures.



Elegance.


The shinny guitar in the "Our Song" video.


Nice curls.


And lastly, a full shot.

~deyao~

Join Fantasy Premier League

As the BPL is about to start. Join Fantasy Premier League!


Players chosen will get points according to their performances each week. Test your knowledge on the game. Register before 16 August 6.30pm Malaysian Time which is the deadline for Gameweek 1 !
Join my league "Winner takes ALL". League code 76564-144969
Click on the banner to register!!
Post any queries you have.

~deyao~

Of Takeovers and Presidents

Football today is no longer just a sport, it's a money-making business, in fact a very huge one. We have come to see various takeovers in the BPL in the recent years,namely the big ones Chelsea, ManUtd and Liverpool. The scale of earnings in the football has risen so much recently until it has become very attractive investments for the super-rich. An author once said, you will never get rich working under an employer because you are only serving that particular person. The more people you serve the richer you get. True enough, the BPL is broadcast all around the world and it's biggest customer is obviously the most populated continent of them all, Asia. There's no official numbers how wide the audience is, but to simplify things, it's in terms of billions.


We've seen many takeovers in the BPL. Here's the list of them I compiled
Chelsea - Roman Abromovich
Man Utd - Malcolm Glazer and family
Liverpool - George Gillett and Tom Hicks
Aston Villa - Randy Lerner
Newcastle - Mike Ashley
Portsmouth - Alexandre Gaydamak
Fulham - Mohamed Al-Fayed
Man City - Thaksin Shinawatra
Sunderland - Consortium headed by Niall Quinn
West Ham - Eggert Magnusson

10 clubs are have been involved in takeovers and only 1 British ownership has been retained, Mike Ashley, owner of Newcastle United.

Next , the ones under-threat
Arsenal - Alisher Usmanov and Stanley Kroenke
Tottenham and Everton - Dubai Investment Group (DIG)
West Brom - Carson Yeung

So are takeovers good for the game? There's plenty of ways to look at this. Chelsea would be the strongest example for supporting the takeover argument. Russian money indeed has transformed Chelsea from an average to a world-class footballing club. This enabled Chelsea to break the stranglehold of the two-horse race previously. Competition is stiff as ever and obviously this improves the quality of the league. With takeovers at smaller clubs such as Portsmouth , Aston Villa and Man City, those teams are no longer that easy to beat. In fact, those are the teams trying to breakthrough the top 4 and they are mounting lots of pressure on the "Big 4" to be at the top of their game.

Financially, takeovers are extremely good for any club. Injections into clubs allow them not only to pay off outstanding debts but most importantly provide transfer kitties to buy bigger players.

Then why on earth are fans objecting them? It's quite simply because of emotional and ethical reasons. I'm not sure how other fans feel when their clubs are being takeover, but I am quite against any takeover at Arsenal. I do feel that letting foreigners own the club would mean repatriation of earnings to other countries. All the money generated by English clubs eventually does not stay in England and in the long term the BPL is technically a foreign-owned league. That's one part of the argument. I thank owners of the club that do not play any role in the clubs decision-making. This is one of the biggest fears when a takeover occurs. We saw Freddy Shepperd, once chairman at Newcastle signing Patrick Kluivert. I am very sure it wasn't Sam's proposal. We also saw Mr. Abramovich making the decision to bring in Andriv Shevchenko,and that too was definitely not a manager's(Jose) signing. This sort of interference is very disturbing to clubs and it is very frustrating for managers having their roles taken from them. That is what I fear most. If an owner buys a club and leaves the management to do their job,then this could be accepted.

President's control

Now comes the other issue. The huge involvement of president's of clubs. Especially Laporta of Barcelona, Calderon of Real Madrid and Milan's Galliani. I am not sure whether this has been practice for years where presidents exert a lot of control over a manager's role. For example, the pursuit of C.Ronaldo by Real Madrid was done by Calderon all the way, not Bernd Schuster which knows what the team needs and want. That is one sign of corporate side of football using its powers. Is it how it should be , I think not. Another more recent example, Kaka's representatives met on Roman Abramovich's yacht to discuss a move. Kaka's agent's are fine, but shouldn't be Scolari be doing the negotiations instead of an outsider from operations, the owner himself. It just doesn't sound right.
Presidents unveiling new players at the press is still perfectly fine. Corporate executives such as David Gill of Man Utd , Peter Kenyon of Chelsea and Ken Friar of Arsenal who work closely with managers when dealing with transfers are doing it the right way. But for those having little discussions with managers are going make some big mistakes for sure.

The 700mil pounds question would be whether Arsenal needs a takeover to help reduce the burden of paying off stadium debts and having extra transfer funds. I do think this season would be quite a decider whether the the club is able to cope with having to be selling-club (net income from transfers). David Dein is very serious about a takeover, I do understand his view but there's just a lot more in a takeover. Comments and views are welcomed.

~deyao~

The Q & A

Another addition to my football columns. This one is called Q & A . Having done with transfer talk previously , I hope I could do one better. This column is about me doing both the interviewer and pundit's jobs. I'll think about the issues concerning football today and I'll respond to it in a way someone else is asking me a question. I'm a 2 in 1! haha. let's see how I do.

The interviewer is someone neutral with questions about issues in football.
The pundit is an Arsenal fan


I : Arsenal has completed the signing of Samir Nasri , do you think he was brought in to replace Hleb?

P :According to reports, Hleb has planned his exit since before the season ended. From meeting officials who claim they were looking for "ice -cream"and saying London is too noisy. It's totally ridiculous. I am very sure he is Barca bound. I actually do think he was brought in for Hleb. He can play centre or the right wing.

I: Are you excited by the prospects he would be able to bring to the club?

P: Of course I am. I've seen a couple videos of him. He seems quite good on the ball, he is quick and has an eye for goal too. But as always, first seasons for players abroad are always the toughest, so I am not really expecting him to do anything extraordinary this season. But I really hope he contributes more goals from the midfield.

I: Can I have your take on the Adebayor saga?

P: I am actually quite disappointed on how this has took place. I never thought it could come from a player like him. Money does play a big part today. We have seen Ashley Cole and then Flamini leave for the money although they deny it. We all know the truth. Now we have Ade doing the same, and it's very disappointing he may leave after his best season in an Arsenal shirt.Reading the comments, you know it's all about the money. 60k a week is all Arsenal can offer, and some reports even suggested he wants a pay like Thierry before. Thierry's salary was a very unique case, he may be the best player Arsenal had and they were trying to show their appreciation for his pledging to stay at the club. At least it actually did last for a season. I do hope he stays but it seems more unlikely by the day. We'll just have to wait.

I: Speaking of money, Arsenal's wage structure is one of the lowest among the top clubs, is this a problem for keeping their biggest players?

P: Like Winterburn said the other day, Arsenal were never a top paying club. Thierry's 120k a week was a special case and a few years back Sol Campbell had a 100k a week due to his Bossman(free) transfer. Currently William Gallas is a top earner at 80k a week and the rest would be ranging from 30 k onwards. Arsenal definitely can't compete with the wage structures with Manchester United and Chelsea because both teams has got external funding and they lack the commitment of a new stadium which makes a tremendous difference. The players are by all means still very well paid, but you just can't compare with the other teams. It was never a huge problem as it was a few years ago. Abramovich has to take some of the blame, he pushed wage structures off the roof to record levels when he took over. Paying amounts never seen in football. Crespo's value is 1mil a game, Sheva's value is close to 2mil a goal and many others who were just tempted for the cash. Drogba did admit months ago he was tempted by Russian money and he felt embarrassed. Hence, it is a problem these days for clubs going through the traditional way of growing on their own without external funds.

I: There has been a plan by Michel Platini to propose the 6+5 rule . There's obviously plenty of objection by the clubs. But do you think this will help national teams?

P: Firstly, I think it would take a lot of convincing to get the representatives to approve this rule. There's already a rule of a minimum of 4 homegrown players at every club and there's been talk of raising this figure every year. This rule I feel is sufficient at the moment. Obviously homegrown players may not necessarily have the same nationality as the club. For example, Fabregas is a homegrown Arsenal player. The serious objections would be coming from people who feel that the move would be discriminating because of clubs needing to favour local players. It would be one of the biggest barriers to this proposal as it would be again EU laws. I don't think this rule would have much direct impact on the national team. If the rule comes through, we could see top teams forced to field at least 5 English players on the starting line up. But the worst thing is there would be more talented players which are left on the bench or the stands because of this rule . I don't think it is a solution to improving national teams.

I : Sepp Blatter had comments that players are being slaves today. How ridiculous is that?

P: There's definitely no place for this in football. The term slavery refers to people who work for nothing and it is such a sensitive word that should not be even mentioned. I wonder whether he has a dictionary. Players today are paid a fortune today not just because they are attract a global audience, their lifespan as a footballer is relatively short. But in no way this could relate to players being slaves for a club. The Club owns the player and has a huge say at what the player does and that is exactly what should happen, not the player doing what he wants.

I: Jose Mourinho has taken his first job after Chelsea. What things can we expect by the so called "Special One"?

P : I would say I have huge respect for what he has done at Chelsea. Virtually out of nowhere ending the dominance of a two-horse race in the league. He will deliver trophies at the San Siro but when it comes to the ultimate prize (CL), it is a different opinion. I have always analyzed that there are at least 10 teams capable of winning the competition, which means the odds are always stacked. On many occasions the team with Lady Luck on their side are the ones who get through. He will achieve great things in Inter. He has a good team and he is capable of building a very strong team. My dream job for him is manager of the England national team though. 42 years since the last World Cup victory would be a daunting but perfect task for a person like him.

I : There's been quite a few players brought in Premier League clubs this summer, which are the particular few that you are looking forward to?

P:There's quite a few I am really looking forward to see. Particularly Dos Santos of Spurs from Barcelona. I have seen him play for Barca and he is really a very talented player. I never expected Barca to sell him. Is he going to do something big at Spurs? Maybe not at the moment.Before I forget, there's also Luka Modric who also arrived at White Hart Lane. He seemed to be a very creative playmaker for Croatia. He was targeted by Arsene before last season. I do think he is gonna make a big impact. Jo from Man City is also another acquisition I am looking at. He has been linked City for such a long time and after going through many weeks of negotiation and a 18mil price tag, he must be something special. The others are Deco and Bosingwa from Chelsea. They have proven they can play good football abroad, but are they able to adapt in the BPL. It's a very exciting prospect for all fans.

I : Let's move to the Arsenal questions since you are a big fan. What kind of signings do you expect Arsenal to make apart from the current ones?

P: I would like to see a center back because I losing patience on Gallas by the day. I'll keep it simple, if Hleb leaves, sign a replacement and if Ade leaves, find another replacement. I think that should be how it works. This is one funny summer where there has been more links of signings at Arsenal than ever. There are just so many rumours out there.

I : Any particular player linked you would be interested in?

P: Well, there has been talk about Arshavin, Bischoff , Aguerro and some others. Some are plain rumours. A holding midfielder required and Amaury Bischoff has come out and said he would join the club. I don't know much about him or the situation, but if the manager think it suits the team, I'll have no doubts. There has been talks of bids from English clubs for Arshavin and Aguerro. But honestly , these two players are too expensive for Arsenal to compete for.

I: Arsenal has been playing great football over the last few seasons but are always coming up empty-handed. Who are the players that need to step up?

P: Thats a very good question actually. There are quite some players who have underperformed. Van Persie and Rosicky are very influential players for the team but injuries are constantly getting them out of the game. Is this the season they "finally" excel? I hope so. Gallas makes some huge mistakes at times, he has to step up. I am very disappointed by Eboue's contribution last season, and this could be his last straw at the club. Walcott is a name that definitely needs a huge mention because it's about time he delivers his first big season. Bendtner too needs a huge improvement in his game.

I: And lastly,prediction for Chelsea against the Malaysian National Team?

P: Haha. Thank god it's not a competitive match. 7-1 to Chelsea.


~deyao~

Super Spin-Off

Yup, I am talking about the new series Private Practice. A spin-off from hit series Grey's Anatomy, and of course having the same creator Shonda Rimes. The main reason people would definitely tune in would be because of the transition of Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh).

Grey's Anatomy viewers would know a thing or two about the series before it started because of a cross-over of this series in the last few parts of Season 3. The introduction of Addison in Grey's really shocked the entire audience and I am sure everyone was praying for her not to interrupt "THE" couple. But the creator obviously knew what she was doing and we got to love her in the show.
And so.....

The huge decision did indeed change Grey's forever. But there's always a compensating factor, Private Practice is such a brilliant series.

The Transition
Her exit from Grey's was built up in such a way that we could have expected her leaving. The breakdown of her relationship with Derek,Mark and a bound to fail relationship with Alex was showing signs that her presence on the show was diminishing. I would also think that it was difficult having to focus on every of the main characters of the show since there are at least 10 . The part where she decides to visit her friend in LA to determine whether she could conceive and a "moment" with another doctor was the point where viewers were given a huge hint of the outcome.

The New Life In Santa Monica
The place Addison works at, Oceanside Wellness Center, is not exactly a hospital, it's more like a place with private clinics. Hence, you won't really get the sort of hospital environment where there's a lot of dealing with trauma and emergencies. The change for Addison was difficult. There were no hospital "staff" or "nurses" , but only 1 person to assists the entire practice. It was no longer the hectic lifestyle compared to Seattle Grace.

Season 1 has 9 episodes , so it's was pretty quick.

The cast.


Let's get to the people.

Dr. Addison Montgomery. She is obviously the main character of the show. She loves the proclaim her qualifications. "I am a double board certified world-class neo-natal surgeon. One of the best in the world with a specialty in genetics and DNA". She does repeat it quite a few times. She does some really hilarious things in the show, sometimes I can't believe how funny she really could be. Her moment with Pete previously resumes on this series.

Dr. Naomi Bennett. She is a fertility and hormone specialist and she owns the majority of the practice. She is divorced with her Sam who also works in the same practice, having a child. She was best friends with Addison since med school and she was the one that persuaded Addison to join the practice. Episodes in the show continue to show whether she and Sam could ever reconcile.

Dr. Sam Bennett. He is an internal medicine specialist. As stated, he is divorced with Naomi, having a child Maya. He is also an author in the show, writing the book Body Language: The Mind-Body Connection. The book is a success and patients usually refer to him as Dr. Feel Good. Overall, he is a really good guy in the show. He lives a few feet away from Addison .


Dr. Pete Wilder. He is an alternative medicine specialist. He did a few years of traditional medicine in China. Thus, he does the acupunctures, herbal medicines and all sorts of therapy. His character is one of the unique ones, not the totally outspoken type. But the fact is, he is being too big of a magnet to Addison. He has a painful story about his wife who has passed on a few years ago. The entire story about it is not really clear. We'll have to wait. When you see him and Addison together , there's bound to be drama.


Dr. Cooper Freedman. He plays the role of a pediatrician. In the very beginning, he was known to be 'dating' people over the internet, and occasionally get screwed over. Played by Paul Adelstein, previously in Prison Break. It's hard to accept that he is actually a doctor, compared to his role as a killer for the government in Prison Break. There's a lot between him and Violet.


Dr. Violet Turner. She is a psychiatrist. It is not exactly the best job in the show. But there are some patients with unthinkable problems that come to her. Like any other psychiatrist, she is very patient and tries to talk things over.She is very good at what she does. She did ask Cooper for a very weird favour.

William "Dell" Parker. He is the receptionist and he helps out with minor medical procedures. He is technically a "nurse" because of his degree, so he does some tests for patients. And yes, he is the only one that the whole practice has got. He was a the "hot guy"that goes surfing in the Grey's Anatomy cross-overs but apparently there's not much of that in this season.

Charlotte King. She is the Chief of Staff at the St.Ambrose hospital. It is the hospital that all emergencies from the practice are directed to. Many of them don't really like her because of conflicts in decision making by the doctors at the practice and her hospital policies. She normally is seen at the hospital and occasionally stops by the practice to bring medical records. She too does internet dating. Guess who she meets? Haha......

Thats for the characters. Now for the bottom line. The show starts off a little slow but it does pick up very quickly. Relationships in the show keeps viewers tuned in. Very well structured show. It's standard may not be as high as Grey's but it is darn good. Rated at 8.5/10. Definitely a must-watch for all. It surely keeps you back for more.

~deyao~