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Archive for August, 2008

Stars of Beijing

Posted by Kai on August 26th, 2008

The 2008 Olympics were over in a flash. Beijing has broken several world records and cracked olympic records. Thanks to the mighty athletes of the world who pushed themselves to the limits of human power. Here they are...


1. Usain Bolt jamaica running
Three events. Three golds. Three world records.
Usain "Thunder" Bolt has struck Beijing which such force that stuns the entire anxious crowd at the Bird's Nest Stadium. 100m sprint completed in 9.69 seconds, 200m run completed in 19.3 seconds and 4X100m relay completed with his fellow Jamaicans at another world record pace.
What a runner.
2. Michael Phelps usa swimming
Probably the greatest swimmer of all time. Phelps has realised his dream, grabbing a total of 8 gold medals in Beijing.
More like a dolphin than human, Phelps has the perfect body line for aquatics. Totally unbeatable in all events - butterfly, freestyle, relay; he is unstoppable.
3. Yelena Isinbayeva russia polevault
Yelena has already cracked her own world record a couple of times.
She's done it again in Beijing, vaulting over 5.05 meters to extend the women's world record height in pole vault. Higher, higher!
4. Guo Jingjing china diving
Another aquatics sensation. This time from the other side of the world, and in diving.
Grabbed quite a number of golds in Athens and Beijing, both in synchronised and solo effort. Poised to be the greatest diver of all time, and considered the most successful woman athlete in China.
5. Rafael Nadal spain tennis
What a successful season he has had. Two grand slam titles up his sleeves, and dozens more to come.
Tennis wonderkid Nadal has claimed no.1 ranking for the first time and also clinching a gold medal in Beijing. Roger Federer, his main rival, has lost his form which gives way for the young prodigy to step up the ranks to be the best in the world.
6. Lionel Messi argentina football
Lionel Messi had to negotiate with his club to allow him to play for Argentina in the Olympics. The effort paid off.
Messi orchestrated Argentina's gold medal victory, scoring and assisting at the same time. They have played so well thanks to this man - defeating Brazil 3-0 in the semifinal was inspired by Messi.

7. Ma Lin china pingpong

Ma Lin has waited for such a long time to get a gold. With the Chinese dominating table tennis, his chance was slim. His final appointment with world no.1 Wang Hao was a hot encounter. But he deserved to win.

He injected more venom in his shot, injected more experience in his play. Yes, he's the best ping pong player in the world.

8. Lee Chong Wei malaysia badminton
He should have clinched the gold. Let the Malaysian national anthem be played for the first in the Olympics.
Carrying all the hopes of Malaysia was probably a heavy burden. Chong Wei did a fantastic job this time round. Malaysia's hero fought till the very end, at least he got a silver to share with Malaysia.

Icons of Beijing

Posted by Kai on August 20th, 2008

The Olympics are simply marvelous.

The Olympics have brought wild architectural designs to the massive city while opening the eyes of the Chinese to globalisation. They're the new icons of Beijing - the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.
Bird's Nest and Water Cube... they don't seem much of a stunning feature by the names. Don't judge a book by its cover though.
This is the Bird's Nest, the main stadium. Thousands of fireworks, hundreds of thousands of seats, billions of viewers. This is one of the most eye-catching stadiums across the globe. 
Beijing National Stadium hosts the olympics 2008 with a bang. An impressive display of historic and modern highlights brought about the opening ceremony of Beijing 2008, and will be the ground for the athletics sports events to be held.
The Water Cube. Beijing Aquatics Centre.
One glimpse of it, you'd be thinking what kind of alien substance is this? This is the place where Michael Phelps created history by snatching eight gold medals in only one sport - swimming. Obviously you will know that this is where swimming and diving will be held.
Beautiful design. Colourful light effects. Irregularly shaped polygons and tetrahedrons everywhere. Simply captivating.
Never mind the terrible haze. 
Something you will look forward to see in the future when Beijing welcomes you.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Posted by Kai on August 4th, 2008

"Why so serious?" - The Joker

This movie truly kills you off. Is it because of the charisma of the Joker or is it Batman's batpod? This movie broke the records in the US box office for the highest grossing. Though this show doesn't stray far from the blueprints, it is by far the best superhero movie I've ever seen.

Basically you would expect all superhero movies to have this plot formula:
1. Intro of hero, resolves conflict
2. Intro of villain
3. Tensions arise
4. Villain unleashes his wrath
5. Hero encounters villain
6. Hero gets beaten up - miracle happens - villain dies
7. Happy ending
The Dark Knight however has a totally different approach to superhero movie plots. I would not want to mention it due to spoilers. As you might want to know, the movie clearly confuses us with the cloudy line between good and evil. The Dark Knight portrays two characters as good/evil as well as one totally mad-villain the Joker.
As a normal person without superpowers you wouldn't expect the Joker to produce as much damage as he had done to Gotham City. The movie also clearly shows us that how corrupted the police are and there is no one you could trust.
Batman seems to have less screen-time than the Joker which makes the Joker the obvious main character in the story. Batman is merely a silent guardian who stands in the Joker's path of destruction. The show clearly displays Joker's intent on hammering Gotham with havoc and Batman's will to save citizens as well as his reluctancy to kill anyone.
I must say, there's a lot of commitment involved in the making of the show. The producers are committed to making a good show, Heath Ledger gave his life to acquire that Joker personality, and the music by Hans Zimmer is awesome.
A tribute to the late Heath Ledger.
9.5/10

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