Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year to all the Chinese! no matter from China, Malaysia, Singapore, or any other part of the world…Gong Xi Fa Cai!

May you enjoy the new year of ‘ox’ with perfect health, prosperous wealth, best of luck, joyful happiness, and a fresh life!

This wish i have to say it earlier before Chinese New Year because i will be not around from Sunday ( 25th January 2009) till the next Sunday (1st February 2009) due to the Beijing 8 days 7 nights trip…will be updating my blog after that…

Happy enjoying the new year holiday!

For information, this is my 70th post and this blog had reached over 2000 hits from u all…thanks for reading my blog again!

Gong Xi Fa Cai! ~   ~   ~   ~   ~  Will be back as soon as possible!

Skyscrapers…

just got the news that Shanghai World Financial Center is being awarded as the Best Building Overall in Year 2008..in terms of architectural design and form, sustainability and ‘green’ concepts, structural strengths and systems, uniqueness and location.

For more information regarding this building, come and check on my previous post on this building which contains all the useful and interesting slides regarding this building…really loves this building! wish to go there and up to the world highest observatory there to view the skyline of Shanghai!

The award is presented by Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), the official non-profit council that determines the height measurement in world tallest buildings.

Skyscrapers that will be completed in year 2009 which would make it to the top ten list of world tallest buildings are:

– Burj Dubai (818m, 162 floors, Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

– Federation Tower (506-509m, 93 and 62 floors, Moscow, Russia)

– Nanjing Greenland Financial Center (450m, 89 floors, Nanjing, China)

– Guangzhou International Finance Center (438m, 103 floors, Guangzhou, China)

——-the buildings above, when completed during this year, will put Empire State Building (381m), Shun Hing Square (384m), CITIC Plaza (391m) and Two International Finance Centre (415m) out of top ten ranking…

Other notable skyscrapers that will be completed this year:

– Trump International Hotel and Tower (415m)

– Bank of America Tower (366m)

– Almas Tower (363m)

– Ahmed Abdul Rahim Al Attar Tower (342m)

– Al Yaqoub Tower (330m)

– China World Trade Center Tower 3 (330m)

– The Index (328m)

– Wenzhou World Trade Center (322m)

– HHHR Tower (317m)

– Eurasia (303m)

– Gate of the Orient (301m)

– Arraya 2 (300m)

– Tianjin International Trade Centre(300m)

—–Based on CTBUH, there will be a great increase of number of buildings which exceed the height of 300m..currently, there is only about over 3o buildings all around the world which are over 300m. Few years later, there will be more than 100 buildings.

Note: Building above 300m is classified as skyscraper. (Based on CTBUH)

There is a super super tall skyscraper currently under construction at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the Nakheel Harbour and Tower..rising up to more than 1000m (1 km) in height with 200 floors..it is expected to be completed by year 2020…that is a long long way to go..

for more info regarding ways to measure building’s height, official top 100 world tallest buildings list, best buildings awards winners, buildings’ news, refer to www.ctbuh.org

I got the news that the Kohn Pedersen Fox (the one who designed Shanghai World Financial Center and International Commerce Centre) will be designing their first building in Kuala Lumpur..a 30 floors high..not tall..but shows that Kohn Pedersen Fox’s creative and dynamic design will penetrates into my home city, KL…

Places in Beijing, China to be visited during CNY

These are the places that I am going to visit during Chinese New Year holiday trip at Beijing, the capital city of China..the trip is 8 days and 7 nights long…Places included in the trip is Beijing, Chengde and Tianjin, China.

—-UPDATED—- (3/2/2009)

There are numerous changes to the schedules as well as addition of places for visit at Beijing …..there are also changes in hotels too…

1st day

– reaching Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

– flight to Beijing Capital International Airport (world biggest airport)

– Acrobatic Show. (duno the location yet)

2nd day

– Tian An Men Square (largest urban square in the world, consists of Great Hall of People, Museum of Chinese History and Revolution, Monument of the People’s Heroes and the Forbidden City in the north)

3rd day

– Beijing National Theatre (commonly known as Egg Shell, world largest indoor theater) [outdoor view only]

– Forbidden City (Imperial Palace – world biggest palace, now is the Palace Museum)

– Summer Palace (orginally known as QingYi Garden.

4th day

– Temple of Heaven. (built entirely of wood without the use of single nail, architectural wonder)

– Nanshan Ski Village (if weather permits, if not, then proceed to Royal Cruise along historical river – forgot the river’s name)

– Go to Chengde.

5th day

– At Chengde, proceed to Mountain Resort (Imperial Summer Villa – largest imperial garden in China)

– Putuo Zongcheng Temple (Little Potala Palace)

– Then, back to Beijing.

6th day

– Great Wall of China (one of the seven wonders of the world, biggest construction project on Earth)

– The Ming Tombs (Ding Ling tomb – one of all the tombs)

– Wangfujing Street (shopping area)

– Dong Hua Men Night Market.

– Night tour at Changan Street by bus.

7th day

– Beijing National Stadium (known as Bird Nest) [outdoor view only]

– Beijing National Aquatics Center (known as Water Cube) [outdoor scene only]

– Then, proceed to Tianjin.

– Ancient Cultural Street.

– Nanshi Food Street.

– Back to Beijing.

8th day

– Trishaw ride along the old Beijing Hutong Street (traditional cultural street)

– Zhengyangmen City Wall.

– Back to Beijing Capital International Airport.

– Return to Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

—– *****

Extra places for visit under additional fees;

– Beijing Zoo (commonly known as the Panda Zoo)

– Peking Man Site, Zhoukodian Village (original Peking man was found here based on fossil evidences)

The hotels we are going to stay are Holiday Inn Express MinZuYuan (Beijing) [ nearby the Olympic Green where Beijing National Stadium and Beijing National Aquatics Center stand ] and Qianyang Hotel (Chengde) if no changes occur.

—————————

Need to prepare a lot of things before leaving to Beijing..the extremely cold and freezing weather there have to make us wear more than three winter clothes..going to make us look fat…haha

this trip is under the tour company of Future Travel and Tour Sdn. Bhd. the cost is quite expensive because it is during Chinese New Year…

had no more patience to wait for the day to come (25th January 2009) which will be the first day of our trip that will ends on 1st February 2009…

when i am back, i will surely find some time to write a post entirely on this trip..with pictures as well as videos (if possible)…this upcoming post will be similar to the previous post on the Chiangmai and Chiangrai, Thailand trip during Hari Raya holiday on October 2008.

this upcoming post will be much longer..and more informative..wait for it!

————-

‘heat’ of Chinese New Year

Chinese new Year is approaching…few more days to go before the new year of ‘ox’…

huh..last Sunday went to Tesco, Ampang with my sister to buy some Chinese new Year stuff like snacks, drinks, etc…there are so many people in the mall..the situation is like a total chaos too..it is pretty hard to bring trolley into the supermarket..but we have to do so…

moving the trolley is like harder than driving a car on that day..in the densely-packed space..after all, we just bought a lot of things…

then, i heard from one of the operators there that there are more people in the morning rushing in to buy CNY stuff, almost unable to move…luckily, we go to the supermarket at night…

eventhough, last year everybody losses money during global financial and economic crisis, but buying items for Chinese New Year is inevitable…every Chinese have to buy too..maybe in little amount, or waiting for discount…anyway, their presence really gives some excitement to CNY…

now, the sunny weather in Malaysia seems give me a fresh feeling of a new year with bright sun, blue sky and white cloud..

0—0————0———————0————————–0

today evening, went to Mid Valley to change currency (from RM to Chinese RenMinBi) for later use in China…the Chinese New Year decoration in Mid Valley is pretty cool, little bit simple, but great enough to show the ‘heat’ of CNY…on the centre court, there are performances being held too… walk around the mall including The Gardens too..which is too high-class until very few people walked in The Gardens..all the items sold there are too expensive!

Then i saw Lee Chong Wei and Wong Mew Choo in the Mid Valley …the world number one badminton player as well as Malaysia top woman badminton player together..hardly to be seen…

i always see them on TV, playing badminton in tournaments, but today, really saw them face to face, so close…and they are dating…haha…currently there are no badminton tournaments…so both of them relaxed and go shopping at Mid Valley…the next tournament will be the All-England 2009.

Wish them good luck in future tournaments! Learn from mistake in Korean Open, when Chong Wei loses to Peter Gade! Disappointing! Nevermind, it’s over, now, need to train more already…and have enough rest too!

——————————————————————————————-

Barack Obama, the new President of USA

everybody knew the news..a great news not only to the Americans, but as well as to the people from all around the world…

Barack Obama, who won the presidential election in 4th November 2008, representing Democrats, defeating Republican’s McCain…by a simple majority…becoming the first African-American President of the superpower United States of America…

Barack Obama really had many great and challenging tasks ahead, which are inevitable…facing the worst economic crisis of the country as well as the whole affected world, stabilizing the country, forming peace with other countries,etc…

He took over the post from George W. Bush, who leaves Washington as one of the nation’s most unpopular and divisive president,,under his presidential lead, September 11 attack, Iraq war, slow response to Hurricane Katrina, and economic meltdown occurs..

Now, it is a great responsibility ahead for Obama to solve all these, so that he can gain the trust of every people on Earth…He is now 47 years old, graduated from Columbia University (political science) and Harvard University (Law)… wins 53% votes from Americans to become the 44th president of the nation..

Finally on 20th January 2009, he officially takes office as the president..guarded by so many Secret Service agents, applaused by hundred of thousands people attended the inauguration ceremony..all the people went to National Mall, watching the ceremony at United States Capitol Building…

Barack Hussein Obama, then sweared in, accompanied by his wife,Michelle and daughters, Sasha and Malia…George W. Bush is now out of office and it is now in the hand of Obama to ‘Change” America and the world!

Hopes that he will improve the nation’s relationship with my country, Malaysia…but i got from news that he really got little relationship with Malaysia in his family background which had a lot of mix like Kenya, Africa, etc…His charisma is really good..and his outlook is cool…

Some pictures here:

Swearing-in ceremony of Barack Obama

Barack Obama is accompanied by his family in swearing-in ceremony

The National Mall (where the United States Capitol and National Monument stand and the White House nearby) is flooded with hundred of thousands of people to celebrate the day when Barack Obama takes office as president.

Barack Obama (The President), his wife, Michelle Obama (The First lady), Joe Biden (Vice President) and his wife, Jill Biden waving to former president, George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush…

George W. Bush walked out of the White House with Barack Obama for the inauguration to take place…

Pictures obtained from MSN news…info from The Star newspaper….

Wow! Burj Dubai had topped out!

incredible news…after more than 3 to 4 years of construction, the spire jacking on top of Burj Dubai has been completed…

the Burj Dubai now stands 818m tall..the only structure in the Earth that is over 700m tall…now, the Burj Dubai is left of windows panelling on top floors and indoor construction on the upper section of the building…

by then, Burj Dubai will be officially completed in the end of year 2009 and will be opened by 2010 (expected)

very happy that after checking on construction status of this building everytime since from few years ago, finally it almost comes to an end..the building has been topped out..will be officially included in the list of Top 10 Tallest Buildings in the World soon…as the top spot!

 
Timeline of the building:

21.09.2004 – Construction began.

01.02.2007 – Gained title of the building with most number of floors.

21.07.2007 – Surpassed (world tallest building) Taipei 101’s height.

12.09.2007 – Tallest free-standing structure.

07.04.2008 – Tallest man-made structure on Earth.

01.09.2008 – Tallest structure ever built.

17.01.2009 – Burj Dubai topped out at 818m.

20.12.2009 – Burj Dubai will be completed.

Really wished to go to Dubai to take a look at this supertall skyscraper!

Battleground (Season 2) Ended!

just now, just watched the Season 2 Battleground Final aired on Astro Wah Lai Toi live from 7pm to 9pm…it is held at Euphoria Club…

very exciting..three finalists, Twister Genies. Ultimaxx and ECX performed very well and improved a lot in the final…

after two rounds, Ultimaxx is eliminated and became the second runer-up..not bad oso lah..they did it quite well too, but lack of little bit excitement and emotion…

then, it is really the final battle between the two remaining group..each group got five people..one male and another group female…

still thinks that ECX is the best of the night, not only tonight, but everytime the competition is held..the group always get the first rank in each competition day until the final today..and..bingo…they won it again…they got the champion!

They really do very and extremely well today..perfect with no mistake at all…their dance is really interesting and energetic..synchronization is perfect…Twister Genies oso not bad..getting the first runner-up..they improved a lot…

need to wait for another year for the Battleground Season 3…this time battleground is better than the previous one…really ‘geng’!

Full Nomination List and Latest News of Astro Wah Lai Toi Drama Awards 2008 (UPDATED)

The nomination list: (full list in English version)

1. 我的至爱角色 Favorite Characters (10)
1. Myolie Wu (Ho Mei Tin) – To Grow With Love
2. Bobby Au Yeung (Chai Foon Cheung) – Dicey Business
3. Jessica Hsuan (Lee Ching Wan)- Dicey Business
4. Tavia Yeung (Tam Chu Mei)- Dicey Business
5. Gigi Lai (Yam Chi Wah)- Life Art
6. Joe Ma (Dai Lap Yan)- Maiden’s Vow
7. Bosco Wong (Lui To)- The Price of Greed
8. Roger Kwok (Ling Fung)- Glittering Days
9. Esther Kwan (Wong Ka Lam)- Best Selling Secrets
10. Ha Yu (Tong Yan Kai)- Heart of Greed
11. Moses Chan (Tong Ji On)- Heart of Greed
12. Lee Si Kei (Ling Hau)- Heart of Greed
13. Susanna Kwan (Wong Sau Kam)- Heart of Greed
14. Linda Chung (Seung Joi Sam)- Heart of Greed
15. Michael Tao (Cheung Kin Fung)- On the First Beat
16. Ron Ng (Chung Lap Man)- On the First Beat
17. Sonjia Kwok (Yuen Wai Lei)- On the First Beat
18. Damien Lau (Wah Man Hon)- The Drive of Life
19. Charmaine Sheh (Wing Sau Fung)- The Drive of Life
20. Raymond Lam (Wah Zhen Pong)- The Drive of Life

2. 我的至爱戏势最强大奖 Favorite Series

1. Dicey Business
2. The Brink of Law
3. Heart of Greed — favourited  drama, this drama won the same title (Best Drama) in TVB 40th anniversary awards)
4. On the First Beat
5. The Drive of Life

3. 我的至爱主题曲 Favorite Themesong
1. Dicey Business – Hacken Lee.
2. The Brink of Law – Ron Ng and Steven Ma.
3. Heart of Greed – Susanna Kwan. (a very meaningful song, try to listen carefully, it actually symbolizes the whole plot of the drama)
4. The Drive of Life – Hacken Lee and Stephan.
5. Devil’s Disciple – Kevin Cheng and Bosco Wong.

4. 我的至爱男主角 Favorite Leading Actor
1. Bobby Au Yeung – Dicey Business (good acting skill)
2. Joe Ma – Maiden’s Vow
3. Bosco Wong – The Price of Greed
4. Roger Kwok – Glittering Days
5. Ha Yu – Heart of Greed (potential winner, good emotion during acting)
6. Moses Chan – Heart of Greed (he won same title (Best Main Actor and Most Favourite Actor) in TVB 40th anniversary awards)
7. Michael Tao – On the First Beat
8. Ron Ng – On the First Beat
9. Damien Lau – The Drive of Life
10. Raymond Lam – The Drive of Life (very popular and favourited)

5. 我的至爱女主角 Favorite Leading Actress
1. Myolie Wu – To Grow with Love (she sacrificed a lot for this drama, acting is good too)
2. Esther Kwan – Best Selling Secrets
3. Jessica Hsuan – Dicey Business
4. Gigi Lai – Life Art
5. Sheren Tang – The Family Link
6. Lee Si Kei – Heart of Greed (perfect acting skill, she won the same title (Best Main Actress) in TVB 40th anniversary awards)
7. Susanna Kwan – Heart of Greed (“the dark horse”, she had won Most Favourite Actress in TVB 40th anniversary awards)
8. Linda Chung – Heart of Greed
9. Charmaine Sheh – The Drive of Life (very popular and favourited)
10. Sonjia Kwok – On the First Beat

6. 我的至爱红中一点绿 Favorite Scene Stealer
1. Ben Huiz (Chow Fook Wing)- Dicey Business (funny at the beginning and sad ending for him, he died)
2. Louis Yuen (Ling Boh)- Heart Of Greed (a little villainous man with a greedy heart)
3. Kingdom Yuen (Lui Sei Leung)- Best Selling Secrets
4. Lee Sing Cheung (Seung Joi Dak, Susanna’s Boyfriend in the drama) – Heart of Greed
5. Leung Sun Yin (Wong Lai Mei, Tavia’s Mother in the drama) – Heart of Greed

7. 我的至爱情侣档 Favorite On-screen Couple
1. Jessica Hsuan & Bobby Au Yeung – Dicey Business
2. Linda Chung & Raymond Lam – Heart of Greed (famous especially in Moonlight Resonance too)
3. Linda Chung & Moses Chan – Heart of Greed
4. Sonjia Kwok & Michael Tao – On the First Beat
5. Charmaine Sheh & Raymond Lam – The Drive of Life (both are favourited and paired very well in the drama)

8. 我最难忘的一幕 Most Memorable Scene /Unforgettable Moment
1. Ben Huiz Last Words  [Chow Fook Wing heavyily injured, Wing Huen Jing  (Michael Miu) changes himself.] – Dicey Business
2. Bobby Au Yeung squirts at Jessica Hsuan  [Drunkard Ching Wan (Jessica Hsuan) requests for 1996 beer from high class restaurant.]- Dicey Business
3. Steven Ma investigating the Dirty Money Case [Chi Ko (Steven Ma) shares the good news of his promotion with his father, however instead he found his father’s suicide note!]- The Brink of Law
4. Lee Si Kei vs Susanna Kwan [Dai Kai (LSK) suddenly released from hospital, the family crisis arise because of Sai Kai (Susanna Kwan) and Ling Boh (Louis Yuen)’s actions.] – Heart of Greed —–this part of the drama i will never forget, the ‘golden words’ that came from Dai Kai’s mouth that makes Sai Kai stood still.
5. Wayne Lai dream with Claire Yiu  [Keung (Wayne Lai) dreams of being by the shore dancing with Lam (Claire Yiu), describes himself as sturdy tree.]    – Steps

9. 我的至爱极品造型 Favorite Bizarre Character
1. Myolie Wu (“Fei Tin”) – To Grow with Love (this is real fat, she sacrificed her beauty and eat,eat,eat to gain weight so that she can performed more well in the drama)
2. Tavia Yeung (“Enlarged Breast” Mimi) – Dicey Business
3. Bosco Wong (“Fold Table” Cheung Loi Fu)- Dicey Business
4. Michael Tse (“38D Pretty Girl” Joe)- The Family Link
5. Roger Kwok (“Hot” Ling Fung)- Glittering Days

10. 我最难忘的一吻 Most Memorable Kiss
1. Jessica Hsuan & Michael Miu – Dicey Business
2. Linda Chung & Raymond Lam – Heart of Greed
3. Sonjia Kwok & Michael Tao – On the First Beat
4. Charmaine Sheh & Raymond Lam – The Drive of Life (both are handsome and pretty, very popular, and their intimate kissing scene is adorable)
5. Bernice Liu & Steven Ma – Steps

11. 我的至爱大反派 Favorite Villain
1. Sammul Chan (Tsui Fung/ Yip Heung Wing) – The Price of Greed —- he acted pretty well as a very evil villain in the drama, bad that he is only included in this  category, people, dun forget him, his acting is pretty good too)
2. Michelle Yim (Sung Kam Ji)- The Brink of Law
3. Shirley Yeung (Sung Ka Yee)- The Brink of Law
4. Ng Wai Kwok (Ngai Tin Hang)- The Drive of Life
5. Susanna Kwan (Wong Sau Kam)- Heart of Greed (she is the villain in the favourited drama, with a greedy heart, she regretted at the end)

The red carpet (7.00pm) and award presentation ceremony(8.00pm) will be held on February 21 at Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands.

Everyone can vote for their favourites through SMS which costs RM0.50 per sms. The sms voting began on 17th January 2009 and will be closed on 17th February 2009.

The bolded(darken) ones are my choices with some explanation. How about yours?

Refer to the official website: www.astro.com.my/wltda on ways to vote!

The 14 artists attending the awards ceremony are: (confirmed)

(a) Tavia Yeung Yi.

(b) Ron Ng Cheuk Hei.

(c) Raymond Lam Fung.

(d) Jessica Hester Hsuan. (Shun Huen)

(e) Bosco Wong Chong Chak.

(f) Susanna Kwan Kuk Ying.

(g) Linda Chung Kah Yan.

(h) Louise Lee Sze Kei.

(i) Moses Chan Ho.

(j) Joe Ma Tak Chung.

(k) Myolie Wu Hang Yee.

(l) Benz Hui.

(m) Shirley Yeung.

(n) Loh Kun Lan. (special guest, not for awards)

The four emcees for the day are Nat Chan Pak Cheung from Hong Kong and Chui Leng, Vivien Cheuk Wai Kan, Lam Pui Ying from Malaysia.

Duno why this year the awards is being held so late..in the end of February…nvm..luckily, there is still the awards..at first, i thought this awards dissapeared already..haha..can’t wait for the day to come and check whether the results are same with what you have voted…

 

 

i love my models a lot!

the models mentioned is not of my university’s work..the models i have done for university assignments is not nice…just satisfying..the one i mentioned here is the models of buildings  and towers in detail…

duno why i had interest in keeping 3D models especially models of the tallest skyscrapers.

until now, i had the model of Taipei 101 (the current world tallest building). This model i bought it from Taipei 101 Observatory Sounvenir Shop. I went there last year during Chinese New Year. Quite expensive..i think around RM40, if i’m not mistaken…the model is so nice..detail enough! scale of 1:2500.

then, i got the model of the world tallest twin buildings, the Petronas Twin Towers( world third and fourth tallest buildings)..easy to buy here…this model had no scale..mainly for aesthetic purpose…i bought it from Bukit Bintang Street at around RM70, if i’m not mistaken too..

then, the model of Shanghai World Financial Center(world second tallest building)..this model is not bought from anywhere..it is created by me..in two days around four hours…no scale oso..i think around 1:1900. Since i am so free lately and i love this building very much, so created the model. No need to buy! Haha..i’m not actually a good model-maker..just training my skill before the real model-making for my architectural project soon in my studies…

next, the model of Kuala Lumpur Tower..the fifth tallest telecommunication tower in the world..i bought it from Sungei Wang Plaza…easily available too..around RM40 oso…but this model is not detail enough..no scale too..but there is a box below to store small stuff..

wishing of buying more models if opportunities came, models of Jin Mao Tower, 2IFC, Sears Tower, etc…, all my favourites that i really wished to get…maybe creating some too..if i am not lazy or when i am really free!  creating models using only hands and some cheap materials is not really easy..need a lot of effort and time!

my blog is always updated!

this time update my blog with so many informative and interesting posts regarding buildings and their architecture…since i love architecture a lot..so posted some detail here..

have u seen the new header…created by me…as the chinese new year is approaching..still got around ten to eleven days to go..by that time,  i will be celebrating my chinese new year at Beijing, China..my favourite destination to learn about modern and traditional Chinese architecture…

this year, very little chinese new year feeling..not going to celebrate in hometown..huh,this time new year of ox..thos born in year of goat like me is not good in year of ox..haiz..hope everything is well and best luck for me in the new year of ox…

huh..hurray! got my P license already..now i can drive anywhere i like too..but still a little bit scared when driving on road…need experience only can excel on the road! be patient…

for your information, this is my 61st post, and my blog had reached over 1, 500 hits from you all! Check my upcoming post!