(Image: AchileM)

Everything has a beginning, and Everything has an end

We started out as one, and now we have more friends

Posting, Procrastinating, and Posting till fingers sore

We’ve realised we’ve no got no room anymore

So we’ve tinkered, tankered, and tinkered a bit

To new pastures that we see fit.

So we bid Goodbye, Adieu, Farewell

To a new website, that we think is quite swell.

WELCOME TO THE NEW SHRIEKING MONKEYS

]]> http://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/it-was-fun-now-we-say-goodbye/feed/ 0 ariffjunior http://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/were-moving-to-new-pastures/ http://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/were-moving-to-new-pastures/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:32:53 +0000 ariffjunior http://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/?p=1718 ]]>

Something exciting has been brewing in the jungle, the monkey’s have been swinging about the dense terrains, and we will be moving to new pastures by this MONDAY!

Check out the new logo,  and check back on Monday for new articles and a new home.

Thanks to Faritz Mus for the new shrieking design!

Skype, the internet phone service is looking to go public, offering shares to increase the number of users.

Skype, headquartered in Luxembourg,  is planning a $100 million initial public offering. The company would offer American depository shares.

Ebay who had sold the company in September 2009, has come out and said that the company is doing well. This year, Skype has been able to generate more than $406 million in sales, with 560 million registered users – which is an increase of 41% from a year ago. Paying users too jumped to 8.1 million from 6.6 million – an increase of 23% from a year ago.

An IPO can help it grow and develop better and faster. The company said it had achieved “significant global scale and user growth,” but “the penetration of our connected and paying users is low relative to our market opportunity.” They are able to tap further into the market with an IPO, acquiring a larger capture of the market.

Skype made headway when it landed a deal with Verizon Wireless. Previously, mobile providers were sceptical to allow Skype’s services to be used on their networks, since the user did not have to pay for the voice minutes used. But now with data service being identified as a strong revenue stream, wireless companies are opening up to this opportunity.

EBay bought Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005, then selling it in 2009 for $2.75 billion to an investment group led by Silver Lake Partners. EBay intially planned an IPO for Skype, but decided to straight sell it instead.

Skype has been a consistent revenue driver for years, and EBay estimated that the Internet phone company is on track to break $1 billion in revenue by 2011.

"Yo! Goyang Goyang"

Its culture is one that higher-middle class Indonesians cringe about, but it is very much a quintessential element in Indonesian culture. If you were to visit Jakarta , the array of nightlife is vast – The selection of nightclubs and bars span from the swanky to the downright dodgy.

So you’ve consulted your Lonely Planet guide book, and it refers you to a ‘popular’ nightspot that offers cheap drinks and popular western music. What you find when entering the club, is a room packed with hookers and seedy looking South East Asian men, rocking out to some sort of music that sounds like Euro trash techno grilled up with hardcore amphetamines.

Dangdut (pronounced Dung-doot) is a genre of popular Indonesian music. It is enjoyed largely by lower middle class youth, and played extensively on all mediums from bars and clubs, television, radio, stadium concerts, and even at wedding parties. The fans of this genre span widely from Indonesia, Malaysia and Southern Philippines.

Comparatively, its is regarded as Pop music, and the lyrics accentuates the trivial problems found from falling in love and maintaining relationships, like Ria Amelia’s SMS, where she sings her sorrows about finding a mysterious SMS from another woman on her boyfriend’s phone.

Ria Amelia – SMS

Contemporary Dangdut originated somewhere in the 1960′s, and finds its influences from Malay, Arabic and Hindustani music. Throughout the years, Dangdut saw its sounds evolve by trend setting artists adding new styles into the composition.

With the self proclaimed ‘King of Dangdut’, Rhoma Irama blending in Western rock music, and Dangdut Diva, Ade Irama introducing Disco,modern dangdut incorporates features from the styles of House, RnB and Hip Hop music.

What makes the music popular, is the element of eroticism found in Dangdut dancing. Known Ngebor, a blend of Hip Hop and belly dancing, the girls of Dangdut can goyang-goyang their asses to an extent that would put Shakira and Beyonce to shame.

Artists such as Inul Daratista and Lina Geboy have created controversy with Islamic authorities with their sexually ‘suggestive’ buttock revolutions, that have portrayed them as Jablays (whores) and labelling their music as aural pornography that leads pious men to Haram activities such as getting smashed from anggur merah.

Inul Daratista – Terlambat The guy on the right off Inul redefines the saying ‘rock out with my cock out’.

Lina Geboy – Basah, it means ‘wet’ in English, or ‘moist’ as I like to see it. Damn, Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me? Imma take my shirt off….

When listening to Dangdut with a Western ear for music, one will smirk with amusement and relegate the genre to an embarrassing component of South East Asian culture. However, with self opinions kept to oneself, it is a multi million dollar industry that finds its fan base in Indonesia’s population of about 250 million people.

The expansive influence of Dangdut music has found appeal in the western world, spurning multiple Youtube video’s of white tweens singing along to its bouncy, high tempo rhythm and even founded American Dangdut artists.

So, love it or hate it, and cringe all you want when you hear it. Dangdut is very much an essence of Indonesian music and its culture, and it seems it be an ever evolving genre that can either get better or worst, depending how you look at it.

Arreal Tighlman – Dangdut in America

Murphy’s supposed law of Nature ‘anything that can go wrong, will go wrong’ epitomizes the film Cell 211.

A sordid prison drama, it is charged with intense scenes and an edgy plot, that engulfs you within the emotional volatility portrayed by its characters.

The film is set in Spain, and begins with novice prison guard Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) going on a tour of the notorious prison on his first day of work.

A series of events creates uproar with the cellmates which inevitably leads up to a prison riot and the prisoners taking over the prison. An accident occurs that leaves Juan unconscious, and he is left deserted in the midst of the riot. To survive, he is left to convince the prisoners that he is one of them.

He meets the inmates leader, Malamadre (Luis Tosar) a rugged yet witty character who revolts against the conditions that the prisoners are subjected to. The steady composition of the film presents several plot twists which creates a deeper significance in drama surrounding the prison riot and the personalties of the characters in the film.

The screenplay was based on the fiction novel Celda 211 by Francisco Pérez Gandul. Director Daniel Monzón said in an interview with cineuropaTV that he wanted to add a realistic depth by portraying the film with documentary techniques to explore the atmosphere of life in prison.

“We wanted to put reality into the plot, the novel is a fable, a tragedy, and I wanted to get the real atmosphere of a prison,” Monzón said.

“The films style is somewhat of a documentary, we visited jails, talked to the guards and their family’s to get this impression.”

The film portrays a stark perspective into the Spanish sociopolitical landscape. Monzón  uses the characters to convey issues such as prison rights, police brutality, and political corruption.

Luis Tosar’s performance as the affluent brute Malamadre won him the Best Actor award in this year’s Goya awards, the Spanish equivalent to the American Academy awards. Tosar told Spanish film news website pasion por el cine, that he believes that his character was the most authentic personality he has played.

“Malamadre is a guy with a very tight moral code. Maybe he cares little for human life and leaves a guy dead or alive. He would kill for some specific reason, but not for anything. Basically, Malamadre is human like everyone else.” He said.

Cell 211 has won eight Goya awards this year including: Best movie, Best director, and Best screenplay. The vast accreditations seem somewhat overrated; riddled with various plot twists the film draws out to a predictable conclusion. Some of the events that unfurled seemed farfetched, and appeared to provide a simple solution to tie the loose ends of the script.

Cell 211 is a cliche thriller flick – think on the lines of Con Air, but in Spanish. However, if your looking for a film with more action than substance this is a must see.

Slide my bitch up

Research In Motion (RIM) is the company behind the ingenious BlackBerry smartphone. With their upcoming unveiling of the BlackBerry Slider 9800 which runs on the new operating system, OS 6, gave their stock prices a nudge up.

Nonetheless, it’s never enough with competitors like Apple and Google, winning the favor of the crowd with the smartphone’s market momentum swinging their way. RIM, reluctant to back down, are hoping to jump the gun before it’s too little too late.

They need to.

How creative or not of the new device, some specifications of it mirrors that of an iPhone and Google’s Android-based smartphones (i.e. Home screen). Despite having 41.7% of smartphone subscriptions according to comScore’s stats (double that of Apple), BlackBerry’s growth has stalled in the recent quarters. RIM needs to buck up and catch up with their rivals.

Apple and Google have matched and most of the time exceeded RIM’s devices in terms of ease of use, availability of third-party applications and Web browsing capabilities.

Looking at numbers and stats, RIM still precedes, but having lost the momentum that has swung their competitor’s way, RIM needs to keep up with the competition. Most importantly, where they are lacking, is focusing on the consumer space.

Innovation is not a tool in RIM’s shed. All they had to differentiate themselves were the “top-notch e-mail security,” (which also got them banned in some countries).

Good news however, corporate IT departments are notoriously slow when it comes to bringing in new technologies, considering the corporation’s needs and investment plans. Not having the innovative tool can work for them in away, with BlackBerry being reputed as the corporate smartphone brand, giving them that window of opportunity to expand their diversification.

In the long run, RIM need to run to the hardware store and purchase new tools, or maybe make some, to store in their shed. Currently, RIM have some time to work a solution out, but the longer they take to feed that consumer space, the thinner their lifeline will be looking at how fierce the competition is getting.

Past years, BlackBerry have come up with lower-priced models like Curve and Pearl. Those who prefer to text, would definitely prefer the keyboard and the BlackBerry Messaging service.

RIM have major hurdles to get through, but with a strong brand int he market they still matter to the consumer. They have been in the smartphone making business a lot longer than their major competitors, and maybe, just maybe, a new winning device from RIM can win over the market again.

RIM are fighters, and with their reputation and experience in the business, even when presumed dead, they still come up with outstanding financial growth.

At the end of the day, will they be able to market to consumers in the future? Will they match up to their competitors that have matched them recently?

Rebels on the Road

Driving the roads of Kuala Lumpur is no easy feat. The numerous cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles cutting in and out of lanes makes commuting a daunting task in the capital city. On the road accidents are a common sight, reckless driving and speeding are the causes of the high road death toll each year. Undoubtedly, Kuala Lumpur is not a safe place for cyclists to be pedalling around the intensity of KL traffic.

However, it has become a common experience to be driving down the highways in the city, and spotting a crew of cyclists on aesthetically colourful bicycles streaming down the highways at night. These riders survive the roads pumped on adrenaline, riding their brakeless, muscle powered vehicles, down the roads of the city centre to as far as Port Dickson.

These bicycles appear to be your conventional road bike that you may see on the Tour de France. However, Fixed Gear bicycles or ‘Fixies’, are generally used in track cycling in velodromes. Fixie bikes were made popular on the roads in the mid-2000′s by mail messengers in New York and London, and became a trend in the Hipster sub-culture.

If you look closely, these bicycles have only one gear, meaning, that the only assistance going up a slope is the strength of your leg muscles. They also have no freewheel mechanism like any other bicycles, which restricts you from coasting when you’re tired. Many of these cyclists choose not to have brakes on their bikes, as with the ability to lock the pedals by pedalling backwards, they are able to flaunt off with a skid stop.

So, Why would anyone choose to ride a bicycle that can’t get you up hills, doesn’t allow you to coast, and has no brakes?

I find Sheldon Brown‘s article to have the closest objective explanation:

When you ride a fixed gear, you feel a closer communion with your bike and with the road. There is a purity and simplicity to the fixed-gear bicycle that can be quite seductive. Somehow, once you get past the unfamiliarity, it is just more fun than riding a bike with gears and a freewheel.

Riding a fixed gear on the road is excellent exercise. When you need to climb, you don’t need to think about when to change gears, because you don’t have that option. Instead, you know that you must just stand up and pedal, even though the gear is too high for maximum climbing efficiency. This makes you stronger.

Most cyclists coast far too much. Riding a fixed-gear bike will break this pernicious habit. Coasting breaks up your rhythm and allows your legs to stiffen up. Keeping your legs in motion keeps the muscles supple, and promotes good circulation.

It is hard to express the feeling of riding a Fixie without actually riding one. Many of us have ridden a bicycle before, but I compare riding a Fixed gear close to the emotion that you felt when you first got off your training wheels – Pure freedom and joy.

I spent the month observing this growing subculture in Kuala Lumpur. To really explore what’s it all about, I had to get a Fixie. I was able to get my hands on a beautiful aged Raleigh frame, restored with the simplicity of neon green spray paint, which throughout the month I started to intimately call it my ‘Shrieking Monkey’.

My Monkey

It did not have the aesthetic charm of the other bicycles found in the scene, but it rode like a dream. My first attempt to ride a Fixie was to answer the question: How do you stop with no brakes? I was taken by my friend Ashed around his neighbourhood of Taman Melawati, to test out the multiple hills and probably ride to an expected death. It was around midnight, we both had no helmets, no lights, and ofcourse to be authentic, no brakes. I was presented with my first hill, and to be honest, it was not humble in size. I asked Ashed nervously, ”How the fuck do we get do we get down this?”

He showed me the most essential braking technique while riding a brakeless fixie – The emergency stop. It requires the rider to step on the top of the back wheel, using the sole of his shoe or slipper as a friction to slow down and eventually stop the wheel from rolling. It was unorthodox, but very effective. I made it down the hill safely.

After that ride, I was hooked. The sheer rush and exhilaration of riding around the vast area of  Taman Melawati, exploring the back alleys and car parks, and riding beside the speeding cars and motorcycles was a new experience of adventure that I’ve never imagined.  I spent the next couple of days and nights feeling comfortable on riding on the bike and I was ready to try out Kuala Lumpur.

It was Thursday night, Ashed and I were at a penthouse party at an upmarket apartment facing directly the brightly shining KLCC. It had the perfect ingredients of a great party, friendly acquaintances, beautiful women, and free flow alcohol. I was distracted from these conveniences, as I was anxious in riding around KL with his friends, who some, were part of the BRNWRCK crew.

“Well some of them coming from Shah Alam, and some from Petaling Jaya” He said.

“Your joking? Thats a good twenty to thirty kilometers of highway!” I replied, imagining a bunch of fixed gear cyclists pedalling tirelessly down the treacherous Federal Highway.

It was around midnight when he received the call, we were going to go meet them at the base of KLCC. We sheepishly left the party with protests from the host, but assured we’d come back later (which we didn’t), and grab our rides from our cars to meet them at KLCC. When we arrived, I was in awe of their rides.

Riding a bicycle around the Kuala Lumpur created a new perspective of the city, we cruised down the strip of Bintang Walk, rode down the quiet roads of Titiwangsa, dodged speeding cars and motorcycles down the highway past Tawakal Hospital, and eventually reached Danau Kota for drinks at a Mamak stall, an area just five kilometres out of the city centre.

It was like an assembly point of Fixie riders, there were about twenty of them from the Wild Dogs Brigade. I’ve learnt that these people take their hobby seriously, the detailing of their bikes go right down to their saddles:

Darth Maul Guarding Yo Ass

At a glimpse of the guys on the table, they seemed like intimidating individuals. A whole variety of bike riders from hipsters to those from the Hardcore Punk scene. However, they were friendly either comparing the bikes, talking about bike parts, and comparing tattoo’s.

At the table, one guy was telling us about an Fixed Gear event happening in Malacca on Saturday, which most of the KL crews would travel down and with some riders coming from Singapore. It was must go event to really see the measure of this subculture in Malaysia.

It was getting late, four am to be exact. A couple of guys were yawning through idleness, I’ve learnt that these riders don’t sleep at nights anymore, the pure adrenaline of cruising KL roads was keeping them as insomniacs. We soon rode off through the back roads of Danau Kota, passing by Chinese Crematories, derelict buildings, and areas that I never knew existed.

It was exhilarating, the mixture of the muggy breeze and dangerous terrain was a passive adrenaline boost into the bloodstream. Like Ecstasy without the rat poison, like Erimin, but you remember the night before.

There are a couple of prominent Fixie crews in Malaysia; RatsKL, Wild Dogs, BRNWRCK, Harufixed, and Southern Fixed represent the Fixed Gear culture in the country. Their blogs show off their riding skills, and showcase events such as the ‘Critical Mass’ rides that are organised every last Friday of each month to promote non-motorized commuting.

RatsKL promo video:

Critical Mass Ride 25th June 2010:

It was a hot day on Saturday, spread with blue skies, seemingly fit for a large scale cycling event. We drove down following the large convoy of cyclists from KL. It was expected about a hundred Fixed gear riders were going to be present on the day. Cycling Nation was the perennial event to showcase the Malaysian Fixie scene.

Historical Malacca seemed perfect for the event. The city, renowned for being bicycle friendly, due to the flowery bicycle taxis, the picturesque scenery of its colourful buildings, historical streets, and cruising down the canals of Malacca strait presented a great day for cruising the town.

It seemed that many of the fixie enthusiasts envisaged this imagery, and there was close to a hundred cyclists in attendance.

The variety of bicycles were vast, as each fixed gear presented different concepts of how its ridden. Trick bikes, speed bikes, cruisers, and at large boasters. Many of these bikes were impressive, and not cheap. A Fixie can cost up around six thousand Malaysian ringgit with all its customised handle bars, wheel seats, chains, paint work and frames. It is serious investment to look good, and to feel good.

The event organised presented maps to the riders for the best treks around Malacca, and showcased short films and several competitions spanning from best track stands, fastest sprinters, and best skid stops.

The trend has been a growing interest in conversations, with many debating about their growing presence in Malaysian society. Many have commended cyclists in their choice of environmentally conscious commuting, but believe their presence create more danger on the hectic roads. The lack of bicycle lanes and facilities in Malaysia is a safety issue that should be acknowledged by local authorities in ensuring the safety, and encouraging the people, with non-motorized transportation.

The Fixie scene is largely growing, and the subculture seemingly permanent in KL. The ever growing population of bicycle riders in Malaysia will see the country slow down, smell the flowers, and ride a bike.

]]> http://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/ride-a-fucking-bike/feed/ 2 ariffjunior IMG_0049 Shrieking Monkey IMG_0001 IMG_0004 IMG_0002 IMG_0003 IMG_0005 IMG_0024 IMG_0109 IMG_0098 IMG_0048 IMG_0086 IMG_0100 IMG_0043 http://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/try-ollie-on-this-big-skateboard/ http://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/try-ollie-on-this-big-skateboard/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 05:17:44 +0000 ariffjunior http://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/?p=1582 ]]>

Bigger is always better, especially when its a skateboard. The sheer size of the motherfucker is bigger than a American School bus, and this deck doubles as a possible deathtrap.

This monstrosity was designed and produced by pro skateboarder and MTV reality star Rob Dyrdek and skate park designer Joe Ciaglia.  It was first unveiled on 25th February 2009 on Dyrdek’s show ‘Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory’.

It measures at a whopping scale at 11.14 m (36 ft 7 in) long, 2.63 m (8 ft 8 in) wide and 1.10 m (3 ft 7.5 in) high. Which, would be a comfortable ride if you were 50 feet tall.

Big Board.

Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail recently.The court footage demonstrates why her acting career is crashing worse than the American economy.

Report from thesuperficial:

Judge Marsha Revel sentenced LiLo after an incredulous prosecutor, Danette Meyers, told the judge that Lohan has been thumbing her nose at the court.
The evidence was loud and clear today — Lindsay violated probation by failing to attend her alcohol ed classes based on the schedule set by the judge. There were lots of excuses, but ultimately they didn’t fly.
The judge said there was a pattern of violations since Lindsay was placed on probation in 2007 following her plea bargain in her DUI case.
Lindsay broke down as she addressed the court, telling the judge, “I did the best I could.”

Delightful.

Ariff Azmi for Monash University

It used to be when you wanted to buy a bicycle, you would have to go down to your local bike shop to get your brand new set of wheels.

Times have changed. These days, that brand new bicycle that you’ve always wanted, will be delivered to you, right to your doorstep. Ben Whittaker, owner of The Melbourne Bicycle Centre in Prahran, delivers his bicycles nationwide through their website bikes.com.au.

“We’ve started a cycling revolution in Australia,”

“We send the bicycle parts in boxes, complete with instructions, and they can put together the bikes themselves easily.” He said.

The range of what you can buy online is expansive. Clothes, shoes, electronics, and even your groceries, can be bought with just a click of a mouse pad.

It is not a new trend however, and the proportion of people looking online for their shopping needs is fast growing. A report from the Digital Futures project, show that 57% of Australians search the internet for something to buy at least once a week, and more than half buy something online every month.

Australians are becoming much more technologically driven. In 2008-2009, an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey shows that 73% of Australians are connected the internet.

24 year old student, Sam Hales, use to live in Nagambie, a drive down to Melbourne to the shopping centers was a difficult and time consuming task. He prefers shopping from the comfort of his bedroom to meet his consumerist needs.

“It was a rural area, and there wasn’t much shops around, and I would go online to buy my things.” He said.

“Its very accessible. With the internet, you can hop around shops from around the world within a matter of seconds.”

It is an effective way of shopping. The revolution of e-shopping allows you to window shop through your internet browser. ABS data showed that 80% of online consumers come from between the ages 18-34 years old.

Nielsen Market analyst consultant George Westman said that consumers are turning online to get better value.

“Consumers are able to access a variety of shops online, where they are able to compare the different offers available and grab the best deal from them. If you visit these sites you may find better deals than your local store,” He said. “The vast amount of online stores allow for better deals to be found.”

“When someone can’t find something locally, or for a reasonable price, they go online in search for it. Because online retailing is extremely competitive, its all about the benefits you can offer the customers, whether geographically or financially.”

With the online Australian market expanding, it has prompted a trend of local retailers to expand their business online, either exclusively, or as an alternative channel from their normal store operations.

Retail chains such as Harvey Norman have planned to expand their business to e-retail seeing the growth in competitiveness with online retailers. This is met with changing consumer spending habits having evolved of being technologically driven.

Online giants eBay and Amazon have shown that their business models have proved successful. The influence of social media such as Facebook and Twitter have changed the scope of marketing campaigns, and have become much more interactive in attracting new customers.

Online business is becoming an influential factor in the retail sector. Paul Greenberg, founder of online department store DealsDirect, says there is good evidence the e-commerce market is gaining greater influence in the retail sector.

“There is trends that retail shopping online is growing, and the space is really heating up. Through our own surveys and external research, we think online retailing, while new, is picking up.” He said.

“Our survey shows about 92% want to use websites to compare prices, while 76% want to be able to use websites to access and print coupons. About three-quarters want to use mobile phones to determine where the nearest store is located, while about 70% want to check what goods are in stock before visiting a location.”

IBISworld conducts research on market trends and shows that revenue from e-retail have amounted to $18.6 billion in 2009 with 3.6% growth from the last year.

However, online sales in Australia still only account for about 3% of total retail sales, compared to about 7% in the US and Britain.

Gabby Leibovich, founder of the Catch of the Day, says the online retail market continues to mature.

“We still have a fair way to go, when it comes to being like the US or Britain.”

“The obvious trend is that online retail is on the way up, and that’s becoming more prominent. Obviously people are saying buying online isn’t crazy anymore.” He said.

However, there are many who still stick by the conventional methods of shopping. The idea of ‘Try before you buy’ is a limitation when buying a product online. Nik Johann, experienced a ‘faulty’ transaction when buying a ‘new’ stereo system on eBay.

“It didn’t work. The stereo was in such a bad condition, which I couldn’t see from the pictures posted on the site.”

“I was able to get a refund back from the owner, but it was a long process – Its put me off from buying things from the internet.” He said.

There are some who take a sceptical view to online shopping due to the security measures taken by the online retailers when providing bank details and credit card information.

Viruses such as Malware, that extracts information from users, have been a major problem, damaging growth in online business.

“We had an instance that Malware was detected on our site. It was flagged by several virus watchdog sites. It effect had huge implications on sales revenue, people were scared of their private information from being stolen.” Paul Greenberg said.

The growth of online retailers is readily picking up in pace in Australia. The opportunities and effectiveness of online business is seen to shape consumer behaviour and the landscape of shopping, and how Australians spend their money in the future.