YeinJee's Asian blog

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Singapore queued for last bubble tea before tightened lockdown

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Singapore has imposed the circuit breaker measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 since early April. They announced an extension (until June 1) and some new rules a couple of days ago, which includes cutting the list of businesses which can operate during the period.

The cut includes standalone outlets that sell only drinks and snacks. Apparently some folks couldn’t live without their bubble tea for a few more weeks and created quite a view in the last hours before the ban. Didn’t intend to diss this at first, but couldn’t resist the awesome music in the video…

I can understand some form of panic buying, there’s some stupidity in there but there are also some people who don’t have a choice. Can’t find a reasonable phrase to describe the bubble tea rush though, it should be near the bottom of the list of essential stuff but there they are.

To be fair Malaysia has our share of ridiculousness during this difficult time. Our health minister tops it all with his advise that drinking warm water may kill the virus. And there are other crazier stories around the world, and some are causing real problems amidst the already chaotic world.

Banters aside, hope the situation improves for both countries and the rest of the world. Stay home, not just because it’s the law. Use some common sense and fight the pandemic together.

An Officer and a Gentle Cat

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A cute photo series amidst the Covid-19 lockdown in Malaysia. Armed forces are present to assist the police to enforce the Movement Control Order (MCO) across the country. And the soldier is on guard near Masjid India – a red zone in Kuala Lumpur – when a street cat decides to keep him company.

The MCO has been extended until April 28. Don’t quote me on this but the order will probably extend again considering the trend. Happy to be wrong (for good) but the number of new cases have to drop by a huge margin in the next few days to avoid another extension.

In the meantime, enjoy the lighthearted pictures by Aizuddin Saad / Harian Metro.

Malaysia movement control order MCO soldier and cat

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Malaysia Covid-19 lockdown – Thank you, stay safe, good luck

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Malaysia will be in lockdown from March 18 to March 31, 2020, to deal with the Covid-19 situation. Officially it’s a Movement Control Order (MCO) but it’s effectively a lockdown like some other countries. Malaysians can read the details on local news so I am not getting into that.

Instead, I want to thank the medical staff – including some friends – and other folks who work hard to combat the pandemic around the world. Also thanks to those who will keep the country running during the lockdown. It is not a choice in some cases but a heartfelt appreciation nonetheless.

I hope everyone will be disciplined and thoughtful during the period. Restrict our travel as much as possible and follow the orders. Most of us have people we care who are vulnerable, and frankly nobody is really safe from the virus. Let’s make a collective effort to curb the spread.

There are people who will be more affected, mentally and financially etc. Hopefully the government can provide proper assistance. I will donate a bit to help those in need. Kindly contribute in your own ways if you are capable to do so. The options should become clearer after a few days.

So, thank you, stay safe and good luck. Malaysians, everyone, everywhere.

Update – The MCO has been extended at least until April 14, not going to update about this anymore. The situation around the world also worsen since I first posted the thoughts. My condolences, may the souls rest in peace. Others, stay strong, keep on fighting, and best wishes.

Kpop idol Sulli found dead, apparent suicide

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Korean pop idol Sulli, former member of girl group f(x), was found dead at her home on Monday. Authorities are investigating the cause of death, and it’s presumed that she took her own life.

Korean showbiz has always been troubled by suicide issues for the past couple of decades. People don’t see one coming for most of the time, but it’s not a surprise in Sulli’s case. There were hints from time to time but we couldn’t do much about it, and some people actually made it worse…

Sulli was a controversial figure and received many harsh comments online. A few of those might be fair criticism but most were just personal attacks, with some sexual harassment in the mix. It’s textbook cyber-bullying. It may not be the eventual cause but those comments won’t do any good.

Sad thing is most of the haters probably won’t regret a thing and will move on like nothing has happened. Or worse, they will find another target to harass instead. I don’t know if people are just ignorant, or are there so many psychopaths behind computers these days. It’s a scary world either way.

Hope Sulli would find peace at last. She was just 25, I almost forgot how young she was because she had been in the business for so long. Condolences to her family too.

Enjoy my Japan tourism video

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Been planning for a while to make Japan my next big trip destination. Seems like its not happening soon because of other commitments. And I want to avoid the Olympics, which means I’ll probably make it only by end of 2020… better late than never. Awesome promotion video regardless…

Top Gun: Maverick movie trailer is beautiful

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Trailer for American film Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel to 1986’s Top Gun. Beautiful is not the usual word to associate with action movies, but I cannot find a better term to describe this teaser video… because it is really beautiful. In cinemas in June 2020 in Malaysia and the United States etc.

Not much thought about the first movie, it was a long time ago. Regardless, the film made Tom Cruise a superstar, and he is reprising his role after more than three decades. There are actually films with longer gap between sequel, such as the Blade Runner (1982-2017)…

There’s probably no feature film that stars the same main lead with such a huge sequel-gap like Top Gun though. Tom Cruise is THE leading actor in both movies. In other cases, the main cast may return but usually in lesser roles for a sequel that comes 20-30 years after the previous one.

Top Gun: Maverick is directed by Joseph Kosinski. Besides Tom Cruise, the main cast also includes Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman and Ed Harris. Val Kilmer, who played a key part in the original movie, also returns but with a small role instead.

Not much info about the plot, it looks like Cruise is becoming a mentor for some new fighter pilots. The film is going to be a hit as long as the story isn’t too bad. The visual effect looks great, and there’s always the nostalgia factor. This trailer certainly gives it a good head start.