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Haruo Nakajima – The man in Godzilla suit

Short English documentary about Haruo Nakajima, the man who portrayed Godzilla in the first 12 movies of the popular Japanese media franchise.

The costume was made of concrete in the first Godzilla film in 1954, that alone deserves respect LoL. Check the rest about his early career from the video.

Nakajima also played other giant creatures in various movies and in the Ultraman TV series. Hence, in some ways he’s the real king of monsters in Japan.

He retired from his suit acting roles in 1972. Fans still remember him fondly, and many people credited him as the greatest suit actor of all time.

Rest in peace

[Update] The legend passed away in August 2017, aged 88.

“In the end, the Godzilla I played remains on the film forever. It remains in people’s memory, and for that I feel really grateful.” ~ Haruo Nakajima

RIP Ladies Code’s EunB and RiSe

EunB and RiSe, members of Korean pop group Ladies Code, have passed away following a car crash on September 3. Go Eun-bi, 21, died shortly after the crash; while Kwon Ri-sae, 23, died Sunday morning.

RIP Ladies Code EunB and RiSe

Korean celebs have been involved in traffic accidents far too often, a few of them had close shave in the past, and sadly these two girls suffered the worst.

A few of the incidents might be pure (bad) luck, but human faults played huge parts in most – hectic schedules, overworked staff/driver, inconsiderate corporate culture, and the lack of safety awareness etc.

Hope this tragedy could serve as a wakeup call for all parties. Rest in peace EunB and RiSe. Condolences to the families and friends.

Sultan Azlan Shah (1928-2014)

Sultan Azlan Shah of PerakSultan Azlan Shah, former Yang di-Pertuan Agong (head of state of Malaysia), the Sultan of Perak, the state I was born, has passed away on Wednesday at the age of 86.

The Sultan wasn’t the de-facto successor to the throne. He was a lawyer, later a prosecutor, a judge, and the Lord President of the Federal Court of Malaysia.

He became the Sultan in 1984, after a string of unexpected events. To cut short, if his successor, Sultan Idris Shah II, died a few months earlier, he won’t be the Sultan.

His wife became the first ever commoner Queen in the history of Malaysia when he became the King in 1989-1994 (in a unique elective monarchy system).

He was also a patron for a few educational institutions, including as Chancellor of the University of Malaya, where I graduated from. It’s regrettable that I couldn’t receive my scroll directly from the man; he usually attended only the first day of the ceremony.

He was a state hockey player and contributed to the growth of the game, both domestically and internationally. And he’s also famous for his good looks =)

He will be missed. Al-Fatihah, rest in peace.

Marco Simoncelli fatal crash at Malaysian MotoGP

Italian MotoGP rider Marco SimoncelliItalian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli died after a crash during the Malaysian Grand Prix – at the same circuit which he clinched the 250cc world title in 2008.

It’s a sorrow week for motorsports. British driver Dan Wheldon also lost his life in an IndyCar accident in Las Vegas last weekend. Rest in peace.

Dennis Ritchie (1941-2011)

American computer scientist Dennis RitchieComputer scientist Dennis Ritchie has died after prolong illness. He was 70.

The American was the creator of C programming language and a key developer of the Unix operation system. His name probably won’t ring a bell to most, but those who knows about computer science will understand the significance of his legacy. To simply put, his work provides the fundamentals of today’s information technology – in computers, data centres, websites, smartphones etc. Without Ritchie we probably won’t have Apple or Google at the first place.

The pic above shows Ritchie (centre) receiving the National Medal of Technology – the highest honour for technologists in the US – from President Bill Clinton in 1999. To his right is Ken Thompson, equally influential pioneer in computer science.