Legend | slowcatchupkuan

Posts Tagged With 'legend'

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Little Bastard

Little Bastard

 
I was on top of the Bejeweled throne for a few minutes. I had the highest score at 131, 700. Look!
 

bejewel score
 

That’s until the stupid system decide to have a glitch and suddenly my score doesn’t count anymore. I was back at 80k ++ score. That’s cheating! No fair! I’m back at 139, 850 now, on the third place. I can’t believe i can’t beat those bimbos. My intelligence is at stake here. Wtf.
 

Ps// Please don’t be offended if i call you bimbo. I’m just jealous that you’re better than me. If there’s any consolation, the fact that i’m playing this stupid game means that i’m no better than you and just like you i don’t have a life.
 
 

Ok, let’s take a break from that pathetic game. I promise it’s going to be very interesting.

Last night we were discussing about Michael Jackson (i still can’t get over MJ’s death and i cried during Brooke Shield’s speech at the memorial) and other legends or icons of the decades like Elvis Presley, Beatles, Bee Gees and John Lennon. Then James Dean came into mind.

You know James Dean right?
 

indean
 

No? Ok, i  don’t blame you coz he was from way back in 50′s.  I wasn’t even borned but i recall watching one of his classic movie on tele when i was a kid. My memory is a little fuzzy but i swear it was “Rebel Without a Cause“. For some reason i remember very clearly the red jacket he was wearing in the show.

I knew nothing of James Dean back then except for how hot he was. I have a thing for rebellious guys and he was the ultimate rebel and the essence of cool back then. I had no idea he died at such a young age of 24, it was a real shame and that he died of a car crash. I had no idea he was driving a Porsche 550 Spyder named “Little Bastard”. Little Bastard, what a name!
 

0603010_9
 

I did some reading about his death and “Little Bastard”  and i thought i would post some of the interesting facts here. I had goose bumps reading about the mysteriously cursed “Little Bastard” that killed James Dean.
 

  • Dean purchased a Lotus Mk. X, but it couldn’t be delivered in time for an upcoming race in Salinas so he acquired the Porsche 550 Spyder during filming of Rebel Without a Cause instead.
  • Dean hired legendary car customizer George Barris (he designed of the Batmobile for the 60′s era Batman TV show) that later painted racing number 130 on the front, sides and back with red racing stripes and the name Little Bastard on the back.
  • Friends of the actor – including Barris, Eartha Kitt and Dean’s former girlfriend Ursula Andress – said that they felt that the vehicle had a malevolent presence about it. “James, I don’t like this car; it’s going to kill you,” Kitt is reported to have said to Dean while the two were out for a drive the week before Dean’s crash.
  • Actor Alec Guinness (newly acquainted with Dean) upon seeing the car stated that the car was sinister, and said that if Dean got in it, he would be dead within the week.
  • Prior to his death, he gave away a kitten that Liz Taylor gave to him on the set of Giant as if he had sensed he would not be back saying “some day I may go out and not come back.”
  • While filming a commercial for the National Safety Council, Dean changed the words of the script from “Please Drive Safely. The life you save may your own,” to “The life you save may be mine.”
  • Anticipated the road race the next day, Dean and his entourage consisting of his mechanic Rolf Wütherich and stunt driver Bill Hickman hauled Little Bastard behind a station wagon to the race. Dean with Wütherich by his side decided to drive the car instead to familiarize himself with it where he received tickets that day for going 10 miles over the speed limit.
  • Hickman cautioned Dean and said that Dean’s silver Porsche was difficult to see, thanks to its low profile and silver color.
  • College student, Donald Turnupseed driving a 1950 black and white Ford Tudor cut across his path and failed to see Dean causing a collision.
  • Wütherich was thrown from the automobile, and suffered a broken jaw and leg but survived. Turnupseed  survived too but Dean remained trapped in the vehicle, which was crushed like a piece of used tinfoil was pronounced dead.
  • Ironically Wütherich who suffered from mental illness after Dean’s accident died in a car crash in Germany many years later after several suicide attempts.
  • Barris bought for wreckage with the intent of parting it out. As soon as the vehicle was delivered to Barris’ garage, it slipped off its trailer and broke a mechanic’s leg.
  • Barris sold the engine to Troy McHenry and the drive train to William Eschrid. While racing at the Pomona fairgrounds, McHenry was killed when his vehicle spun out of control and crashed into a tree. Eschrid’s race car rolled several times while taking a curve, seriously injuring him. He later said that the vehicle ‘just locked up’ on him.
  • Two tires that Barris sold malfunctioned simultaneously, causing the car they were on to go off the road.
  • A young man who was attempting to steal the steering wheel had his arm gashed open on a piece of jagged metal.
  • Another man was hurt while trying to steal one of the bloodstained seats.
  • The California Highway Patrol persuaded Barris to loan them the car for a traveling exhibition.  The remains of Little Bastard were taken to a garage in Fresno, and stored there. Then, in March 1959, a fire broke out in the garage whch incinerated everything except for the Little Bastard.
  • At a display at Sacramento High School on the anniversary of Dean’s accident, the bolts holding the car in place snapped. The car plowed off its display and broke the hip of a fifteen-year-old boy.
  • En route to Salinas, the truck hauling the vehicle lost control, causing the driver to fall out of the cab. Although the fall from the vehicle didn’t kill him, the Porsche fell off the truck bed and landed on top of him, ending his life.
  • Reportedly, while being displayed in New Orleans, the wreckage spontaneously broke apart in five separate pieces.
  • The car came off of a truck two other times. Once while on a freeway, and a second time in Oregon.
  • After the car tour ended, Barris had the vehicle loaded onto a box car in Florida and sealed shut to be transported via train back to California. When the train arrived in L.A., the seal was still intact, yet the car had vanished, and has not been seen since.



 

If i counted right, Little Bastard had directly and indirectly killed 4 and injured 6. Creepy or what? Despite so many warning Dean still went ahead and drove the car.

When i asked Mr. Bf and another male friend of mine, they would do the same just because it was a Porsche Spyder. What’s up with men and cars? If it happens that the car appeared again, would you be willing to give it a spin?

Oh well, I bet someone did a switched and the car is stashed in a garage somewhere but if it was up to me i hope the car will never be found.
 
 

Read more about it at:

http://theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/little-bastard-the-silver-spyder/

http://firefox.org/news/articles/1435/1/James-Dean-and-the-curse-of-the-Little-Bastard/Page1.html

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/03/video-tragic-irony-vintage-james-dean-driving-safety-video
 
 

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2

He Will Be Deeply Missed

He Will Be Deeply Missed

 
I dreamed of being an illegal immigrant in Hong Kong, dressed in disarray with hair pinned up in a dishevel state. I lugged around in one hand a fake China-made bag full of daily necessities and clothing obviously packed in haste, the end of a trouser hanging out of the half zipped bag. In my other hand holds a huge blue/red striped plastic bag containing the few pots and pans i have, the noisy clanking attracting people’s stare.

The dream is very strange in a sense it’s not horribly scary but somehow left me in a state of recklessness and discomfort. Besides a desperate urge to migrate out of Malaysia, i don’t have an extra fondness towards Hong Kong nor any favor of China fakes. So why Hong Kong of all places? I don’t know. All i know is i pray hard i’ll never fall into poverty or have to carry anything heavier than a designer Burberry handbag or a Coach tote for that matter.

Oddly even when i woke up this morning my arms and legs ached as if i had been pumping irons in the gym. For a minute i am glad i work at home thus there’s no need for me to drag my sore body to out of bed too soon. Nonetheless, i had a feeling that it’s definitely not going to be an ordinary day today.

First thing i do every morning is to turn on the bathroom lights and brush my teeth. Then almost mindlessly i’ll hit the power button on my faithful laptop. This morning is no different but i was greeted by a feed update written by Kelvin. It caught me by surprise. It must be a joke right? But April Fool is long over.
 

Kelvin Chow may you RIP the King of Pop, Michael Jackson
4 hours ago · Comment · Like

 

But it wasn’t a joke at all. The King of Pop had passed away this morning.

Today had indeed proven not to be an ordinary day.

My initial thought was “Oh, not another suicide? Damn!”. It’s not my purpose of being judgmental and unfair but with all the things going on with Micheal Jackson, his almost grotesque-like face, the legal proceedings with him getting sued like for the umpteenth times and his on and off comeback concert in the planning, it is easily for anyone to dismiss his death as a suicide attempt. Hell, if he was me and i was him, i would be in a suicidal state.
 

mj-soldier
 

I only found out much later in the morning, after tuning into the local radio station that he died of suspected cardiac arrest. May he rest in peace.

It’s funny to recall the people making fun of MJ’s plastic nose and his affair and fondness of kids are the same people who are now deeply affected by his death. I am guilty as charge. I too often say not the kindest things about the King of Pop in the past. But that’s humans nature for you, we are mean and superficial and we are quick to pass judgment on others mistake.

Be that as it may, i and many others still remain an avid fan of MJ. The dozens of uncountable wishes in facebook alone is evident of MJ’s iconic influence. As of 3 pm today, there are already 255,886 fans who had signed the online virtual Memorial for Michael Jackson. By tonight the figure would be amazingly tripled (at least).

You see, I grew up listening to MJ’s music. Many afternoons after school was spent rocking to ‘Beat It’, “I’m Bad”, “Thriller” and “Billie Jean”. In fact, i knew and still know the lyrics by heart.

I vividly remember the year was 1996 and i was in form 2 when MJ staged a concert in KL. Everyone in school was in a frenzy, ecstatic over this chance of a life time to watch the King. I was utterly devastated that i did not get to go because apparently my parents didn’t believed in life after school then.

Nevertheless, friends of mine got to go and they spent the whole week before the concert preparing for it, binoculars and all. On the night of the concert i locked myself in the room, blasted MJ’s music from the tape player and sang my heart out. The next day, i spent the whole day in school eating up to friends’ experience, making sure nothing was left out.

It’s amazing that many years after his last album and amidst his scandalous and highly publicized life, he still have and is still gaining fans all over. That is how timeless his music is. He is veritably an international legend.

And as i rummage through my old dusty box full of ancient cassettes, i am in despair that i can’t find my MJ album. I am going to the record store these weekend for a new one.
 
 

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Thom-strucked ~ O_O

 
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Angkor Archaeological Park’s admission passes were sold at the main entrance on the road to Angkor Wat. Cost USD20 for one day visit, USD40 for three day visit and USD60 for seven day visit. One-day passes could only be purchased at the secondary tollgate on airport road entrance near Angkor Wat and Banteay Srey. Visiting hours are from 5am – 6pm for Angkor Wat and other major temples… Actually the best time to visit the site is at the wee hours. That’s when there are fewer visitors. The place will be really quiet and you can watch the sunrise. Too bad we went after the sun was up already.

A passport-sized photo in order to purchase the three or seven day pass. Anyhow, the one day visit passes were already included in our travel package. Keep the pass safe coz you might have to show it to the officers at every park entry of major temples… and at the entrance to the loo :P.

Talking bout loo, there are no (and will not be any in the future) toilets to relief yourself once you venture in Angkor Thom. Why, you ask? Well, this is to ensure that the natural surrounding of the site is well preserved and not damaged… *no toilet?! i wonder where those people pee pee last time?? Not to worry, there is a public toilet before the entrance, so we went and did our businesses there before going in *wakaka.
 

bigtree
Nice big tree near the loo
 

elephantride
Elephant ride into Angkor Thom
 

At the South Gate, there were elephant rides available but we decided venture on foot.
 

god
Statue of Ancient Gods on the left guarding entrance towards Angkor Thom
 

heavenly
Heavenly pic of pond on the front side of Angkor Thom
 

devil
Statue of Ancient Devils on the right guarding entrance before Angkor Thom
 

candid
This is why i named him NotSoCandidKelvin @@. SweetToothTim on the right
 

thom
Finally there ==> South Gate
 

postcard
So postcard! So worth it…
 

Each gate of Angkor Thom was crowned with 4 giant faces of the king himself. It’s suppose to represent the king as a guardian of his empire. Angkor Thom is just the big entrance to to site. There are small temples located inside.
 

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Bayon Temple lies in the heart of Angkor Thom. I was utterly in awe with the stone temple *how anyone could have built it in the past… The carvings on the building were very well preserved. Very beautifully crafted and the details of the carving were amazing. Bayon was initially built as a Buddhist temple but was augmented into Hinduism style, so there were combination of both styles on the site.

I couldn’t get enough of the stone faces. If viewed from the side angle, you can see the structure of the face, the protruding nose… *wow...
 

bayontemple
Entrance to Bayon temple
 

face
See the face behind..the nose…
 

carvings
Carvings so well preserved after decades
 

wall
Carvings on walls depicting scenes from everyday life and great battles
 

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Baphuon is another temple worth visiting but it’s still under-construction. Expected to be completed by year 2010! Apparently the reconstruction was disrupted by civil war or something. However, now work had resumed. After it’s done, it’s gonna be huge! We could only walk across the terrace and view from outside for now… *oh well
 

baphuonterrace
MicrophoneChiang dancing on the terrace :P
 

baphuon
Under contruction
 

climbing
Crazy mob family racing to get to the top. Whoever wins gets to wipe out our enemy!
 

Look at the stairs! Can’t even fit our foot… Have to climb sideways… Pretty dangerous. There were signboards saying ‘climb at your own risks’ at the site. Sorry i didn’t go up. I’m not crazy….and i’m afraid of heights… *oops!
 

peak
DrugLaw waves hi! ..so high on cocaine O_o
 

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The Terrace of the Elephants was used by the king as a platform to view his victorious returning army. It was attached to a palace which was already ruined. The terrace was also used as something like a grand stand for public ceremonies for the king. There were big carvings of elephants. *i guess they don ride tanks to war last time :P. Anyway, if seen clearly there were also carvings of garudas (half man half bird) and animal deity from the Hindu influence.
 

elephantT
Elephants! I like!
 

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The Terrace of the Leper King is a double terrace wall at the north end of Terrace of the Elephants. It was given this name because according to Khmer legend, it is believed that the king died of leprosy *uh-huh. There were suppose to be a replica of the statue of the king (i found out later) but i didn’t see one. The real one is in a museum in Phnom Penh.

The terrace has lines of carvings of weird demons and creatures. Some look really evil. I saw carvings of women without torsos! According to PuppyEyes, they use to force criminals to walk along this terrace. Those who were guilty would feel freaked out… *creepy
 

leperking
Terrace of the Leper King..on the left => snake with 7 heads is called “naga”
 
 

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Note: All nice pics taken with my Panasonic Lumix F8, the not so nice pics are courtesy of other PigDog Klan* members :P

 
 

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