The Horse God

I just watched 'War Horse' yesterday.

Though it is a Steven Spielberg production,it somewhat seems contrived and too coincidental. But it had many moments of excitement.

The love of a young foal by a boy became a reality when his father foolishly bought it at a horse auction,outbidding the landlord who wanted to foreclose the farm if rental was not paid before summer was over.

The event of World War 1 and a crop failure forced the boy's father to sell the horse to the military.

From then on, it was the saga of the horse as it worked both sides of the trenches during the Battle of the Somne. There was a slight interlude when, along with another horse, it was used by two deserting German lads who was later shot for desertion. It then came into the possession of a young girl called Emilie until the horses were taken away by the German army to pull artillery.

Then there was a surreal moment when both sides in the war stopped the battle to help Joey, the horse to get out of the barbed wires that entangled it.

The movie also had one over dramatic scene when the boy who was wounded in the battle and could not see momentarily and his wounded horse met. His journey home on his horse to the farm after the war, seen in orange hue silhouettes, was visually artistic.

It is a good production,though, and one can surely enjoy such a movie as we root at the edge of our seats for the survival of all those good characters in the movie. Some do die in the movie, of course.

Way Up North

Remembered Johnny Horton's legendary song," North to Alaska"?


So memorable. So nostalgic!

I remembered watching this movie as a young boy. Perhaps I was too 'young' to know the more matured aspects of the movie;particularly of hen houses and mesdemoiselles; the love triangle between Sam(John Wayne) and Stewart Granger (George Pratt) and why the handsome Fabian was swooning head over heels over the charming Capucine (Angel).

Now, at a much older age, I do see those aspects and they are as evergreen as when it first burst upon the screen, I surmise.

This movie really showcases the beauty of Capucine.

Simple plot and fun while it lasted.

An Omen of Things to Come?

Wee Ka Siong may have made a tactical mistake of thinking the Chinese teachers will be respectful of him as the Deputy Minister of Education.

But he was almost dead wrong.

While attending the Dong Zong Chinese teachers protest and demonstration at Kajang yesterday, he was mobbed, heckled, jeered, thrown water bottles at and almost punched in the face. He claimed someone did in fact brushed his face slightly though he was not harmed. Thankfully, the ring of police personnel protected him.

So, is this hot reception against Wee, the MCA Youth leader an ominous sign and acid test that MCA is going to be double-boiled, stewed, diced, spiked and roasted before being served on a golden platter comes the 13 GE?

Just When The Going Seems to be going Good.....

Najib tells that he smelled a whiff of good feelings lately on his whirl-wind walkabouts through the nation, particularly in opposition held Selangor and Kedah. For him, this signifies that he can call the GE soon.

He thinks he has sewn the loose ends on the NFC imbroglio by getting UMNO Wanita to close ranks.

Also, he felt there is now sufficient support from the Indian community unlike back in 2008.

He also thinks he has come out with a better revised salary scheme for the civil service, after aborting the earlier 'silly' scheme.

However, just before he can feel confident to call for the GE, a few telling incidents have caused him some concerns again.

There seems to be no good time that he can call the election as the current term of Parliament will end in April next year.

Today, Hindraf showed its fangs by bringing a watermelon to demonstrate in Putrajaya. Apparently, the broken watermelon signifies that Najib has broken the nambikai or good faith and trust that the Indian community has given him.

Then The Deputy Minister of Education, Wee Ka Siong was almost mobbed and punched when he attended a Dong Zhao Zong function in Kajang condemning the government for inaction on the shortage of Chinese teachers.

To add sour cream atop the latte, CUEPACS now demands the government to announce who the members of the New Salary Revision Commission are by the end of March.

So, it looks like all is not well once again in the Chinese and Indian community as well as the civil service.

Should Najib then forget about an early election and live out the full term until April 2013?

Stupid is As Stupid does

These are classic pictures to testify what Forrest Gump says as 'Stupid is as Stupid Does'.

BN-The Candidates List

The sad thing about choosing someone for a privileged position is making one person happy and making all the rest of the contenders unhappy.

The same thing will happen in the next General election when the list of potential BN candidates will pass from the hands of the state BN chieftain to the PM for consideration. Often times, it is UMNO which will ultimately decide the fate of those of the list even though the component party head honcho have their say at their levels.

After looking at all the candidates and their alternatives,the final say lies with the PM.

What is the scenario when the list of candidates are finally or supposedly firmed up?

There will be happiness in some group when their choice is selected. For other groups, which is the majority though not in concert,their unhappiness will be bitter.

The outcome-the group will either show lukewarm support of the party candidates while the chances of direct and indirect sabotage will start during the week after nomination.

I think UMNO and BN will face this problem because everyone will claim they are winnable candidates based on their own assessment and will feel slighted as their faith on the leadership start to erode.

Genting Singapore and Junket Fever

The Singapore Casino Regulatory Authority (CSA), which showed abhorrence for junkets when the two casinos on the island started, has tempered their stand a wee bit.

They have now licensed two casino junkets, namely, Yu Kiung and Low Chong Aun, to help attract more big gamblers to Genting Singapore (GenS). This set bells ringing and a frenzy of buying on the counter this morning pushed the counter up by 5.8% to RM1.73, after hitting a high of RM1.77.

CRA described the two operators as international market agents who “will on bringing in foreign high rollers to our casinos.”

“We see this positively as the other junket operators will know more about the Singapore government is looking out for, so the process might get easier, “said Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research.

“Another positive thing is the credit risk. Now Genting doesn’t have to extend much credit to the high rollers because the junket operators typically offer own credit.

”Junket operators organise visits to casinos and provide credit to players return for commissions from casino owners.

Wong maintained a buy rating and S$2.02 share price target on GenS.

Nearly 218 million shares were traded today, more than three times the average full-day volume traded over the past 30 days.

The two casinos in Singapore — GenS’s Resorts World Sentosa and Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands — are a significant source of tax revenue for the government and a draw for tourists from the region.

The Southeast Asian nation hopes to attract up to 10 per cent more visitors this year, helped by an increase in cruise tourism, Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said today.

Wong estimated Singapore’s gaming market last year was around S$5.7 billion (RM13.9 billion) and expected this to grow to S$6.7 billion this year due to more gaming tables and slot machines, a boost from the junkets and higher tourist arrivals.

However, Wong said Singapore is unlikely to outpace Macau because of the large number of casinos there and its location on China’s doorstep.

DMG & Partners Securities Pte Ltd, a naysayer, said while the news about the junkets should help drive gambling volumes and lower GenS’s credit risk, the small number of approvals and tighter regulatory restrictions may mute the benefits initially.

There may also be some duplication in the client base between the two junket operators and that of GenS’s existing VIP customer base, it said.

GenS’s Resorts World Sentosa made S$398.8 million in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

EBITDA in the fourth quarter, up from S$384.7 million a year earlier. But its EBITDA was lower than the S$426.9 million reported by Marina Bay Sands for the three months ended in December.

Reuters said, “Out of 25 analysts covering Genting Singapore stock, 14 have “buy” or “strong buy” ratings, nine have “hold” and two have “sell” “strong sell”.

So, do you think there is more upside for this crown jewel of Genting Bhd?