Yahoo! Answers Blog Malaysia

How many of you actually read KLue magazine or visit their website? Well, I was at KL over the weekend just to attend this year’s Urbanscapes at KLpac, their first ever “user-generated festival”, on 28 June. What is user-generated, you may ask. Well, in the sense that they have collaborated with the general public, individuals, partners etc. to come up with their own works and hence making it a “truly diverse festival that represents the changes and trends that are happening right now in this city we call home” (quoting from the horse’s mouth!). And what a diverse festival it was!

(Photo I took)

Basically, we got lost while trying to get there. What a wonderful start to the day, right? The taxi driver didn’t know where KLpac (Performing Arts Center) was! We asked him if he knew where Sentul park was located, “Ya, tahu, tahu.” Of course he would say he knows ><. And yep, we were totally, irrevocably, lost. But thankfully we reached in one piece (Sentul park is HUGE!) and went straight into the hustle and bustle of it all! There were booths selling hand-made crafts and t-shirts under the hot sun, and various stages were set up in preparation of the performances that were held in the afternoon and at night.

(Photos by me!)

The main building where KLickr held the exhibition and the booth to get your tickets.

Do’s and Don’ts and the map in case you get lost.

We went straight into the main building and visited the Flickr group based in KL, called KLickr. They had an exhibition area on the top floor, featuring their special project called “24 Long-Photos”. The members got together and shot 24 1 hour worth of photos from different spots around KL, which is then stitched together into a video. Well, I can only say one thing when I saw it. Speechless! It was superb work! And then the next thing that popped into my mind was, “Can we introduce this idea to Singapore and get the guys there to do something similar?”. I mean, how many of you really know your city from inside out and at all times of the day (or night)? This project just opened my eyes to the real life and soul of KL, you can literally feel it beating strongly like a pulse through the videos and photos!

(Photo by saya la!)

Even though it was a long day that Saturday, I walked away from the event culturally richer, and more appreciative of KL (and I managed to buy a beautiful hand-made bag from one of the booths! Woot!). Can’t wait for the next Urbanscapes!

(Photo thanks to Ripi)

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To be frank, I’m not a football fan. But even so, I’m familiar with the chants of “Olé, olé!”. And yesterday there was reason to shout Olé! if you’re a supporter of Spain. How many of you stayed up early morning yesterday to catch the UEFA Euro 2008 finals of Spain versus Germany?

(Photo by CLF)

It has been more than 44 years since Spain won the championship, and a special celebration was in place when Fernando Torres scored in the 33rd minute which led to its 1-0 victory over Germany at the Ernst Happel Stadium yesterday morning.

You can always count on Germany appearing in the championship finals, and historically they have won 3 Euros and 3 World Cups, but YET they couldn’t keep up in this round! Spain, on the other hand, has never made into a World Cup final and was in 2 other Euro finals (one of which they won in 1964).

Germany’s Joachim Loew was quoted saying “Spain played very well during the whole tournament. and they were technically excellent. They fully deserve victory.” Luka M asked “Did Spain deserve to win Euro 2008?“, what do you think? And who do you think was the best player during the Euro 2008 final?

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We may not have four seasons in our tropical countries, but we have seasons too! Sunny or Rainy. LOL! Luckily enough, it’s bright and sunny these few days (with occasional showers, what’s wrong with you, sky!?). I don’t know about you, but when I see the bright sun and blue sky, I start to daydream about a nice beach holiday.

(Photo by samuel lee)

But don’t just zoom to the nearest beach in your car (remember to bring extra cash to pay for the petrol. Ha!). With the ozone layer becoming thinner as we speak, watch out for those harmful rays! Remember to buy sunscreen that shields our skin from both UVA and UVB (say NO to skin cancer, premature ageing of the skin and sunburn!). Get one with at least SPF15 for better protection against UVB rays. Those with “PA++” signs mean that they have higher protection against UVA rays. Do apply sunscreen after make-up if not it’ll degrade when mixed with water-based foundations and moisturisers. This next step is a little troublesome but do remember to reapply sunscreen every two hours and make sure you put it on at least 30 minutes before you leave sheltered areas so that it can be fully absorbed into your skin. I used to think that I wouldn’t need sunscreen on any normal days since the journey to work and the office itself are completely “sheltered”! But guess what, UVA rays can also penetrate glass and windows, so slap them on! If not you’ll end up perpetually tanned like me. Sob.

(Photo by Gaetan Lee)

I do think you need to slather on more lotion than that guy above though. ;)  So how many of you actually remember to put on some sunscreen before you leave your house for the day?

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I grew up watching “Yan Can Cook” and was always amazed at the speed he chopped chives and various other food stuff. It was as fast as lightning! Ever since those first few episodes, I’ve been hooked on different cooking shows (Aha! Caught you! You thought I’d take up cooking and whip up a storm right? Well, my friends would rather buy back than have me cook for them. Sob. They said they didn’t want to wash the dishes. Yah, right!). It’s just so much fun watching them chop, fry, bake and create a totally yummy looking dish.

(Photo by SqueakyMarmot)

Cookbooks? Oh ya, my mom has plenty. I even bought a few when they were on sale! But sometimes I feel that it’s more fun just to use your imagination and create a totally new dish. But of course, don’t take my word for it.

Well for those who feel “safer” with a cookbook in their hands, or just interested in new recipes, Kylie will be giving her new cookbook: My China to 10 chosen winners (it’s autographed!) in Malaysia. All you have to do is to answer her question, and don’t forget to register before answering as well!

So which recipe will you try out first once you get it? Happy cooking!

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There are tons of different charitable Runs out there, but what makes this so special, is that when you run, the whole world runs with you!

If you’ve not heard about it yet, Nike is holding the first “World’s Largest One-day Running Event”, Nike+ Human Race 10K, on Sunday, 31 August 2008 in Singapore. Everyone is welcome to register, not just Singaporeans.

(All Photos: Nike+ 10k Run Press event by Suzz.com, on Flickr)

This run will be held on the same day in 24 cities across the globe, and Singapore is the only country selected in Southeast Asia. Go Southeast Asia! Taipei will kick off the race and Los Angeles will be the final touchdown. But in Singapore, get ready to run at 4:30pm at the Esplanade Bridge!

Yahoo! Answers will also welcome onboard Joanne Peh (Singapore MediaCorp Artiste and triathlon enthusiast) and Victoria Cambell (Singapore’s top female triathlete), both Nike+ Human Race participants, to be our celebrity users.

It’s not all going to be about running of course (thank goodness!). There’s gonna be a music concert too at the end of the race! Woot! You can expect to see (and hear) American rock band Boys Like Girls, local rock-indie group Great Spy Experiment, EIC band and DJs such as Ko Flow and hp-hop artist MC Vandal.

You can register at the www.nikeplus.com.sg website, and don’t forget, a percentage of the registration fees will go towards three global charities: The World Wild Fund for Nature, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, The United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Singapore Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s…

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Hey folks,

A quick news flash this morning!

How many of you have seen the news about Yahoo! mail offering 2 more new domains? Well, it’s just been launched so besides having your email address ending with a “@yahoo.com”, you can now create one with “@ymail.com” and “@rocketmail.com”.

You know how irritating it is when the Yahoo! ID you want for your email has already been taken and you’re forced to add numbers at the end? Well, now that there’s 2 more choices, you can finally get the name that you want So what are you waiting for? I’m gonna register for one now!

Update: ReiShin12345 -> reishin[at]ymail.com! Woot!

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How often do you get dinner cooked by a celebrity chef, for free?

Well, 3 lucky Yahoo! Answers winners (and their partners) were invited to wine and dine at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in KL on 10th June 2008. All they did was to answer Kylie’s question on where she could find the best seafood in Malaysia and why is it so special to them. The 3 best answers were chosen by Kylie and in return, a mouth-watering meal for the three users!

Here are some of their comments about the dinner that night.

Tigeripoh4301 -That was a truly wonderful evening on the 10th June. Ms. Kylie Kwong’s elaborations on her many trips to China in preparation for this really great book and some details she gave on the conservation aspects of fish / mussel / squid farming, I hope, were well noted by the audience. An impressive evening and great organisation. Thank you and please convey my best wishes to her and to all who made this a success.

Adrian - Dinner was great. I was actually quite surprised at the turnout and never actually realised that Kylie had such a huge following. I was actually seated with other contest winners and they were all very excited to be able to meet Kylie in person. The coffee table book was also quite a pleasant surprise as I did not expect to receive such a nice gift. All in all, a lovely nite. Thank you guys.

(Photo by contest winner, LEE C)

(Photo by Discovery Communications, LLC)

Kylie sharing her experiences in China with the audience.

(Photo by Discovery Communications, LLC)

Kylie demonstrating the Stir-Fried Lotus Root with Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, Ginger and Carrot, a recipe from her cookbook, My China: A Feast For All The Senses.

(Photo by Discovery Communications, LLC)

Kylie plating the Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Black Beans, Chillies and Corriander, a recipe from her cookbook, My China: A Feast For All The Senses.

Watch out for Kylie’s next question on Friday!

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Latest Update, 19 June, 9.30am:

Maintenance will be performed today instead at 2pm! It’s just one hour. Promise.
~~~~~

Latest Update, 18 June, 10.30am:

Hiya, looks like the scheduled maintenance would not be performed… as scheduled! Will let you all know again if there are any further changes Thanks a lot!

~~~~~

Hi folks,Our engineers will be performing regular maintenance on Yahoo! Answers on Wednesday, 18 June, at 2pm.

We expect the work to last about 1 hour and Yahoo! Answers will be totally inaccessible during this time, except for the blog of course.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused! We’ll keep you posted if there are any changes to the schedule.

If you are looking for something else to do during this time, why not check out some of our sites such as:

• Flickr (now with video)
• Groups - Connect with people who share the same passion
• Avatars - Play around with your avatars and give him/her a new outfit

…. or maybe you can check out what is showing in the cinemas near you!

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It was Father’s day on Sunday, how did you celebrate it?

Many people say that these special “days” are just a way for shops and restaurants to rip us off. But to me, I think that it’s good to have special days set aside for the different people in our lives. How often do we thank our mothers? How often do we tell our fathers that we appreciate them? Not often enough I think. I don’t think a big elaborate gesture is what our parents ask for. Just spending some time with them over a simple meal will make them happy.

I used to always have headaches over what I should buy for my dad on Father’s day. I used to believe that each year’s present has to be more expensive than the last! But then I found out that the tie I bought for him has been hanging in his closet collecting dust (granted it had bright red chilies all over it. But it was cute!), and the book I bought was still in its plastic wrapper. Hence this year, I brought both my parents out for a simple Italian lunch where we could really talk and enjoy the food and company. I guess as we grow older, we become more busy with work and more occupied with our friends and other parts of our lives. But if I may quote from Kungfu Panda’s Oogway, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” So do remember to set some time aside to enjoy the present with your loved ones as well Hope you have a great start to the week!

(Photo by ChadScott)

Yes, I’m going to buy the Kungfu Panda dvd for my dad when it comes out

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The recent petrol price hikes have been scandalous! Nobody expected the price to ever go beyond US$100 (and counting) but the unexpected, happened. Now even the government is cutting down the subsidies, how do they expect us to get around without our metal ‘kaki’s?

I love to visit my grandparents at Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah, at least once a year. But the only thing I gripe about? I’m heavily dependent on my uncle to drive me around as the only public transport there are taxis and buses. Taxis in KK are impossible to flag down on the side of the road, as you can only find them hiding away at taxi stands near shopping malls (Hello! We will only flag you down IF we can even get there in the first place!). Buses, well, let’s just say I’d rather walk :p

(Photo thanks to Matt Watts)

Guess the best thing to do then besides walking (or siphoning petrol from other people’s vehicles, haha!), is to find a car that consumes less petrol. Well, me being me, I like tiny cars which are easy to park. Yup, you guessed it right, I’m a TERROR at parking! Terror for other people lah because of the way I park, haha! Forward, reverse, forward, reverse, repeat 3 times (Maybe I should be reading this for tips: “How do I park a car?“).

One of my friends has a super small car, the Mitsubishi I, which is only 660cc and consumes half of what a normal family sedan requires. Small and not greedy, what more do you want? But lagi better? A hybrid car (”When was the first “hybrid” car ever made?“)! Petrol plus battery, and less emissions too.

(Photo thanks to exo_duz)

Let’s save the Earth (and our wallets)!

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