Yahoo! Answers Blog Malaysia

So how many of you have signed up for the Nike+ Human Race 10k? I did. I know, many of my friends exclaimed saying “You? You signed up for a run??” Yes, yes. Me. The one who dragged going to sports class in her youth. The one who last went to gym, err.. some months ago (was it last year?). The one who wheezes and pants just running up a flight of stairs. Yes! All in the name and glory of work! Yahoo! better pay me more.. LOL!

But anyway, main point being, for those in the dark, Nike has organised a 10k run on 31 August in Singapore and it’s not just a run! When you run, you’re also donating part of the registration fees to a charity of your choice, and everywhere else around the world, there’s a similar Nike+ run going on at the same time! Is that cool or what.

I’m sure some of you who have joined are excited and training for it. Well at Answers, we have with us two of their ambassadors. First up is Vicky Cambell, Singapore’s top female triathlete! She has asked all of you what your personal goal for this run is. So far 46 of you have answered (including a dude from Indonesia), do keep sharing with all of us your goals! And don’t forget to register for the contest (contest not limited to just Singaporeans, so try your luck too!), if not you’re not eligible for the prize should your answer get chosen as Best Answer. And that will be a shame.

So as Nike says, Just Do It!

Hi Fellow Answers Members,

Not sure if you have noticed but we’re trying to customise Yahoo! Answers Malaysia so that it’s relevant to all Malaysians. Be it whether you’re from the East or the West side of Malaysia. We’re customising it via different ways, such as the blog, featuring some Malaysian questions on the main page etc.

I know that many of the questions we see on the main page (and also on the different categories) are questions most probably asked by folks in America or other English-speaking countries and hence are not relevant to you. But if you wish to look for questions asked by people in Malaysia, all you have to do is scroll down to “Show:” (on the left-side column), and then click on “Malaysia questions only”. See the picture below for illustration purposes.

Just a little inside news, we’re gonna try to change it so that by default, you’ll see questions asked in Malaysia first, instead of other English-speaking countries. Hopefully that will make you feel more at home with the whole Yahoo! Answers Malaysia product and not feel as if the Travel > Asia Pacific > Malaysia sub-category is the only place you can hang out.

Let me know if there are other things that we can help change to make Yahoo! Answers Malaysia a better experience for you.

THE movie of this week has to go to the newest Batman movie which just opened in the cinemas yesterday, The Dark Knight.

Tim Burton was the first director to immortalise Batman on the big screen and ever since Michael Keaton’s (Batman, Batman Forever) impressive performance alongside Kim Basinger, the caped crusader has had many changing faces. This includes Val Kilmer (Batman Forever), George Clooney (Batman & Robin) and now Christian Bale (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight).

So what the Answers team in UK & Ireland has done is bringing this rare opportunity to all of us here at Answers. They are asking us, the Answers community, for the perfect question for Christian Bale! The best question chosen will be put to him, on your behalf, by Yahoo! and recorded on video.

This reverse of the game is the first in Answers history! One lucky Answers member will have the opportunity to ask our celebrity a question.

So what do you want to ask Christian?

When you’ve decided, just post your question as a comment on this blog, or email the UK & Ireland team at y_answrs_team_uk@yahoo.co-uk. You have until Monday morning (21 July 2008).

The Kylie Kwong contest has finally ended on Yahoo! Answers with her final question posted about 3 weeks ago, asking all of you what 2 kinds of herbs and spices in Malaysia you would recommend her.

(Photo thanks to Discovery T&L)

Discovery Travel & Living’s Kylie Kwong, host of KYLIE KWONG: MY CHINA in Kuala Lumpur.

29 of you replied with great answers but the best one went to Mizz Muffet. She suggested kaffir lime leaves and the bunga kantan. Rightly said, our laksa and rojak will never taste the same without it!

Here’s Kylie’s personal message to Mizz Muffet:

Dear Mizz Muffet, thank you so much for your wonderful advice! On my recent first trip to Kuala Lumpur I was absolutely inspired and dazzled by the fresh food markets you have, which offer all of the wonderful fresh spices and herbs you list above. I was amazed at the wonderful complexity of Malaysia cuisine in regards to flavour, texture and ingredient - and as you know, it is because of all these exotic, delicious, fragrant, aromatic, herbs and spices. I grew up on Cantonese fare which is rather neutrally flavoured and now, as an adult, I have a real liking for spicey, herbaceous food. I loved your country and I look forward to returning soon!

(Photo thanks to Discovery T&L)

As you know, this was a contest, and even though we have the 10 winners, 4 of you did not register, which also means, no prize! So if you see your names below, please register here immediately and leave a comment to let me know! Congratulations to all 10

We wanna see YOU registered:

1. tazanswers
2. zaihan m
3. Mala S
4. nad n

(Photo thanks to Suzz.com)

Retro Hair Salon in Malacca - Way back in time!

Just a few days ago, there have been reports in the news that both George Town and Malacca have been honoured by UNESCO and are listed as World Heritage Sites! Not any old spots on earth can be listed as a World Heritage Site, they have to have “outstanding universal value” as decided by the World Heritage Committee. Currently the World Heritage List only consists of 878 properties, out of which Malaysia has 3 (the other two are Gunung Mulu National Park and Kinabalu Park). Malaysia boleh!

So rightly enough, Penang will be hosting a three-day celebration to commemorate George Town’s listing beginning July 25.

Personally though, I’m more of a foodie person We should instead have a World Heritage Makan Dishes! And each country with its many cultures should preserve the recipes that have been handed down generations only to be lost at the new generation. If you asked me how to make achar, I’d tell you I know how to EAT it, but I think my grandmother is the last person in the family to know how to make the yummiest achar (the trick is to sun the vegetables until they are super dry so that they can absorb the spicy and sour sauce!).

(Photo thanks to awhiffoflemongrass)

What do you think? Which dishes in Malaysia should be listed in the World Heritage Makan Dishes? To get the ball rolling, I vote for Penang Assam Laksa and Ipoh Hor Fun!

(Photo thanks to Shafina)

Web 2.0, especially Social Networking, is THE buzzword right now. How many of you have an account on Friendster, Multiply, Facebook etc?

Well, we understand how these social networking sites are a part of our lives, so we’ve brought Yahoo! Answers Malaysia to Facebook! Alright, not exactly bringing the whole Yahoo! Answers, but at least there’s a place where users of Yahoo! Answers (regulars and even newbies) can meet virtually. Hey, and if the community is big enough, we can even organise a Meet-Up! So introduce your friends to Yahoo! Answers. And may we build up our database of knowledge to rival even the famous historical Library of Alexandria!

See you at The Wall

How many of you take naps in the day (during weekends)? Come on, ‘fess up, I definitely do!

(Photo by ReiShin)

It has been raining this whole weekend, so what better to do than to hide in the room, watch a bit of tv, and fall asleep on that nice soft bed of yours? Some studies have said that taking short naps can actually help to revitalise a person even better during the day. But hey, any reason is a good reason! I’m not totally convinced that a short nap can get me energised as a short nap is never enough. The ultimate luxury in life is just to sleep as much as one can. Haha! After all, sleep is good for your body, right? Having enough sleep makes one clear and fresh the next day, gives your body time to regenerate cells, and for women, less eye bags! Hmm, I wonder if that’s why sleep is also termed as “beauty sleep” for women? Goodbye SKII!

I also have a friend who told me that he sleeps less than 5 hours a day as he believes sleeping is a waste of time. But if we do not get enough sleep, won’t we become even more sleepy the next day and less productive? Do you think we really need at least 8 hours of sleep a day? (If it were up to me, I’d make a universal rule for everyone to sleep at least 9 hours! Haha!)

(Photo thanks to Suzz.com)

What do you think?

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)

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?

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?