Sam’s Blog

The Amazing Race is back and in this eight installment, they made it the Family Edition!  I am really looking forward to it and I hope it is really kewl.  So far this show have suceeded in many seasons and won a hat trick in the Emmy Awards! Wow!  Three times in a row!  Now that is not an easy feat for a reality game show!

If you are interested to watch it, catch this season’s 2-hours premier on AXN, Channel 17 on Astro at 8:00pm tonight (and its repeat is at midnight).  On regular Wednesdays, the show will be at 9:00pm (and its repeats are at midnight and in the weekend).

Here’s a recap of the previous winners (and their relationship):

Season 1 : Rob & Brennan (Best friends & lawyers)
Season 2 : Chris & Alex (Lifelong friends)
Season 3 : Flo & Zach (Friends)
Season 4 : Reichen & Chip (Married)
Season 5 : Chip & Kim (Married parents)
Season 6 : Freddy & Kendra (Engaged models)
Season 7 : Uchenna & Joyce (Married)

Now in Season 8, which family will cross the finish line first, and win a cash prize of US$1,000,000!

Any takers or predictions?  Post it in the Comments section!

Just got this from the Internet and I think it is really interesting.  See how many of you can get the correct answer.  If you already seen this, dont post the answer.  Let those who have not seen it guess.

How will you survive this situation??? (Dont scroll down as the answer is just right below).

Based on the Year 2000 World Life Expectancy report, Malaysians have an average lifespan of 70.8 years (2005: 72.2 years).  The world’s average is 65.27 years.  The country with the highest life expectancy is Andorra (83.5 years) and the one with the lowest figure is Zambia (37.2 years!).

Well… keep it up Malaysian… you live longer than the average people on earth!  Malaysia Boleh!!!  Hehehe…

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

How many of you remember this song?  This is indeed a childhood song.  Its short and sweet.  Get the MIDI version of this song here.  Now let’s sing together…

Burung kakak tua
Hinggap di jendela
Nenek sudah tua
Giginya tinggal dua

Letrum, letrum, letrum oolala
Letrum, letrum, letrum oolala
Letrum, letrum, letrum oolala
Burung kakak tua

Repeat till you are sick and tired of the song… Hehehe…

When we were asked what is the population in Malaysia, we can estimate it to be nearing 26 million.  But here are some facts you might not know about Malaysia.  Go tell it to others and they will be surprised… I know I was!

In Malaysia, there are:

- one birth for every 58 seconds.

- one death for every 4 minutes and 36 seconds.

- one gain on net migration (International) for every 5 minutes and 15 seconds.

- overall increase in population, one person for every 59 seconds.

Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia

Starting Monday, 5th Sepember 2005, Malaysia’s second pay-tv operator will be in operation.  Its named MiTV.  I really hope this operator can provide better channels and services than what Astro has been offering.

Here are some information from Wikipedia.com regarding MiTV:

MiTV Corporation Bhd is a Malaysian television content company. It is on track for its commercial launch by the middle of the year 2005 after having obtained all the necessary approvals from the censorship board on its broadcast contents. The company would be signing an additional 10 television channels prior to the launch as part of its promise to offer over 50 channels to its subscribers. It has already acquired over 40 channels with content providers worldwide.

MiTV Corp would broadcast up-to-date 24-hour programmes live from Taiwan,  with 16 hours of fresh content daily. The subscription fee would be around RM80 plus or lower depending on the market, and it would be offered as an alternative to the viewers especially to Astro’s subscribers.

The launch of MiTV’s pay TV service will mean the end of Astro monopoly of Malaysia’s pay TV market.

MiTV is based in the Multimedia Super Corridor development area.

MiTV will be officially launched on September 5th, 2005.

Let’s start this daily dosage of Malaysia by looking into the National Anthem, Negaraku.  This song was selected as the national anthem during the Federation of Malaya’s independence from Britain in 1957. Negaraku, simply means My Country, is a short song with merely only 6 lines of lyrics.

Now get this fact:  Negaraku’s tune was actually taken from a song "Terang Bulan", which was a popular song at that time, as it also serves as the state anthem for the state of Perak.

Here are the lyrics of Negaraku and the transaltion:

Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku,
Rakyat hidup, bersatu dan maju,
Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan,
Raja kita, selamat bertakhta,
Rahmat bahagia, Tuhan kurniakan,
Raja kita, selamat bertakhta.

Translation:

Oh, My Motherland, the Land where my life began,
Where people live in harmony and prosperity,
With God-given blessings of happiness,
Our King reigns in peace,
With God-given blessings of happiness,
Our King reigns in peace.

Source: Wikipedia.com

Here’s wishing Malaysia a Happy 48th Birthday!  I never thought I will say this out loud, but I am indeed pround to be a Malaysian.  Thanks everyone for making Malaysia what it is today!

Starting from today (for one whole month), I will try to post something related to Malaysia every working day.  Here’s a chance for everyone to look back into what made Malaysia: MALAYSIA!