That’s all folks. This is the last post. It’s been fun and great to have met some nice people here. But it’s time to move on and catch up on other things. May all of you live well, be happy and prosper. BigMacky signing off for the last time.

再见, さよなら, Au Revoir, Hasta La Vista, Adeus, Shalom …. Ciao

I’m an ardent fan of Coco. I watch The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien as soon as it hits. Last nite, I watched the last episode with Martin Scorsese and totally enjoyed Conan’s singing how NBC being a bunch of incompetent morons. If you caught the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards, you’ll probably heard Julia Roberts saying “NBC, you’re in the toilets”. The show is over, Conan has left and is reportedly to be US$32 million richer in pay out. The downside, about 200 staff of the show is now out of work. NBC, stop being such a hole of Jay Leno. He’s yesterday’s news.

There used to be a time when it’s safe to invest in an Apple product to expect a 18-month gap before the next update. It’s no fault of Apple, technology is just moving so fast that if any Company doesn’t update with what’s new – they’ll lose out. The latest range of iMacs just got out not too long ago and already there are “rumors” of a 22-inch Touchscreen iMac hitting this year. Here’s my prediction. If the Apple Tablet is real and announced next week, the move to launch a Touchscreen iMac will only mean one thing. That we will all finally be able to do what those guys in the movie Avatar did. Slide some data off your main computer into a portable tablet device and continue reading, working, and pinching in-and-out while on-the go. It’s not that difficult, we already have an App for that. Check out BUMP for the iPhone. You can slide a photo from one screen and it appears on the screen on the other iPhone placed side by side. So who’s in line for these?

Yahoo! News: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that Sony’s PlayStation video game console is “poison” and leads children down the capitalist “road to hell,”. Before this, he also slammed Nintendo for promoting “selfishness, individualism and violence”. He continued by saying any game that “bomb cities or just throw bombs,” are sold by capitalist countries to sow violence so they can “later sell weapons.” Oh my god! He is absolutely right! What a great awakening! I am so gonna throw out both my PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wiis and Xbox360s! Like now!

When the DSi XL launched in Japan late last year as the DSi LL, Nintendo rolled out an ad campaign featuring an elderly lady playing the DSi XL with her family. Japan, where the portable was designed, has a rapidly growing senior citizen population. ”It’s absolutely not just for old people. DSi XL appeals to as many people, if not more, than its predecessors,” Nintendo senior product manager for DS James Honeywell told website CVG. ”With bigger screens and a larger pen-like stylus it’s likely that older users may find the DSi XL easier and more comfortable to use but there are many more people it can and will appeal to,” Honeywell added. He also pointed out that it is easier to find the larger stylus between sofa cushions.

Oh STFU Nintendo! The more you deny it the more you’re just confirming it! Damn!

Apple has set up a feature on its iTunes Store main page to allow users to donate to the American Red Cross in support of relief efforts in the wake of Tuesday’s massive earthquake in Haiti. The donations, which are available in six denominations ranging from $5 to $200, will be processed as any other iTunes purchase, allowing convenient billing for existing iTunes users, and 100% of the donated amount will be passed along to the Red Cross.

Update: Tried donating. But it requires a US based credit card to proceed. Lame.

I don’t think this is a bad idea at all. USB scent flowers for US$9.99 – you’ll get the flower with 3 refills. Now only if it comes in scent of Pepperoni & Cheese, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Popcorn & Bubblegum. Yumz.

Recently, a friend told me that Lady Gaga is actually a dude with a penis. Or more specifically, a hermaphrodite. Someone who has a male and female reproductive organs. Did a quick check on the net and seemed this was old news and surfaced sometime last August when a photo of her getting off a bike showing more than just a “camel toe”. Check out the parody video after the break. Pay attention to the lyrics:

The latest forecast from the analysts at Gartner shows that mobile phones are set to overtake PCs as the most common web browsing device by 2013. The increasingly popularity (and decreasing cost) of smartphones such as the recently-launched Google Nexus One and Apple’s iPhone, means one thing mainly – the widespread availability of fast and easy-to-use mobile web browsers. Gartner dates the ‘tipping poing’ when phones become more popular than traditional desktop and laptop PCs as 2013, when the analysts claim that browser-equipped phones will exceed 1.83 billion, compared with 1.78 billion PCs worldwide.

This year, Chinese across the globe will be celebrating Lunar New Year on Valentine’s Day. To cash in on this rare event, StarBucks Coffee has introduced a couple of new coffee mugs and tea cups to usher in the year of the Tiger. Saw these at StarBucks KLCC today and got myself the one with a little white tiger for RM38. No free coffee with purchase though. With shipping, some sellers are asking for US$35 on eBay. Go figure.

This game has a full and lite (free) version. But for this weekend only, the full version is available for download – FREE! Head over to the App Store before it’s too late. Am downloading now.

I don’t subscribe to Astro or cable tv, therefore I get most of my news online. But due to the recent earthquake at Haiti, I wanted to get the latest coverage and insights on what’s happening. Instead of going online for video clips and news – I headed to the Apple App Store and downloaded the CNN App. Though it costs US$1.99 – personally, I think it’s worth tons more. Immediately upon download, I clicked the app and there’s President Obama giving a LIVE speech on my iPhone. Not a recorded clip, but LIVE streaming. Kinda neat.

She back! On the 9th of February, 2010 – Sade will be releasing her sixth studio album entitled Soldier Of Love featuring the first single of the same name. Downloaded the single from iTunes and it sounded like “Cherish The Day” with a heavier beat and very current arrangements. Lyrically, “In the wild wild west, trying my best, to stay alive, I’m a love soldier”  - okaaaaaay, it’s not as poetic as “Bullet Proof Soul” but hey! It’s Sade! I don’t care! Cuz I’m a big fan. Literally.

Sunny Day Sweepin’ the clouds away. On my way to where the air is sweet. Can you tell me how to get, How to get to Sesame Street? Ok, if you know those words as well, you’re an old fart – like me. Which means, you would somehow feel a little tingling in your heart to know that Warner Bros. will be working with Sesame Workshop to develop games for current generation consoles. Yay! (enough with FPS! Screw Call Of Duty! I want some BigBird and Cookie Monster Hunter!)

Everytime I visit Japan, I have a certain pressure of doing the wrong things at the wrong time and at the wrong place. For example, when I get on an escalator, I’ll constantly remind myself to stand on the left to avoid hoggin those who are in a hurry and clear my table after a meal at a fast food restaurant or cafe. Something which we Malaysians are not really accustomed to. Come on, honestly, how many of you clear your table after a meal at McDonalds? Most will just wipe that ketchup smudge off and throw the serviette onto the pile of mess created earlier while gouging down a BigMac and fries. Admit it, we simply expect that cleaning up is part of the service we paid for.

This trip, I broke quite a couple of social etiquettes while going about in Tokyo. Though un-intentional, I still felt that I should’ve done otherwise. Case one, it is a very bad thing to dunk your towel in an Onsen (hot spring bath). Let’s face it, we Malaysians are not as comfortable being naked in public as with folks in Japan simply because going to the Onsen is a way of life and enjoyment, even with the entire family. I’ve seen little girls with her dad enjoying a hot dip in public baths amongst a group of naked grown men. Though it was at nite and I was half submerged, I gotta admit – I was pretty uncomfortable having witness such – closeness.

Though I’ve been to Japan many times, I still can’t help but to feel some of the etiquettes are a little of an overkill. For example, when you are in a bar and someone is hoggin the mic howling away – it is considered rude to stand up half way through the song and head for the gents. Instead, one should wait till he or she is done torturing you with the bad singing and then clap, before moving your bud away and head to the loo. I am sorry, but isn’t that a little repressive? And talking about sorry, I found out recently that the Japanese Anniversary Association has approved December 10th as “Gomenne No Hi” ( I’m Sorry Day ) in Japan. The day was created in response to the results of a national poll on apologizing that showed that most people didn’t like apologizing. The idea is that if everyone says sorry on the same day, the act of apologizing will become more lighthearted. No kidding. Google it.

Personally, I think the word Gomen (Sorry) is the 2nd most uttered word in the Japanese language. At numero uno would be the expression “Ah” which would normally followed by Gomen. During my first ever trip to Japan many years ago, I thought employees at Family Mart (equivalent to 7-Eleven) were so polite. They will utter a long speech to thank you for your patronage while handing you your change. After a couple more visits, I realized they were not really polite but robotic. They say it because they have to and not because they meant to. On many occasions, I noticed they didn’t even looked at me while saying it.

Anyway, even with all these quirkiness, Tokyo remain my favorite city in the world after New York. Every single time, when I am at Narita airport for my flight home, there’s a sense of sadness. If you see the video for this trip, I ended it with a song by BEGIN entitled ユガフ島 (Yugahu Island). The melody encapsulates my emotions.

In the spirit of this post, I would like to say, Gomen ne, for being an stupid Gaijin (foreigner) who suxs at Japanese Social Etiquettes.